05 September 2023 , 12:57
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A British man held over the death of a doorman at former TOWIE star Elliot Wright’s Costa del Sol restaurant has reportedly been arrested again.
The 32-year-old was one of six Brits detained after dad-of-two Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo, 55, died in hospital on April 16 after sustaining serious injuries when he intervened in a fight at Elliott's cocktail bar and restaurant, Olivia’s La Cala, in Malaga. Although the man, who has not been officially named by police, is still a suspect in the manslaughter probe against Mr Pisani Pardo, he was released on bail at the time following an ongoing court probe led by an investigating magistrate.
His latest arrest comes after the Brit was allegedly found with a gun in his car at a police checkpoint. Prior to that he was also linked to the attempted murders of three Irishmen near the holiday resort of Marbella last September. Reports from Spain claim the September shooting was a ‘contract killing’. A 24-year-old man, described as a pal of a Dublin gang boss known as Mr Flashy, was shot in the leg but survived the attack. The two other men escaped unharmed.
Detectives have described the Brits as “extremely violent” and claimed they had relocated to the Costa del Sol to “settle scores and carry out the murders”. Weapons including a submachine gun and four pistols were reportedly seized in a police raid in February.
TOWIE star Elliott owns Olivia's La Cala bar and restaurant on the Costa del Sol (Beretta/Sims/REX/Shutterstock)
Doorman and Elliott's 'dear friend' Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo died there after breaking up a fight in April (Facebook)Following the man’s latest brush with the law, it is not immediately clear if he has now been sent to prison following a new court appearance or has been released on bail again. The probe into the other allegations against him are believed to be ongoing.
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Ex-The Only Way Is Essex star Elliott has run restaurants and bars in Spain for 20 years and had been pals with Venezuelan doorman Mr Pisani Pardo for a decade. Describing him as a “dear friend”, he said the entire team at his Olivia’s La Cala restaurant were “heartbroken” and “grieving a wonderful human being”.
In an emotional Instagram post, the 43-year-old said: “I am absolutely devastated at the loss of Jose – he was a dear friend and colleague... I had known Jose for over a decade – he has been a friendly face since I moved to Spain. Over time he became a great friend and colleague. This will take me a long time to get over, if ever. He was a really good guy.”
Just five months before he died, Mr Pisani Pardo – who was also a personal trainer and bodybuilder – had married Romina Acun in Las Vegas, who called him the “love of my life” in social media posts. She told Malaga newspaper Sur her husband had called her 30 minutes before the incident to say he was worried about a number of drunken customers in the restaurant that night. The pair had planned to move to the Canary Islands and start a family soon.
Unconfirmed reports claim Mr Pisani Pardo died after receiving a punch to the head as he tried to break up a fight which led to him hitting his head as he fell to the floor. His cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The bouncer’s death is the second tragedy to hit reality star Elliott’s business in two years after a mystery arson attack gutted his restaurant in the early hours of April 26, 2021. CCTV captured two masked men with jerrycans breaking in shortly before it went up in flames, but no one has ever been arrested.
The restaurant, which opened in August 2015, was forced to close and had to be completely rebuilt. Tragically, the devastating blaze occurred just five weeks after Elliott’s dad, Edward Wright, died at the age of 66 after contracting Coronavirus.