It was back in September 2010 when a shepherd and two brothers came to blows in Polopos; over two years later they stand accused of mutual attempted murder. Not unsurprisingly, both men declared themselves not guilty and accuse the other party of being the culprit.

It was one bright morning along the Camino de Las Casillas when José A.G., a shepherd minding his flock, encountered Jesús Mariano R.S., who was riding his bike, followed by his brother and his girlfriend in a car. So far, we have a rural encounter that could have involved passing waves and smiles… but no, it was not to be.

According to the shepherd the two brothers attempted to take his machete from him and stab him in the stomach with it.

“I bit one of them, defending myself,” explained the shepherd, ” but they went to the car and came back with an axe and a hoe.” He also claimed that he hadn’t hit one of the brothers on the head with the machete, as accused. Hmmm…

The bike rider, Jesus Mariano, on the other hand, declared that the argument had begun when the shepherd planted himself in the middle of the road, waving his shepherds staff around. Jesus says that he had to pull up, as did his brother behind him.

“He [the shepherd] pulled out a machete and hit me on the head with it,” he claimed, “and after that he jumped on my brother, so I hit him over the head,” adding, tearfully, that he had feared for his brother’s life.

Both parties confirmed that during the struggle the machete broke in two, at which point, the brothers claim, they decided to get the hell out of there.

Finally, the said girlfriend, when questioned by the judge, said that the shepherd had started the fight, without even uttering a word, and that whilst the three were wrestling on the ground, she ran off to Polopos to get help.

The outcome of the fight was “cerebral bruising, a skull fracture and damage to internal organs” in the case of Jesus, who required 91 days to recover, and as for the brother, bruising and a nasty bite mark.

The shepherd, on the other hand, suffered “head injuries, deep cuts to the arm and injuries to internal organs that could have put his life at risk and required surgery and 111 days to recover.”

Although mildly surprised by the incident, no sheep were reported injured or requiring psychiatric counseling.

As a result, the Public Prosecutor has recommended eight years in the land of striped sunshine for the shepherd for attempted manslaughter, plus another three for the injuries incurred by the brother. Jesus, on the other hand, is facing three years for attempted murder, as “legitimate self defence” was taken partially into account.

The trial continues…

(News: Polopos, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia)