Series of coups

Burglar caught with a spade: 12 months in prison

A young criminal already has more than 40 burglaries to his name. A landlord caught him in his cellar. The sentence handed down in court was too lenient for all the victims: "This won't deter anyone from doing it again!"

Peter F. will not forget this night on Palm Sunday in a hurry. The father of the family, who was already in bed, heard suspicious noises coming from the cellar of his house in Pinkafeld. A few moments later, he was confronted by a burglar who wanted to steal expensive tools. "Armed" with a spade, the then 42-year-old landlord had forced the young intruder into a tool shed on his property and guarded him until the police arrived.

Over 40 burglaries and thefts
As the arrested man had two knives, gold jewelry and an expensive watch in his pocket, the investigators assumed that he was probably a serial offender. The detectives were proved right. After extensive investigations by specialists from the Oberwart branch of the Provincial Criminal Police Office, more than 40 further burglaries and thefts could be proven against the accused from Moldova. In some cases, the commercial criminal failed and it remained an attempt.

Bikes sold on the black market
His trail has stretched right across Lower Austria, Styria and Burgenland. Among other things, the enterprising burglar carried out coups at the Römersee campsite in Wiesen and in Forchtenstein. The accused had demonstrably been on the prowl in this country since May of last year.

In all three federal states, he had hidden stolen e-bikes and e-scooters of the high-priced category in forests in order to sell them on the black market only after enough time had passed since the theft.

Fuss about the verdict
Now the accused was on trial in Graz. The verdict caused astonishment among all the victims: "The serial offender has only served 12 months, 4.5 of which he has already served." The justification that the burglar was not yet 18 years old and had no professional qualifications met with little approval.

His parents had died and he had been on his own. The judge said that the 12 months would be followed by a 3-year probation period, and if she did anything during this time, she could get at least 5 years.