Trial in Innsbruck

Young clique was on a big burglary spree

The defendants wanted to obtain money through burglaries (symbolic image).

(Bild: APA/HERBERT PFARRHOFER, Symbolbild)

Six young adults - including one woman - stood before the provincial court in Innsbruck. Masked and once armed with a BB gun, they went on several burglary sprees.

The six accused went on a real burglary spree, mainly in Innsbruck and the Innsbruck-Land district. Their target: mainly offices and workshops in this region.

Money problems and drug procurement as motive
"The background and trigger were my money and drug problems," said the first defendant before Judge Theresa Posch and the jury. After burglaries in said buildings and places where "you are guaranteed not to meet anyone", a residential building was targeted. "But we got scared," said the first defendant, who had previously been the only one in custody.

But then I realized what it would do to people if we actually encountered someone.

Der Erstangeklagte

Ultimately scared off after all?
The other people involved also emphasized that they had "withdrawn" from the attempted crime and that the charge of attempted aggravated robbery therefore did not apply. However, the approach was quite martial: wearing balaclavas and armed with an air pistol, they made their way to the Oberland.

Precise division of tasks
"But then I realized what it would do to people if we actually encountered someone," said the suspected mastermind. He therefore "only pretended" to break down the door in front of the others and then announced that the door "could not be opened". The range of "functions" of the other defendants turned out to be extremely broad and ranged from "standing lookout" to providing information to direct participation.

In the end, there were four final convictions (three twelve-month conditional sentences, plus fines). The accused woman got off with a fine of 3600 euros.