Penalty twice as high

ATM burglar faces “jackpot” at trial

The ATM blasts are usually committed by a Dutch migrant gang (symbolic image)

(Bild: Hessisches Landeskriminalamt)

A young Turkish ATM burglar from Amsterdam, who was caught on December 24 after a coup in Aigen-Schlägl, is facing up to ten years in prison. On August 5, the accused will stand trial in Linz.

"And it went boom. Just one day after an ATM was blown up at the Sparkasse Reichenthal/M. bank, there was another attack on Thursday night - this time at the Raiffeisenbank in Aigen-Schlägl," was reported on krone.at on December 14. A Dutchman of Turkish origin (22) had raced across the border to the Czech Republic with two accomplices after the ATM had been blown up. However, this time police officers from the Cobra special unit were hot on their heels. They had positioned themselves near the border because they suspected that the perpetrators would quickly strike again after the fourth coup in the Mühlviertel region since August. South of Lake Vltava in the village of Prední Výton, they managed to ram the getaway vehicle and arrest the perpetrator, who was injured. His accomplices were able to flee on foot in the dark. 

He faces up to ten years behind bars twice
The professional crook will stand trial in Linz on August 5. Not only for aggravated burglary (§128), but also for an offense that also carries a sentence of one to ten years, namely "intentional endangerment by explosives" (§89). This legal "double jackpot" means that the criminal is likely to face a higher sentence than usual, as two offenses with such high penalties are not exactly a reason for mitigation.

Serious damage to the building
But how did this charge come about? In the ATM blast in Reichenthal, the building in which the ATM was located is said to have been so badly damaged by the blast that the occupants' lives were in danger.