A Hells Angel member convcited of killing a DJ during an illegal party in Marbella after shooting him in the neck accidentally has had his appeal rejected.
The killing took place during a gathering in a villa in Guadalmina Alta at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic on March 29, 2021.
During the fiesta, which was attended by around 35 people despite lockdown measures being in place, the German national, of Moroccan heritage, fired three shots into the ceiling from his 9mm Parabellum pistol.
In a freak accident, one of the bullets ricocheted off the ceiling and hit the DJ in the neck, severing his jugular vein and killing him almost instantly.
The shooter, named only as Abdelkarim E, was allegedly one of the first to flee the scene on his motorbike.
The dozens of other partygoers also rushed out of the property, causing a stampede in the process.
According to court documents, just one person stayed behind to apply pressure on the DJ’s neck, albeit in vain.
The shooter was sentenced to nine years in prison for the killing, which he has been attempting to appeal.
However, it emerged this week that the High Court Justice of Andalucia (TSJA) has upheld the conviction.
The court maintained that he fired the bullets while ‘disregarding the necessary precautions in an enclosed space.’
During a police search, the keys to a jet ski were found in a safe at the suspect’s Marbella home.
Inside the jet ski, hidden in a false bottom, was a pistol without a serial number – making it illegal.
It was also a 9mm caliber and was set to fire in automatic or semi-automatic mode, making it a weapon of war, which are also banned for private individuals.
A compatible silencer was also found, the use of which is prohibited under firearms regulations.
The high court cited these discoveries in its ruling to throw out the defendant’s appeal.
His lawyer had argued that the sentence was based on the testimony of a sole protected witness who had been granted anonymity, and that his testimony had too many contradictions.
This was rejected by the TSJA, which ruled that the witness’s fear was understandable given his knowledge that the accused had ties to the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, as corroborated by the police.
It said the witness’s statement showed no ulterior motives, and that in its view ‘he was only motivated to recount what truly happened.’
Desperate for work amid Covid lockdown
The victim’s brother, spoke to him hours before his death at the illegal party, telling him to be careful.
He had recently worked at a similar event where a Moroccan man was shot twice.
He jokingly replied to his sibling: ‘I’m going to work. They’re not going to shoot me! And if they do, so be it. I’m not going to starve to death.’
The DJ was desperate for work due to most clubs and venues having been closed for months on end due to Covid restrictions.
