Final judgments

Gang of youths stole cars: prison sentence for main offender (18)

The group was found guilty of aggravated commercial burglary as part of a criminal organization.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

On Wednesday, four boys aged between 16 and 18 were sentenced at Vienna Provincial Court for stealing high-priced cars in Vienna and Lower Austria since last November. 

The main defendant, who already had two previous convictions, received two and a half years in prison. In addition, the 18-year-old's suspended sentence of three months was revoked. He accepted his sentence and the verdict is final.

The co-defendants received legally binding, partially suspended prison sentences of between 15 and 24 months, with one third of the sentences to be served unconditionally. The remainder was conditionally suspended for three years.

Victims receive compensation
The three young people, who had been in custody since the spring, were released after the trial and the victims were awarded compensation totaling 160,000 euros. The aim of the gang was to use the stolen cars for private journeys. The 18-year-old main defendant explained that he had only used the cars for driving and was a "car nut".

Drives shown on social media
The young people had deliberately stolen cars from sales platforms and parked them in parking garages with stolen number plates before using the vehicles themselves. The main defendant preferred an Audi S6, another liked to drive a Porsche 911 Carrera. They showcased their journeys on social media.

Car chase, roadblocks broken through
A chase with the police only ended for the main defendant after a risky escape in which he accelerated up to 255 km/h and broke through a roadblock. The judge took a mitigating view of their confessions, but emphasized that these were by no means harmless pranks. She advised them to only use the streetcar in future.