Three twenty-year-olds from Cagliari ended up in prison on charges of having carried out - in the capital and in the hinterland - four muggings against elderly people, one aggravated robbery and an attempted extortion.
In recent days the investigations - which began in September and conducted by the State Police - have had a turning point, with the investigators who have triggered the arrests, measures also accelerated by the fear that the three could return to action, to obtain further money in sight of the Christmas holidays.
The Police Headquarters explains in a note: «The investigators of the Section for crimes against property of the Flying Squad, coordinated by the Cagliari Public Prosecutor's Office, have started some telephone interceptions, which have allowed us to shed light on the technique with which the crimes were committed. The three went out at dusk on a stolen motorbike, wearing full helmets, scoured the shopping streets, identified the victim and then struck ».
«The victim – the investigators continued – was always an elderly woman . Some of the robbed women fell to the ground and fortunately not suffered serious injuries, also considering their age. After each robbery they used the victims' ATMs or credit cards to make purchases , before the cards were blocked by the banks.
The three will also have to answer for an attempted extortion : again in September, after having stolen a large-engined motorbike, they in fact asked the owner for a thousand euros to return it to them. The latter, however, reacted, attacking one of the group and putting them on the run.
«The latest serious incident - continues the Police Headquarters - dates back to Saturday 17 December, when an 87-year-old woman was robbed in Pirri, from whom, on her way home, her purse was stolen, which contained 60 euros, the ATM and some documents. The woman fell and hit her head on the sidewalk , suffering no serious injuries. The same evening, two of the suspects carried out a robbery in Quartu , taking away from an elderly woman the purse with 250 euros and the credit card».
During the searches carried out by the agents, some precious objects stolen in the bag-snatching were found and the full-face helmets used to carry them out.
Furthermore, one of the three young men attempted to dispose of 43 doses of cocaine, heroin and hashish by throwing them from the balcony . For this the young man was arrested in flagrante delicto.
The investigators have recovered the motorcycle used for the muggings: it was parked in a street in the Sant'Elia district of Cagliari and was found to have been stolen.
The investigations also revealed clues regarding an episode dating back to last November, when a young man was beaten with a baseball bat , suffering serious injuries to his legs. The reason for the "beating" would consist in avenging an insult received a few days earlier. The victim had been hospitalized for a few days with an initial prognosis of 30 days.
The investigating judge, during the validation hearing, not recognizing the requirement of the suspects' danger of fleeing, did not validate the detentions but, considering the serious evidence collected by the investigations, ordered the precautionary custody in prison.
(Unioneonline/lf)
