Prison sentence for 18-year-old

Judge to robber: “You’re not taking this seriously!”

Crime scene: tobacconist's near Lieferinger Spitz in Salzburg.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

In mid-October, a young criminal (18) with seven previous convictions was the lookout for two 13-year-olds who robbed a tobacconist's in Salzburg. He confessed in court and blamed it on his drug problem. After clear words from the judge, he was sentenced to three years' unconditional imprisonment, not legally binding. 

This was the seventh time the 18-year-old Salzburg native had sat in a criminal courtroom, this time in front of two judges and three lay assessors. In the space of three years, the young criminal has accumulated a wealth of previous convictions, including aggravated robbery with the use of a gun. And the trial on Tuesday was again about a robbery: on October 10, he had met two 13-year-olds to rob the tobacconist's at Lieferinger Spitz in Salzburg. The minors were armed with masks and knives, the accused acted as lookout, explained the public prosecutor: "The 18-year-old encouraged the two and knew exactly what was going on." He had also broken into and stolen a bicycle weeks earlier.

Defendant blamed everything on drug addiction
And he also drove around in his grandfather's work vehicle without permission until he wrecked it in an accident - without having a driver's license. "He went off the rails," said defense lawyer Peter Macheiner and emphasized that the idea for the robbery came from the 13-year-olds - not from the accused. They had drug debts because one of the two minors had been caught with 100 grams of cannabis the day before. Addictive drugs were also a topic afterwards, as the defendant blamed everything on his drug addiction during his confession and wanted therapy instead of imprisonment - he also made absurdly high statements about his daily consumption.

The judge then lost her patience: "Do you think we believe every story you tell us? You already told us the same thing in 2023. You're not taking any of this seriously."

The non-final sentence: three years' unconditional imprisonment plus four more months from the last suspended sentence.