It cannot be overlooked that the accused is not in the best of health. Despite his walking stick, he finds it difficult to walk, and his hearing doesn’t seem to be that good anymore, “I’m a ruin,” the 79-year-old describes himself in court in Ebersberg.
He had to appear there because he had lodged an appeal against a penalty order. He got it for getting caught shoplifting. Because he also had a pocket knife in his pocket, the accusation was armed theft – costing 90 daily rates of 40 euros each. The stolen goods, a pack of batteries, would have cost two euros and 99 cents in the store.
Maybe it’s the diabetes, maybe the dementia, the defendant explains the incident
The defendant now claimed in court that he no longer knew that and why he stole the batteries. In addition to many other things, he also suffers from diabetes, when his blood sugar gets too low, “I don’t know where I am and what I’m doing – maybe it’s dementia.”
Considering the fact that the 79-year-old had stolen the batteries in a state of mental derangement, according to the store detective, he proceeded quite methodically. He reported to the police that the accused even took the batteries out of the packaging before putting them in his pocket. In addition, it was apparently not the first time that the 79-year-old had accessed a store, but another case had been discontinued.
Judge Vera Hörauf also had doubts about the defendant’s version. If he persisted in his story of the memory lapses and confusion, the whole thing would have to be scaled up: then the witnesses would be summoned, such as the detective and the police officers who had worked the case at the time. You would also need a medical expert to assess the accused.
Finally, there is free advice for the accused
Which, according to the judge, is still no guarantee of an acquittal. And then it could be significantly more expensive for the accused than the 3,600 euros imposed in the penalty order. The chairman suggested that the accused limit his objection to the legal consequences, i.e. the amount of the penalty. Since he does have a lot of expenses for medicines – which he was able to prove with prescriptions – the daily rate could be reduced to 25 euros.
“Every cent is too much for me,” said the accused, who appeared without a lawyer. After lengthy back and forth and at the persuasion of his wife, the accused agreed to the court’s offer and the reduction of the fine to 2250 euros. Finally, there was free advice from the chairperson: “Don’t go shopping alone in the future.”