A 49-year-old Spanish man was arrested by the Guardia Civil last week, accused of having broken into Sant Jaume Church in Alcudia and stolen around 1,000 euros in coins.
On October 8, the parish deacon reported a theft from the church. The person had climbed a three-metre wall and had forced his way in through access via an interior courtyard. The coins were taken from collection boxes.
Investigations established that he had gone to a bar and a petrol station and tried to exchange the coins, which were in a plastic bag, for notes. He was recognised when witnesses were shown photos of potential suspects; he has a long criminal record. Officers later found out that he had told a relative that he had broken into the church.
With no fixed abode, he was eventually intercepted on October 23 at a bar that he was known to frequent on the Avda. Princeps d'Espanya. Three days later, a court in Inca ordered him to prison; he had a suspended sentence.
His lawyer has appealed against the prison order and asked that he instead goes to a Projecte Home facility, this being a charity that was set up to help men with addictions.