It was an accident, a 39-year-old man from Assen said about setting his girlfriend’s scooter on fire. No accident, but arson, the prosecutor said. He demanded a prison sentence of 180 days, of which 69 days were conditional.
If the judge agrees, the Assen resident will be on the street immediately after the verdict. Perhaps he can end up in a shelter in Leeuwarden, although that is still uncertain. The suspect had been pulled over by his girlfriend, and that was also the reason he started tinkering with the scooter on November 21. He wanted to disconnect the pipes so that she could ‘not drive away’.
The man had a cigarette butt in his mouth, which fell into the gasoline. The scooter and a bicycle nearby caught fire as a result. A neighbor across the street saw it happen: “Are you setting that thing on fire?” he asked. The man from Assen was arrested shortly afterwards. He also stood trial on Thursday for threatening his girlfriend, whom he threatened to set fire to her home.
The public prosecutor calls it bad. The woman had to deal with arson in her home earlier in her life. The suspect knew this and started threatening to do so, the prosecutor said. It is not the first time that the Assen resident has come into contact with the law. He has a significant criminal record and has previously undergone a treatment program for repeat offenders.
According to his lawyer, there was no deliberate arson and therefore argued for acquittal. The judge will make a ruling on March 12.
