Red tape? What for?

Two weeks ago I was walking near my house with a couple of friends at around 3 in the morning. At that time there was no one on the streets and we immediately noticed a motorcycle that started following us. On it were two guys which shouted something like "suck my cock" at us. They then went around the block and again slowed down to look at us. Finally, on their third time around they rode the motorcycle onto the boardwalk and headed for me. My friends were walking on the sides of the boardwalk while I walked right through the middle. When they got onto the boardwalk the guys in the motorcycle tried to scare me pretending they would run me over. I guess they thought I would budge and leap out of the way....I didn't and they had to brake, almost crash and hit a pot in the process....I think that pissed them off. 

They immediately started swearing at me and threatened with beating me up. Even though one of my friends tried to reason with them, one of the guys took out a nightstick and started to move towards me. He was a bit surprised when I turned around carrying a wooden cane about four feet in size with a big brass ball on the end (I had thought it would be fun to go walking with such a fancy cane). At the same time, a car stopped right next to us and the occupant offered his help. The two guys from the motorcycle got scared and fled on Pozuelo's main street on the wrong lane. We phoned the police and, surprisingly enough, they stopped the motorcycle and identified the guys. 

Usually I complain bitterly about our police departments here in Spain. However, in this case it took thirty seconds to have a squad car at the scene and in less than five minutes they had identified the two people on the motorcycle. Of course, I pressed charges thinking that they would at least have to go to trial and go through the entire process, hopefully facing a conviction.

After filing the claim, we were told that the docket would take at least a month to get to court. Knowing that I wouldn't be in the country by then, I checked with a lawyer and went by the courtroom today to present a sworn affidavit and be excused from trial.

I was pleasantly surprised when the people at the courtroom kindly showed me to where I had to go. However, I was utterly disappointed when I got to the right place. At a desk, a kind woman with a warm smile informed me that the two guys were underage. As minors, the file had been sent to the DA responsible for those cases and thus had gone from a personal claim (since the police had not been present at the time of the threats, and since it is considered a minor offense rather than a felony, it was basically my word against their's which basically ensured a trial had to take place) to a DA case (meaning that it was now the district attorney who decided whether or not charges would be pressed). Because of that, she told me, it was best if I forgot the whole thing happened....as she put it: "after all, they didn't beat up did they? see? it's nothing serious"

You have to laugh if you don't want to burn down the courtroom, so I did. I had just been taught that it is legally acceptable to threaten people with weapons (p.s. the police impounded my cane because they considered it a 'dangerous weapon' and I will probably never recover it) as long as you stop when you're eighteen (then you can just plea temporary insanity ;) ). So basically I'm living five blocks away (I saw them again and know where they live) from two guys who decided they would beat me up since the didn't have anything else to do.

I must admit I was surprised by the fact that there was barely any red tape or paperwork in this process, but then again the outcome was less than favorable to say the least.