990 euros loot

Eight years in prison for robbery with toy gun

The trial against the tobacconist robber took place at the regional court in Ried im Innkreis

(Bild: Daniel Scharinger / picturedesk.com)

"Give me the money, quickly, then nothing will happen" - with a toy gun in his hand and a corona mask on his face, a 35-year-old robbed a tobacconist's in Altheim (Upper Austria) on 24 May. The defendant, who has six previous convictions, was sentenced to eight years' unconditional imprisonment on Tuesday at the trial in Ried im Innkreis, not legally binding.

A pathetic life in fast motion: the 35-year-old has six previous convictions. He was first convicted of robbery in 2009. Most recently, the notorious criminal was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in 2015 for an armed robbery at a bank in Linz. The Innviertel native was released from prison in April 2022. But just two years later, on May 24, 2024 to be precise, he relapsed and robbed a tobacconist's in Altheim wearing a mask and armed with a toy gun.

Heroin addiction as an excuse
At the trial, the defendant tried unsuccessfully to talk himself out of his heroin addiction, claiming that his dealer had left him high and dry on the day of the crime. It did not take long to reach a verdict: eight years unconditional imprisonment for the apparently incorrigible repeat offender. Neither the public prosecutor's office nor the accused made a statement, so the verdict is not yet final.