Image: Wodicka
“I had debts. I had to pay them off, I was also threatened. I had no other option,” he now described his motives at the regional court. He did not name his accomplice, who was also armed with a machete and who has not yet been traced. The now 16-year-old was sentenced to two years, partially conditionally.
The robbery happened on February 25, 2023, just before the box office closed. Two perpetrators, masked with balaclavas, planted themselves in front of the two cash registers in the supermarket and demanded money from the female employees, threateningly holding machetes in their hands. “At first I thought it was fun,” said one of those affected to a panel of judges (chaired by Anna Marchart). But then she recognized the seriousness of the situation: “In the stress I forgot how to open the cash register.” The other cashier got “a shock”, as she reported to the court. When one of the robbers hit the cash register with a machete, she reflexively jumped up and ran away: “I was then in the storage room.”
No loot
The young perpetrators were left without any loot because a courageous customer called out to them that he had already called the police on his cell phone and that they were on their way. The robbers lost heart and ran out of the store. Outside, the then 15-year-old made what he saw as a fatal mistake: he got rid of an FFP2 mask that he was wearing under the balaclava and carelessly threw it on the ground. He was observed by a witness, the police seized the mask in the course of the survey and carried it out for molecular genetic testing.
The DNA traces led directly to the wanted robber, because the DNA profile of the then 15-year-old was already in the DNA database: He was sentenced for the first time in September 2021 at the age of 14 after he was killed with a folding knife had taken a few euros from passers-by. There was a six-month probation for the aggravated robbery. “A bit of an achievement at that age,” the current judge commented on the past life of the now 16-year-old, who was taken into custody after the DNA hit.
“Want to go straight”
“After I’ve seen what it’s like in jail, I want to go straight,” the accused admitted. After serving his sentence, he wants to start an apprenticeship “or look for a job”. When asked how he got the machete in the first place, he replied evasively: “I got it.” Defense attorney Wolfgang Haas described the failed robbery as an “insane act” and at the same time asked the court for a moderate punishment: “So that he has the opportunity to get back on track again.”
The court complied insofar as eight months of the two-year prison sentence were unconditionally pronounced. The 16-year-old was granted the rest under a three-year probationary period. The suspended previous sentence was not revoked, the probationary period of six months was extended to five years. In addition, the Senate ordered probation. The judgment is final.
Source: Nachrichten
