Caught in the courtyard

Landlord catches offering box thief again

The perpetrator again attempted to loot the offering box at the church in Hof bei Salzburg(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

A landlord from Hof has caught an alleged victim box thief from Romania. After a chase and police check, it turned out that the exact same perpetrator had already been caught doing the same thing in 2017 by the same landlord.

A 33-year-old Romanian is accused of stealing money from the offering box of the church in Hof yesterday, Tuesday, in the morning. The man was observed leaving the church by a local landlord who became suspicious, called the police and at the same time pursued the fleeing suspect. The Romanian was eventually able to barricade himself in the visitors' toilet of the retirement home.

Perpetrator already caught once by the landlord
He only left after the police had arrived. During a personal search, several folded banknotes and coins with a total value of just over 130 euros were seized. Items that the man could have used to "fish" from the offering box were probably destroyed by flushing them down the toilet several times.

The accused refused to make a statement and will be charged with theft. He is not unknown to the police, as he had already been caught stealing from the offering box by the landlord in the same church in 2017.