Remorseful robber of petrol station gets away with community service
A man who committed a robbery at a petrol station in May 2023 and tried to rob a supermarket the same day has been given 240 hours of community service for it. Because the man turned himself in and has since got his life in better shape, he does not have to go to jail.
The man used a (toy) weapon that day and threatened to use it to get employees of the petrol station and a supermarket to give him money. He succeeded at the petrol station, but left the Albert Heijn XL empty-handed.
Later the same day, the man reported to the police. He confessed to the robbery and the attempted robbery and indicated that he had come to his actions to get help for his alcohol addiction, among other things. The reports by the injured parties and his own confession made it relatively easy for the judge to establish that the crimes were committed by the man in question.
Cell sentence or no cell sentence
The prosecutor demanded a two-year prison sentence against him, half of which was suspended. The man and his lawyer also believe that punishment should be imposed, but they do not think an unconditional prison sentence is a good idea. This is because the man has made positive developments in several areas, as a result of which he now has a job and a house. With a prison sentence, he would lose all that again.
The judge took into account that the man made a one-off mistake out of desperation. As a 49-year-old, he never came into contact with the justice system, confessed to his actions and cooperated fully with the investigation. He is now one-and-a-half years off the booze and those guiding and assisting him are convinced that he has really got his life together.
Additional motivation
Therefore, a 240-hour community service is imposed and the man does not have to go to jail, unless he does re-offend during his probation period. In that case, he will in fact still have to serve the suspended prison sentence imposed on him by the judge. “This suspended prison sentence may be an additional motivation for the accused to maintain the positive turn he has taken in his life and not to relapse into substance abuse,” said the judge, who also ruled that the man must pay two victims of his actions 1,000 euros in damages each.
