Former Spanish military officer shoots Moroccan man, faces 25-year prison sentence

A former Spanish military officer, Carlos Patricio B.M., is facing a potential 25-year sentence for the shooting death of a Moroccan, Younes Bilal, in a Mazarrón café in June 2021. 

The accused testified in the Provincial Court of Murcia on Monday, and said that on the day of the crime, he had been drinking since noon and that the victim had previously threatened him. 

According to Patricio’s testimony, he warned Bilal not to threaten him again just before firing the fatal shots.

When questioned by the prosecutor about why he shot the victim, Patricio said  “to protect myself.” The former officer claimed that Bilal lunged at him, and he fired in self-defense.

Despite his statement that he had no intention of killing Bilal, the prosecution is seeking a 25-year prison term, emphasizing that “his intention was to kill a Moroccan, in his own words.”

The accused mentioned that he knew Bilal by sight and that the victim had given him hostile looks in the past. He maintained feeling threatened but insisted he never intended to kill anyone. 

Carlos admitted to modifying the pistol used in the shooting, an inheritance from his father, which he had reactivated months before. The modified barrel was acquired “online,” and he acknowledged having other unlicensed weapons, intending to obtain a collector’s license for them.

After firing the shots, Carlos Patricio B.M. vaguely recalled that the police approached him on the beach. He said “I asked who they were, and I threw myself to the ground.”

Patricio described being on the shore, seeing people approaching from the side, and the police arriving, seizing the weapon, and arresting him.

The accused disclosed that he had been drinking beer and gin and had taken pain medication and antidepressants on the day of the crime. 

Despite being a daily beer drinker, he emphasized that he had consumed an excessive amount that day, admitting he was drunk from 10 in the morning until 9 at night.

Carlos Patricio B.M., was apprehended as he attempted to flee along the beach after shooting his victim multiple times in a café at the port. 

The pistol used was formerly part of the Air Force’s arsenal, initially deactivated, but reactivated by the defendant at his residence, where the Civil Guard discovered shotguns and other firearms.