Malaga's juvenile court convicts eight teenagers of assault, coercion and illegal detention

The juvenile court in Malaga has convicted eight teenagers of the illegal detention and assault of a minor and a young man at machete point in the El Palo district.

The defendants had a prior feud with another teenager, which led to a series of violent incidents. One of these occurred on the night of 8 March 2025, when one of the main aggressors encountered the victim, who was in the street with a friend.

According to the ruling, he first tried to kick him and then continued the attack with punches and elbows. Afterwards, he took 20 euros and a vaping device from him, before leaving the scene on an electric scooter.

The most serious events, however, unfolded a couple of weeks later. At around 11.30pm on 22 March, the assailant and two other teenagers crossed paths with the previous victim's brother, who had just turned 18, and a younger friend of his. They were carrying brass knuckles and two machetes.

When they asked if he was, in fact, the brother, the young man denied, seeing the level of aggression they were demonstrating. One of them warned him: "If you talk, I'll stab you."

The situation escalated as more people joined in. Eventually, the assailant's entourage numbered 15 to 20 people, including five other convicted minors and several adults.

"They were all armed with machetes, brass knuckles and at least one of them with a pistol," the ruling states.

The gang surrounded the two boys and forced them to call the 18-year-old's brother and convince him to meet with them. The victim of the first incident noticed that his brother's friend's voice was trembling over the phone and suspected that it might be a trap. He declined the invitation.

The group then forced the two young men to take them to their home, where the younger brother was. According to the court ruling, they walked more than a kilometre with a machete pressed against the brother's back, whom they also beat with brass knuckles. "Either you take us or we'll cut you up," one of the aggressors shouted.

The boys had no choice but to obey. Upon arriving at the building, the defendants turned the security camera to avoid recordings. Still hodling the machete, they threatened the young man that they would stab his friend if he didn't get his brother to come out of the flat. They also used the cell phones of both detainees to call the third boy.

According to the court ruling, they told him to "come down to the building entrance in less than half an hour or they would cut the throats of both his brother and his friend".

Instead of going downstairs and risking his life, the boy who was inside the flat gave his brother two pepper spray canisters. Frightened by the number of people waiting downstairs, the boy ended up alerting his sister, who went down to the building entrance and asked the gang to leave.

It was then that one of the main defendants sprayed the young woman in the eyes with pepper spray. The substance also reached the kidnapped minor.

An hour later, while the victim of the first robbery was at the National Police station reporting the incident, two of the convicted minors sent him three intimidating audio messages via Instagram with insults and threats, assuring him that they already knew where he lived.

The court held the hearing on 15 May this year. The defendants admitted to the charges.

Seven of them will serve nine months of semi-open detention, with credit for time already served as a precautionary measure. The eighth teenager, as well as the other seven, will be under supervised release for one year.

During that period, they will have to find employment and undergo vocational training, attend workshops and participate in accredited sports activities. The ruling also includes a two-year restraining order banning them from communicating with or approaching the two siblings and their younger friend.