After local brawl

Brutal thug goes to prison again

The man from Oberland simply cannot control his aggression.

(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

Barely out of the harbor, a 22-year-old violent offender literally struck again in front of a restaurant in Feldkirch, injuring two young men, some of them seriously. On Thursday, he was presented with the bill for this in court. 

"One thing is clear. Not much grows where you hit. Every punch you throw hits home", said judge Philipp Plattner to the accused. In June, he got into an argument with two men outside a pub in Feldkirch and then took them down with just three punches.

One victim escaped with a concussion and a bruised cheekbone, the second had his nose broken by the brute. When the victim threatened to press charges, the heavily intoxicated thug replied: "Calm down - I'll give you 400 euros." Which is why the 22-year-old from Oberland not only has to answer for grievous bodily harm, but also for coercion.

"My client thought that the two gentlemen were just going to get a girl drunk," says defense lawyer Martin Brunner, describing the cause of the argument and citing the defendant's supposedly great sense of justice. It is doubtful whether the 22-year-old "philanthropist" was also driven by charity with his previous convictions: He already has eight entries to his name and was last released from prison a year ago.

Back to prison
If found guilty, he now faces the revocation of his conditional suspended sentence of 14 months. What the defense is trying to prevent for their client: "The defendant has had bad experiences in prison. He is now doing an apprenticeship to turn his life around."

Due to the multiple relevant previous convictions and the violent offender's rapid relapse, the judge imposes an unconditional prison sentence of two years. Although the judge refrains from revoking the sentence, he does extend the probation period to five years. He also awards the victims a total of 3,000 euros in partial compensation for pain and suffering.