Financial hardship

Lenient sentence for petrol station robber

He acted out of financial need, says the accused.(Bild: Chantall Dorn)

In July, the accused robbed a petrol station in Hörbranz. Now he was on trial in Feldkirch. 

When the presiding judge of the jury senate announced the sentence, the accused burst into tears. Two years in prison, 16 months of which were suspended, was the verdict. But the young man is still very lucky. According to the law, he could have faced a prison sentence of 15 years for the crime of armed robbery. In the case of the perpetrator, however, this is an exceptional case. "You were previously blameless, made a comprehensive and remorseful confession, made partial restitution for the damage and were of reduced sanity," said judge Sabrina Tagwercher, explaining the verdict.

Tragic figure 
It became clear during the trial that the accused was a tragic figure. "It was a short-circuited act", says the slaggy young man during his interrogation. "I did it because my family was in financial difficulties and my grandmother didn't know how to pay a medical bill of 180 euros." Wearing a hooded jacket, balaclava and gloves, the accused drove his father's e-scooter to the petrol station in Hörbranz on the evening of July 10.

In the sales room, he threatens the two employees with a blank-firing pistol and shouts: "Money here!" The victims don't hesitate for long and put the cash amounting to around 2,800 euros in a plastic bag, which the robber holds out to them. The man flees. But one of the victims chases him in his car. Shortly afterwards, the perpetrator is arrested by the police in an apartment building and the loot is seized.