Trial in Feldkirch

Convicted early retiree in court again

In the end, the early retiree got off with a comparatively lenient sentence.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

A police operation due to noise nuisance upset a 56-year-old man so much that he ended up in custody. The legal repercussions followed on Wednesday at Feldkirch Regional Court. 

When the officers arrived at the home address of the troublemaker at the beginning of May, a clarifying conversation between the law enforcement officers and the early retiree broke down at the front door. "You're a gypsy, a nigger!", the heavily intoxicated man initially insults one of the police officers. As the officers continue to try to verbally calm the insensible man down, he sics his dog on them and shouts: "Kill them, the cops!" However, the uniformed officers become masters of dog and owner - the man is arrested and placed in the holding cell.

Defendant confesses
There, the situation escalates again: in protest, the retiree tears up a blanket and stuffs it down the toilet. The man was then taken to the holding cell in Dornbirn. There he tries the same game, but without success. "I admit everything. I was drunk," the accused confessed at the beginning of the trial on Wednesday. And that even before the sentence was read out. "I had a bottle of vodka that evening, and there were also a few drinks in the pub," admits the early retiree. He had already apologized to the police officers personally in court before the trial.

In the case of the defendant, this is not the first time he has had an outburst of this kind. A year ago, the man had already been sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of three months for attacking and verbally abusing an elderly couple and the police officers who intervened. Which is why the judge asks the defendant: "Give me one reason why I should not revoke this suspended sentence." After some thought, the delinquent replies: "Honestly, I don't know now."

Suspended sentence
However, because the man fully confesses and agrees to renewed withdrawal therapy, the sentence is ultimately lenient: twelve months in prison, nine of which are suspended. He was also ordered to undergo therapy. The council refrains from revoking the old suspended sentence, but the probation period is extended to five years. The verdict is not yet final.