As reported in the Telecinco program Ya es mediodía, the National Police have arrested a man in Alicante who they have nicknamed “the gastrojeta” after he ate in a restaurant and faked a faint to avoid paying the 37-euro bill. .
According to sources close to the gastronomic case, this is not the first ‘simpa’ that the middle-aged man has carried out, since the authorities have caught him doing this practice on more than fifteen different occasions.
The situation is so serious that the alleged offender, Aidas J. was sent to jail last February for not paying the 900-euro fine ordered by a court for a minor offence. The fine was imposed after his refusal to pay 67.50 euros in a restaurant where he had eaten quietly.
Although the police authorities had not known about the alleged fraudster for some time and believed that he had stopped committing these actions or that he had moved, last Thursday afternoon he returned to his old ways in an establishment on Castaños street in Alicante, right in the city center.
In this latest criminal episode, the 50-year-old fraudster of Lithuanian origin was eating and drinking alcoholic beverages as another customer in the Alicante restaurant. The problem came when, when he brought the 37-euro bill to the table, he faked dizziness and later fainted.
His idea was that they call an ambulance from the restaurant and evacuate him to a health center to avoid paying for the menu and eat for free. Although the situation seemed very strange to them, those responsible for the premises called 911 and reported that they had an unconscious man in their restaurant.
Although the diner strategy worked with the waiters and managers of the restaurant, the health workers who went to the scene recognized the individual from previous interventions and concluded, after examining him, that he was faking. Once the police arrived, the man woke up, refused to pay and since he did not have documentation, he was arrested and taken to the police station.
Once there, they verified that he was a professional of this type of scam, for which he went to court. As it is a minor crime, it is understood that the detainee will be released, but everything depends on the pending judicial indictments for the previous crimes.
