On Friday, the trial against Pablo Antonio S.H., also known as Chiqui, began in the Provincial Court of Valladolid. He is accused of the double murder of a neighbor and a negotiator from the Civil Guard after barricading himself in Santovenia de Pisuerga (Valladolid) on June 30, 2022. The sessions started on Friday and will end on June 14 before a jury in the Valladolid courts. The Prosecutor’s Office is seeking 58 years in prison for the murders, attempted murder, kidnapping, and possession of illegal weapons. In addition, he is being asked to pay 792,000 euros to the families of the two deceased individuals. The accused shot Dionisio A., with whom he had argued hours earlier, and then did the same to the agent Pedro Alfonso Casado, a member of an elite unit.
The events began late on June 30, 2022, when the Civil Guard had to intervene in a brawl between two neighboring families in an occupied block in Santovenia. Dionisio A. and Carolina N. told the agents they had been attacked by another resident of the building, although the man voluntarily left the Valladolid Hospital, where he had been taken after the initial attack. Upon returning home, Dionisio and his son went to Chiqui’s door to confront him, and Chiqui came out with a previously loaded rifle and shot the victim in the abdomen. He then aimed at the man’s son, who managed to escape and avoid the shots from the accused. Chiqui returned to his house and barricaded himself inside with a hostage, his son-in-law, who was there at the time of the crime and was threatened for hours with having his fingers cut off or being killed.
The complexity of the situation led to the Special Intervention Unit of the Civil Guard, located in Madrid, being deployed to assist their colleagues who had been trying to arrest the individual for several hours during the early hours of July 1. At around quarter to seven in the morning, after negotiating with the suspect, he fired from inside his house, breaking through the door and hitting Pedro Alfonso Casado, a member of the unit and an expert in such cases. The gunshot caused serious injuries from which he could not recover after several days at the Valladolid Hospital. Finally, Chiqui surrendered voluntarily without further harm to the hostage, after receiving a dose of methadone.
The prosecution is demanding 58 years in prison for the accused for the murders, attempted murder, kidnapping, and possession of illegal weapons. Additionally, 310,000 euros are being sought for the family of the deceased neighbor and 382,000 for the relatives of the agent. The widow and two daughters of the Civil Guard are requesting 84 years in prison and are represented by the Pro Guardia Civil Association, which includes charges of attack on authority and coercion. The episode caused great tension during that night and the following day in Santovenia, with dozens of guards deployed in the area and streets near the house where the accused barricaded himself. Family members of those involved gathered around the cordon and tensions rose, leading to confrontations with journalists.
The incident had a significant impact on the community in Santovenia, with a tumultuous brawl involving around 12 individuals resulting in injuries to Carolina and Dionisio. The then government delegate, Virginia Barcones, reported on the prior incident, and the atmosphere remained tense throughout the ordeal. The trial will continue to uncover the details of the tragic events that took place in Santovenia de Pisuerga, leaving a lasting impact on the families of the victims and the community.
