"We are sorry"

“Criminal tourists” sentenced to prison for burglaries

The five defendants at Wels Regional Court

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Five men from Kosovo and North Macedonia appeared almost like "choirboys" before the judge at Wels Regional Court. They were accused of commercial aggravated theft, with a loot value of over 200,000 euros. The gang had targeted the cash dispensers in gambling establishments.

The five accused sat before the judge at Wels Regional Court on Wednesday with their heads hung low. The prosecutor's accusations are serious: from the beginning of September to the beginning of October last year, the men allegedly broke into branches offering betting and gambling services a total of five times and cracked the ATMs there. "Like criminal tourists, they only entered Germany for this purpose."

High loot value
They used brute force, including a battery spreader, and caused considerable damage to property. The value of the loot was also considerable: the accused stole over 200,000 euros. They were charged with aggravated burglary and sentenced to between six months and five years in prison.

The defendants were taciturn
In front of the court, they appeared to be both reformed and taciturn. All five did not want to comment on the accusations, merely saying almost in chorus that they were sorry and wanted to apologize. The five lawyers had little more to add.

Verdict not legally binding
After just under an hour, the judge and lay assessors were able to retire to deliberate, only to announce the following non-final judgment shortly afterwards: The first offender, who had two previous convictions, received 2.5 years, the second offender, who also had a previous conviction, 20 months. The other defendants had no previous convictions and were sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Damage claims recognized
The injured companies had joined in with claims for damages totalling around 225,000 euros, which were recognized. The confessions were seen as mitigating factors in the sentencing, while the previous convictions and the high level of damage were seen as aggravating factors.