Jumps through a skylight and hides under a mattress: the escape of one of Lleida's most wanted thieves
The Mossos solve a case that includes 78 robberies and five houses set on fire
BarcelonaUp to 78 burglaries in houses and, in addition, five set on fire. This is what is attributed to two young men who in the autumn of 2024 alerted the Horta de Lleida, an area separate from the city. Finally, after arresting the first person involved in July 2025, the Mossos d'Esquadra have managed to arrest the alleged second perpetrator of the acts, a 24-year-old man with a dozen police records. The arrest, however, was not easy.
The Catalan police went to look for him at his home early Thursday morning. And he was there, but he jumped through a skylight to land on a terrace that connected to another apartment, according to sources consulted by ARA. This caused the police to have to request a second court order to enter this second apartment and everything was delayed for a few hours. In addition, the police had to seal off the Bordeta neighborhood of Lleida so that he would not escape.
A relative of the suspect lived in this second dwelling and, finally, the Mossos obtained the order and entered, but it was not easy to find him either. The police went through all the rooms until they found a bedroom where two people were sleeping. Where was the suspect? Hidden under the mattress. In this way, the Mossos arrested the man and also his relative for facilitating the escape.
The evolution of events
With the two arrests, a case that had been ongoing for almost four years has been resolved. The robberies took place between the end of 2022 and 2025, although the wave of thefts in Horta de Lleida was at the end of 2024. Specifically, on November 8 and 10, and also on the night of December 7 to 8. In addition to breaking into houses to steal, the fact that they also set fire to five properties they had assaulted also generated concern among residents.
The first suspect was arrested in July 2025, but was released only five days after being imprisoned, a judicial decision that generated surprise and indignation among the victims. In October last year, he was arrested again and has been in preventive detention ever since. The robberies prompted the creation of the Horta Segura Neighborhood Platform which, together with the Prosecutor's Office, appealed against the judicial decision to release the detainee on bail.