A major fire put an end to the Best thrift store in 2023. Other companies in the collective building on Industrieweg suffered significant damage. According to the judiciary, Eindhove resident Collin de V. (20) is responsible for this. The officer therefore demanded a six-month suspended prison sentence and 240 hours of community service against him on Friday.
It turned out to be a crazy evening on Sunday evening, May 21, 2023 in the thrift store. Due to circumstances, a friend of Collin lived in the store and Collin went to ‘chill’ with him for an evening. But it wasn’t very chill. Both young men set off quite a few fireworks in the store full of second-hand items. “That’s what everyone did there,” Collin said of the circumstances at the time. “There were also often fireworks.”
Collin sat quietly in court this Friday. He immediately admitted that they had set off fireworks and drank beer. Inside they set off small firecrackers and outside they set off heavy firecrackers. Strangely enough, only Collin was on trial on Friday and the case against his friend was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Justice thinks that only Collin is responsible for the fire. He set off firecrackers everywhere inside and also put them in discarded items, such as pans and glassware, causing the shards to fly through the air. Explosions can also be heard and large flames can be seen in videos on his phone. ‘Fucking mongool’ and other shouts can be heard.
Every right-thinking person understands that this can cause a fire, the public prosecutor ruled. But Collin himself insisted that he was innocent. “I always checked carefully whether everything went well,” said Collin. “I didn’t make a fire or light anything with that gas burner we used to set off the fireworks.”
Collin blames his friend and the same is true vice versa. But the prosecutor was sure of her case. “Collin set off fireworks between the benches in the store and smoldering remains ended up in various parts of the building,” she said, describing how she believes the fire started. “A bank doesn’t just catch fire and the two men were the only ones in there. And the fire started shortly after Collin set off firecrackers.”
Collin insisted it wasn’t him. “We had been upstairs for at least half an hour when suddenly there was smoke,” he said. “And then it was too late to put out the fire.”
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The officer also saw that Collin did not intend to set the entire building on fire. “But everyone knows that if you set off firecrackers in a building with furniture and fabrics, there is a good chance of a fire.”
She doesn’t want Collin to go to jail, because after a long, difficult period he finally has a good rhythm and work. A prison sentence would thwart that positive development, she believed. That is why she demanded that the six-month prison sentence be entirely conditional. Collin does need to undergo treatment, she believes. She also demanded 240 hours of community service.
Another small thing was the enormous damage caused by the fire. A neighbor was reimbursed 198,000 euros by insurance, but that did not cover all costs. He is still short 79,000 euros, he said, and he is now trying to recover that damage from Collin.
The verdict in this case is on January 13.
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