Styrian accused

Tools stolen: “Wanted to tinker with a moped!”

The sentence was lenient.

(Bild: APA/Barbara Gindl)

"We were tinkering with a moped and needed tools" - this is how two apprentices justified around 15 construction site break-ins south of Graz. They also put construction vehicles into operation and drove over pretty much everything. Now they have been sentenced. 

"With everything you stole, you must have been building a super moped," jokes Judge Raimund Frei in view of the youngsters' silly responsibility. Lock cylinders, padlocks, angle grinders, cordless impact drills, a welding machine, a fox tail, tool sets and much more were stolen. 

Car driver's keys stolen
However, only the welding machine was actually used. They used it to try to attach the exhaust to the moped. "But it doesn't run," explained the 16- and 17-year-olds. "Do you have a driving license?" the judge wants to know from the younger defendant. "No, I don't," explained the apprentice. Nevertheless, he drove a car whose driver the duo had stolen the keys from, two dumpers and a skid steer loader. 

Facades pelted with stolen eggs
In the process, the Styrian drove over seven site fences, a gas bottle, various municipal garbage bins, a garbage island, several boundary markers, a barrier, a wildlife protection fence and a sales stand. They also threw eggs at an elementary school, kindergarten and the facades of private houses, which they had stolen from a farm store. They toppled a road roller over an embankment.

Using a chainsaw from a construction site, they cut down two trees, ripped out installations and destroyed the surveillance cameras. "The offences are commercial aggravated theft by burglary, serious damage to property and unauthorized use of vehicles," the judge explained.

Mild sentence
Fortunately, the apprentices have already tried to make up for the over 20,000 euros in damage, which has a mitigating effect. "And the construction work on the moped was abandoned?" the judge wants to know. "Yes," they both nod in unison. The boys gratefully accept the sentence - six and seven months' probation respectively.