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COSTA CUFFED
Dramatic moment Brit suspect held after Towie star Elliott Wright’s Costa del Sol restaurant doorman ‘killed in fight’
THIS is the moment a British man was arrested today following the death of a doorman at Towie star Elliott Wright’s Costa del Sol restaurant.
Cops in Spain launched a manhunt after the bouncer died on Sunday of injuries sustained while trying to break up a fight at Olivia's La Cala near Marbella.
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Dramatic footage shows the moment Spanish police arrest and haul away a 32-year-old British man wanted over the death of doorman Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo, 55.
He is seen being led away in handcuffs following his detention in Marbella at around 2pm today.
The arrest was carried out with the help of an elite Civil Guard unit called GAR, which is a rapid action group.
Confirming today’s arrest, a Civil Guard spokesman said: “With regards to the death of a person following an assault, the Civil Guard in Mijas with the support of the GAR unit, have today arrested the alleged author in Marbella.
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“He is a British national, who had been on the run since the incident."
Officers have said the man, who has not been named and has been identified only by his initials as HGJS, is 32 years old and has been arrested on suspicion of causing the death of Jose.
The hearing is expected to take place behind closed doors tomorrow or Friday to decide whether to remand him in custody or free him on bail pending an ongoing investigation.
The arrest comes after vandals targeted Olivia’s La Cala restaurant and spray-painted offensive graffiti just two days after the bouncer died in hospital.
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The taggers used bright pink spray paint to write insulting words in Spanish that included ‘Mafia’ and ‘Asesino Elliott’- English for ‘Killer Elliott.’
Police have been busy hunting the suspect responsible for the bouncer's tragic death since Monday.
Wright kept the restaurant closed out of respect and said that his “heart was broken”.
Bodybuilder and personal trainer Jose had reportedly been pushed or punched and lost his balance as he tried to break up an argument.
The Venezuelan-born dad-of-two was rushed to an intensive care unit in Malaga after suffering severe head injuries after intervening in the fracas at Wright's restaurant.
Jose was declared brain dead and had a life support machine switched off after being left seriously injured, sources said.
He is said to have hit his head as he crashed to the ground and was knocked unconscious after intervening in the fight.
A source said: “The local reports talk of a group of people fighting but it was between two people.
“The doorman went down as he tried to eject one of the two men.”
Another source added: “Elliott had a great relationship with the dead man and is devastated at what’s happened.
“He had worked for him for two years."
Olivia's was gutted in an arson attack two years ago, which is still being investigated and is never believed to have led to any arrests.
The devastating blaze occurred just five weeks after Elliott’s dad Edward George died from coronavirus.
On Sunday, the fitness lover was pronounced dead - the same day that police took away CCTV footage from Elliott’s eatery.
Jose's mourning son, Fabriccio, paid tribute online to his "great father" who taught him "to be the man he is today".
He wrote: "Rest in peace dad, my father did his best to get his family through very tough times and thank god he was able to pass me everything I needed to be the man I am today."
Jose had got married to personal trainer Romina Acuna in November last year. She described her new fitness-fanatic husband as the “love of my life” in an emotional social media post.
Olivia’s said in a statement: “This weekend we lost a much loved and valued member of our team.
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“Our hearts are broken and we have closed the restaurant today and tomorrow out of respect.
“We are supporting our staff and the family whilst awaiting news of further investigations.”
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