"We are dealing with a capital crime," said the chairwoman of the jury, Judge Michaela Sanin, regarding the prison sentence for the 22-year-old bank robber. She particularly emphasized the endangered bank employees who now have to deal with the consequences of the crime. Nevertheless, the defendant had been inconspicuous until now and had confessed comprehensively. The 22-year-old accepted the verdict, while prosecutor Maik Barsch did not comment.

Bank Robber Fled After Threatening with Fake Bomb

The attempted robbery occurred on November 8 in Villach. The dark-clad and masked man, then 21 years old, went straight to a service counter and handed the employee a note threatening that a bomb would explode in one minute if he did not receive money. He also lifted his sweater to show a black box with wires attached to his stomach. However, there was no cash in the service desk. The man then demanded that an ATM in the foyer be opened to get money.

When one of the employees told him that it would probably take five minutes, the defendant realized that he had miscalculated his timing and fled. High search pressure - including the release of surveillance camera images - eventually led to the man turning himself in to the police during the Christmas holidays. Defense attorney Hans Gradischnig pointed to the defendant's financial problems: The man, who had come to Carinthia with his family in 2015 and attended school here, had "squandered" 40,000 euros from his family, as the defense attorney put it. He rented a Lamborghini, threw wild parties, and bought expensive branded clothing. The sobering moment came when the money was gone, and the man decided to rob the bank.

Bank Robber Fled to Iraq and Back Again

Previously, he had not paid at two gas stations and was caught traveling with a friend's train ticket. Before the crime, the man had returned to Villach from Salzburg. "I didn't dare go to my parents because I was so ashamed. I spent the night before the robbery on the street," the man said. Remarkably, his behavior after the crime was noteworthy: Two days after the attempted robbery, he flew to Iraq, found a job there, and eventually returned to Carinthia in mid-December to settle his affairs - then he flew back to Iraq. However: "I saw the photos of myself, they were everywhere on social media. I couldn't sleep anymore. I decided to turn myself in." So he returned to Carinthia - and went straight into custody.

Employee Had Previously Been a Victim of Bank Robbery

On Tuesday, three bank employees were called as witnesses - including a woman who had already been a victim of a bank robbery three years earlier. "You become very alert after such an incident, so I immediately had a strange feeling when the defendant came into the bank," the woman said. The situation definitely seemed dangerous to her: "I didn't know what else might happen." Both the woman and her colleague, who came to her aid, were apologized to by the 22-year-old. He only became fully aware during the crime "what I was actually doing." His defense attorney also pointed this out: "My client is not the prototype of a robber, but a miserable figure who tried to get a taste of high society with his father's saved money." The crime was not planned long in advance. The fake bomb was actually made by the defendant himself: from a headphone cable and a laptop charger cable including a power adapter.

(APA/Red)

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