Prosecutor's alternative conclusions place defendant as getaway driver in Mijas shooting

The man accused of gunning down Irishman Gary Hutch in Mijas in 2015, James Quinn, denied his involvement in the crime on Monday, the first day of his trial in Malaga.

I was in bed with a hangover and a prostitute, he told the court when asked where he was at the time of the shooting.

If found guilty the defendant faces a life sentence (a relatively new penalty used very rarely in Spain) after the prosecution told the jury that he killed Hutch as part of an ongoing dispute between criminal drugs gangs. The rivalry is thought to have led to several other deaths internationally.

On Thursday the prosecutor offered the jury his conclusions, along with an alternative. His first conclusion was that Quinn had been paid by an unidentified third party to kill Hutch. He had gone to the property in the company of at least one other person, who was waiting in a stolen car, then took the victim by surprise in the car park.

Hutch was attacked and chased by an armed man through the Ángel de Miraflores development before the assailant caught and killed him, escaping in a waiting BMW X-3. Up to 16 shots were fired, two at point blank range.

According to the prosecutor's first conclusions, the evidence at the trial has proved that it was Quinn who fired the shots.

The key piece of evidence was a baseball cap, which tested positive for the defendant's DNA, found in the getaway car. The cap was worn by the gunman, maintained the prosecutor, although the defence questioned the reliability of an image taken from CCTV footage.

While the prosecutor said that he has no doubt that Quinn was the gunman, he has also provided the jury with an alternative conclusion to consider.

This states that Quinn was the getaway driver which would make him a necessary participant in the crime. In this case, however, the prosecutor calls for the same revisable permanent life sentence as the defendant's help would have been fundamental to the murder.

Quinn's defence lawyer called for the jury to take into account the real evidence they have been shown in court to decide whether it is enough to give someone a life sentence.

The prosecution is also calling for Quinn to be given a three-year sentence for the illegal possession of firearms.