A Barcelona court sentenced a Mossos d’Esquadra agent to 13 months in prison for stealing a high-end mobile phone and wireless headphones from a man who had died in the street.
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The Provincial Court of Barcelona found the officer guilty of misappropriation. Additionally, he has been disqualified from working as a police officer for the duration of the sentence and ordered to pay €850 in compensation to the deceased man’s widow. The officer can appeal the non-final sentence to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia.
Eldiario.es first reported a ruling where the court determined that the officer abused his position for “illicit enrichment” while on duty.
A Routine Call-Out Takes a Sinister Turn
The events unfolded on 27 October 2021 in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a municipality bordering Barcelona. The agent, a member of the Mossos d’Esquadra’s Investigation Unit in nearby Mataró, and his partner were dispatched after a man collapsed and died in a public thoroughfare.
Officers from Santa Coloma’s Public Safety Unit initially called in the investigative team, suspecting the deceased may have been a ‘mule’ (a term for individuals who transport drugs internally). This suspicion was later ruled out.
At the scene, colleagues handed the convicted officer the deceased’s backpack. The bag contained various personal effects, including an iPhone and a pair of Apple AirPods. However, the chain of custody was broken when the officer and his partner returned to the Mataró police station to log the items.
Family’s Investigation Uncovers the Truth
Court documents show that the officer’s partner, responsible for compiling the inventory, did not list the iPhone. He testified during the trial that it was not present when he inspected the belongings. The log vaguely documented the AirPods as “wireless headphones.”
The theft came to light after the man’s widow went to the Santa Coloma police station to collect his possessions. She realised her husband’s valuable iPhone and AirPods were missing upon receiving the bag, which contained only a pair of simple, white-cabled headphones not originally logged.
The deceased’s children provided the crucial breakthrough. Using their father’s password, they accessed his device location data. Their search revealed the iPhone had been switched off shortly after their father’s death. Its last known location was pinpointed to an address corresponding with the Mataró police station. The AirPods were later detected at around 7:00 the following morning – long after the officer’s shift had ended – near the convicted agent’s home.
This case highlights a disturbing breach of trust, echoing another recent incident where a Barcelona nurse was arrested for stealing thousands of euros from a deceased patient.
Court Rejects Officer’s Defence
During the trial, the officer denied the allegations. He claimed he was not present when the phone stopped transmitting its signal, maintaining that he “at no point” had sole custody of the deceased’s property.
However, the court found his version of events lacked credibility. The tribunal concluded in its judgment that the agent took advantage of his professional duties to steal the items for his own benefit. This was the “only logical and reasonable conclusion,” despite his obligation to safeguard and return the property.
The court reasoned that the officer took the iPhone before his partner could officially log it into evidence. It also concluded he later swapped the high-value AirPods for a cheap pair of wired headphones, taking advantage of the vague description in the evidence log to conceal the theft.
