Judge called police

Shoplifter’s husband arrested at trial

Salzburg courthouse, seat of the regional court

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Two women had to explain themselves in the regional court on Thursday for the theft of 29 items of clothing from a fashion store in Salzburg. But the husband of the first defendant could not calm down. The result: a police operation outside the courtroom. 

While the accused Austrian woman (46) already had criminal experience and six entries in her criminal record, the other defendant (39), a Romanian woman living in this country and a university graduate, was sitting in front of the judge for the first time. Because they both took a total of 29 items for 3,200 euros from a clothing store in Salzburg on February 2, 2024. The prosecutor gives details: "They put the loot in the baby carriage." When two store detectives confronted the women, the 46-year-old reacted extremely violently: "She used violence against two detectives, hit them with her fist and ran over one detective's feet with the baby carriage." The first defendant is therefore accused of robbery and the second defendant of "only" simple theft. That was not all: the 46-year-old is also alleged to have stolen a baby carriage in Tyrol weeks earlier. "For the grandchildren," said the childless woman when asked.

Rabid husband arrested

But there was a scandal in the middle of the hearing: the 46-year-old's husband, who was following the trial, suddenly interrupted the judge and refused to calm down. When the judge ordered him out of the courtroom, he attacked the two detectives who were waiting to testify. He threatened both of them. The judge then called the police and minutes later the man was arrested in the corridors of the regional court. 

The case was then heard: Both made a confession. Both emphasized that they were sorry for the theft. The blameless woman paid a fine of 400 euros and the judge then dropped the criminal proceedings in her case. The 46-year-old was also given a "one-off chance" in the form of a 24-month suspended sentence. She only has to pay a fine of 140 euros for an old offense. "This is the very last shot across the bow," warned the judge: "If you do anything else now, you'll go to prison."