Andorra Prosecutors Appeal Light Sentence in Encamp Hotel Armed Robbery

Andorra's public prosecutor's office has asked the Superior Court to revoke a Court of Corts sentence imposing a two-year prison term on a young Encamp man for an armed hotel robbery, arguing the ruling overlooked key crimes and the accused's true intent during a sequence of early-morning incidents.

The appeal, filed today, challenges the original judgment for the events of 23 August last year. Prosecutors had sought a six-and-a-half-year term and now contend the decision adopted an "excessively formalistic" approach. They maintain it failed to address all offenses arising from the facts, including possible attempted theft with force in prior episodes beyond the damages already noted.

According to the prosecution, the man left home at dawn with his face covered to avoid recognition and carrying a hammer. He first tried to enter the Encamp tourist office, moved to another building—previously described as a home on Carrer Estret—and then reached the hotel, where he threatened the receptionist and obtained money. This pattern of actions, prosecutors argue, shows clear intent to steal in the initial incidents, regardless of the processing order's legal classification of facts.

The original ruling had treated those earlier events primarily as damages and trespass, after the man consumed alcohol and drugs. Prosecutors also cite his financial circumstances and attire—dark clothing and the hammer—as evidence of premeditation.

The defence has urged the Superior Court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the sentence based on the crimes debated at trial. They assert no clear intent to rob was proven in the tourist office or residential incidents, where the accused claimed he sought only to cause damage unaware of cash present. Introducing theft charges now, they say, would expand the accusation framework and undermine the right to defence.