It was a scene like something out of a previous night’s thriller: first he piloted the taxi into a side street, then he grabbed the driver’s wallet and hit him in the ribs with his elbow when the driver refused to give up the money. It was only when the taxi driver switched on the alarm system that the young man fled without prey. Two days earlier he had also taken a taxi near his place of residence in the western district of Ebersberg and cheated the driver out of his money, who was then 18-year-old and ran away without paying. For fraud, attempted robbery and willful bodily harm, he now had to answer to the jury in Ebersberg.
The defendant largely admitted that he had cheated one taxi driver out of his wages and even wanted to rob the other. However, he could not remember exactly what happened. This is due to his somewhat excessive abuse of tranquilizers at the time. According to his own account, until a year ago, when the crimes occurred, he was taking up to eight tablets a day with drugs containing benzodiazepines.
Even if he could not remember afterwards, the accused seems to have acted reasonably well even when he was intoxicated. So he showed the first taxi driver, who had doubts about the solvency of his customer, a few banknotes to dispel his doubts. When he arrived at his destination, he got out and asked the driver to fire, when he turned away briefly, he fled – the damage amount was 29.70 euros. The address at which he was dropped off was nearby, but not directly where the defendant lived. He assumes that from the start he intended to run away without paying, the defendant said.
In the second incident two days later, he did not give the driver an exact address, but told him “only there on the right and there on the left,” as the injured party testified in court. At some point you stood in a dead end, where the defendant then reached for the wallet and hit the driver’s ribs. About two weeks later he was still in pain, the witness said, and since then he has often had a queasy feeling at work.
The witness described the defendant’s condition as unusually calm, he hardly spoke except for the navigation instructions. Another witness, whom the defendant apparently met on his escape after the failed attack, described his condition as “out of place” and apparently under drugs. The young man asked for money and told a story that he was attacked and robbed. In fact, he had noticeable injuries on his face at the time, which, according to the witness, looked a few days old.
The two taxi drivers also reported these injuries to the police as special characteristics of the accused. In addition, a policewoman quickly suspected that the person described by the witnesses was the now accused – she had already investigated the young man for shoplifting.
He has had serious drug problems for a good three years, said the young man. He has twice a criminal record for possession or trafficking, and once for theft. However, as the juvenile court assistance attested, he is now on the right track. He had moved from his alcoholic father to his mother, who apparently let him go less. He stopped taking sedatives, but not drinking. But he wanted to undergo therapy, the defendant assured and had already contacted the addiction counseling service. He also started training.
The court evaluated all of this in favor of the defendant, who also apologized to the injured party and reimbursed the fare plus compensation for pain and suffering. Judge Markus Nikol did not issue a judgment, whether that happens depends on how he behaves over the next two years. During this time he has to undergo addiction therapy and prove this to the court every three months: “We have put our trust in you, should you disappoint, there will be a juvenile sentence.”