A Spanish journalist who confessed to a fatal hit-and-run accident while driving drunk will not be released to house arrest at the Spanish consulate, a Jerusalem court ruled Tuesday morning.
Julio De La Guardia, a Spanish reporter, was arrested early Monday morning after a fatal accident Sunday night at around midnight in Jerusalem.
The victim, identified by Kikar Hashabbat as 31-year-old Haim Tukachinsky, was killed after a vehicle driven by De La Guardia slammed into Tukachinsky in Paris Square in Jerusalem late Sunday night.
Tukachinsky was walking back from prayers at the Western Wall at the time of the accident.
De La Guardia fled the scene, but was later identified by police and arrested several hours after the accident. Police say De La Guardia was under the influence of alcohol at the time, and had a blood alcohol level significantly higher than the legal limit.
After his arrest, De La Guardia confessed that he had been driving while drunk, and was responsible for the hit-and-run accident that killed Tukachinsky.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court initially ordered De La Guardia released to house arrest at the home of the Spanish consul Monday night.
But the Jerusalem District Court threw out the lower court’s decision, accepting an appeal by police requesting that De La Guardia be kept in custody.
The court extended De La Guardia’s arrest by two days, until Thursday.