Andrea S. and Francesco D. were apparently professionals and knew exactly when it was worth taking action. According to the Munich public prosecutor’s office, the loot that car dealer Andrea S. and his alleged accomplice, a 29-year-old pizza baker, were after were luxury wristwatches, which they quickly snatched from the wrists of passers-by in broad daylight. The men, who come from Naples, were allegedly on the lookout for suspected victims in major European cities such as Cannes and Munich.
But the coup in the state capital, where Andrea S. is said to have stolen a Patek Philippe wristwatch worth 400,000 euros from an 82-year-old gallery owner on Theatinerstrasse at the beginning of August last year, went wrong. Since Tuesday, the car dealer and the pizza baker have been sitting in the dock of the 10th Criminal Division of the Munich I Regional Court.
It was around 3 p.m. on August 4, 2023, when the gallery owner was walking down Theatinerstrasse and 30-year-old Andrea S. suddenly grabbed hold of him. He ripped his valuable watch from his wrist, according to the prosecution’s indictment. About a hundred meters away, Francesco D. is said to have been waiting for S. on a scooter. The two fled. According to the investigation, in St. Anna Strasse in Lehel they changed getaway vehicles and got into a white Jeep Renegade. What followed was an escape from the police “that would do credit to any Fast & Furious film,” said presiding judge Nikolaus Lantz.
When the defendants were in the Jeep on Maximilianstrasse, their car caught the attention of a plainclothes patrol. The officers had already heard about the suspected watch robbery via radio. When Andrea S. noticed that the investigators were watching him from their vehicle, he is said to have suddenly stepped on the accelerator and sped off. The police vehicle began to pursue them with its blue lights and sirens on. It was the start of a wild chase through the center of Munich, in which four patrol cars were involved at the end.
According to the prosecution, several pedestrians and cyclists were forced to swerve to avoid being run over by the Jeep. A patrol car rammed the Jeep at full speed. At the end of Herrnstrasse, a dead end, S. even drove the Jeep down an eleven-step staircase back to the Altstadtring. The defendants then left the Jeep in Frauenstrasse, fled on foot, but were arrested shortly afterwards.
At the start of the trial, neither S. nor D. made any statements. Instead, their defense attorneys held a legal discussion with the chamber. If Andrea S. made a full confession and provided information about her alleged backers, the court promised her a prison sentence of between three and a half years and three years, eleven months. Francesco D. can expect a prison sentence of between three and three and a half years. The trial will continue.