Perpetrator known, but...

Victim in despair: “Free pass” protects burglar

The tobacco shop container on Linz’s Industriezeile is the “Untouchable’s” favorite target for break-ins(Bild: Markus Schütz)

Eight consecutive break-ins at a tobacco shop in Linz. The perpetrator is known. But he is apparently legally untouchable—he has a “free pass.” The shop owner isn’t the only victim, but on her birthday today, she’s finally had enough. 

“He can’t be that stupid. Because he always stays in the camera’s blind spot”—Elke H., the Linz tobacco shop owner, was on the verge of despair on Saturday, the day before her 59th birthday. For the eighth time in six weeks, her store on Linz’s Industriezeile was broken into.

Not criminally responsible
Once again, it was the same perpetrator, and once again he remains at large, even though investigators already know who he is thanks to DNA matches. That’s because the Linz resident has a “free pass”—he is deemed not of sound mind and therefore not criminally responsible. He is also said to have broken into other company containers in the area.

At first, the boss thought it was a calculation error
“He’s not clumsy; for a while, we weren’t sure why there was always some change missing,” reports Elke H., explaining that at first they thought they had miscalculated the change in the cash drawer. It wasn’t until coffee capsules and a few cigarettes went missing one day—and they realized the roller shade had apparently been tampered with—that it became clear: Someone is breaking in here regularly.

This is where the burglar breaks in regularly(Bild: Markus Schütz)

“Even if the haul isn’t all that big, the whole thing is nerve-wracking—and the costs for the camera and repairing the property damage are adding up,” says Elke H., who fears she’ll be in for another nasty surprise on her birthday today.