Caught in a coup

Landlord caught professional thief with a spade

The homeowner used a spade to keep the criminal at bay.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

A family man from Burgenland reacted courageously when he caught a criminal in his home on Sunday night. The perpetrator had already prepared the loot in the cellar for transportation. The owner of the house bravely forced him into a wooden hut and - "armed" with a spade - kept watch outside the door until the police arrived. The young Romanian was taken away in handcuffs. Whether the perpetrator had accomplices is being investigated. 

After a cozy Saturday evening with his wife and son, Peter F. had gone to bed at 11.50 pm. Before he could fall asleep, the father from Pinkafeld heard suspicious noises coming from the cellar. 

"I immediately checked my cell phone and checked the footage from my surveillance cameras," explains the 42-year-old: "When I noticed that our gate was open, I already had a bad premonition."

The thief was standing there with a beer in his hand
A look at the video images from the second camera promptly confirmed the fears. To the owner's horror, an intruder could be seen in the courtyard. Peter F. alerted the police. "Is anyone there?" the landlord then shouted into the cellar. When it remained quiet, he went to investigate without hesitation.

Outside, Peter F. carefully approached the cellar door, which was wide open, and suddenly the criminal came towards him on the stairs - in one hand a stolen can of beer, in the other a cell phone on which the perpetrator had sent a message, possibly to an accomplice.

The surveillance camera filmed the intruder.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Held at bay with a spade
"Without speaking a word of German, the stranger told me that he wanted to drink beer and sleep in the cellar," reports the completely surprised landlord. He bravely pushed the brazen criminal into a small wooden hut on the property and wouldn't let him leave. Peter F. kept the intruder at bay with a spade.

The police arrived shortly afterwards. "When they searched the suspect, the officers seized a large and a smaller knife. The young Romanian also had jewelry and a watch, which apparently came from another robbery, in his trouser pocket," says Peter F. In the basement of his house, the criminal had already prepared a circular saw, a cordless drill and other tools for removal. Arrest! The suspect was led away in handcuffs. 

The landlord forced the thief into this wooden hut.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Romanian was a professional
The investigation is just beginning. However, the perpetrator is likely to be a professional. The criminal had skillfully disabled a surveillance camera. He is unlikely to have discovered the others. It cannot be ruled out that the Romanian had at least one accomplice. Just last December, a neighboring house just a few meters away was broken into. Whether there is a connection is being investigated.