The Guimarães court sentenced this Wednesday to four and a half years’ imprisonment, with suspended sentences, to two drunken men who, in February 2023, set fire to a building in Fafe after a night out at a club.
According to the court, the defendants, both aged 30, caused damage amounting to more than 115 thousand euros.
The fire occurred in the pharmacy garage, where there were paper bags, boxes and a car.
As a result of the heat generated, radiation and the collapse of the interior wall separating the adjacent garage, the fire caused damage to the entire building structure.
This is a building of three floors above ground (housing and services) and two floors below ground (individual garages), located in the center of Fafe.
It has 12 residential apartments, six offices, eight shops and a pharmacy.
18 firefighters supported by seven vehicles were involved in extinguishing the fire.
“At the time of the crime, the defendants were returning from a nightclub, where they drank alcoholic beverages, being under the influence of the alcohol they drank,” the resolution says.
He emphasizes that, despite this, the defendants were able to assess the wrongfulness of their actions and define themselves in accordance with this assessment.
In court, the defendants denied committing these actions, admitting only that they entered the building early in the morning of February 4, 2024, even before the fire started, which they allegedly caused by kicking in the door.
They said they were walking back from a nightclub where they had been drinking alcohol, which they also did at dinner.
They added that they entered the building with the goal of finding bicycles or scooters to get home.
They denied going into any garage in the building.
They admitted that they were “pretty drunk” but were still aware of what they were doing, remembering what had happened.
This version was not accepted by a group of judges who found that the defendants’ statements constituted “inaccuracies and contradictions both in themselves and among themselves, in addition to being presented in a confusing and absurd manner, which indicates a clear interest in abandoning responsibility for what happened.”
“In particular, the negative part of the facts and the explanation for the entry into the building did not turn out to be plausible,” the team says.
To have their sentences suspended, defendants will have to undergo a social reintegration plan aimed at ensuring their full social and professional integration, realizing the futility of their offending behavior, and avoiding acts of a similar nature in the future.
They will also have to pay compensation to the condominium and the pharmacy, totaling more than 9,500 euros.
The condominium initially asked for more than 110 thousand euros, but in the meantime reduced the request to 1,633 euros, since it was partially compensated by the insurance company.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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