The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has demanded a six-year prison sentence against a 46-year-old man from Coevorden. According to the OM, during New Year’s Eve this year, he shot a firearm several times in his hometown after a fight.
A boy from then 16 was found in the neighborhood with a shot wound on his leg. The Coevordernaar would also have threatened someone with a gun against his head.
The 26-year-old suspicious denies everything. He explains that he was visiting his sister that night to wish people a happy New Year in Jozef Israëlsstraat. There was a party tent outside. According to him, his son got into a fight with someone on the spot and he stood in between. Then the suspect he got blows from the attacker of his son and his brother. He would have fallen to the ground after the abuse and ran away.
The police initially came to a report that night about a car that was on fire in the Jozef Israëlsstraat at the intersection with the Rubensstraat, where there were several people to watch. After that, reports were also received about a shooting.
Near the fire truck, the police found a then 16-year-old boy who had a shot wound in his right lower leg, according to the public prosecutor, the Coevordenaar was guilty of this.
According to the brothers, the suspect would have drawn a gun and put it against the head of one of them. Then, according to them, he tried to shoot at the other brother. He has been so scared that he pulled the suspect’s son for him. While he ran away, he stated that a bullet went past his leg. According to him, the suspect has shot several times.
“I wake up every night,” said one of the brothers in a victim statement. “I felt powerless. A kid has been hit. This man cannot be stopped.”
The judge said there are more people afraid of the Coevordenaar. Not everyone wanted to explain about the events. One of the witnesses, however, stated that a person shot recklessly around him several times. Only sleeves and bang patterns were found on the spot, but they have no relationship with the injury of the 16-year-old boy.
The suspect could be found for the police for eleven days before he finally reported to the police station in Assen. He is an acquaintance of justice and has a large criminal record. For example, he was already sentenced to twenty months in prison for extortion in 2023, against which he appealed. This case is still running.
According to the OM, several statements show that the suspect had a weapon. The brothers also generally declare the public prosecutor. “They are really afraid of him and have out of death. Why would they lie?” He spoke of “extremely serious facts”. Anyone who shoots with bystanders with bystanders in such a situation takes the risk of touching people’s vital body parts, the officer said. He demands six years in prison for threat and twice attempted manslaughter.
The suspect’s lawyer stated that the statements of the brothers and other witnesses are incorrect or contradictory. He also brought forward that no bullets were found on the crime scene, only one in the leg of the 16-year-old boy. He argued for acquittal.
The court in Assen will rule on August 19.