An 87-year-old woman from Waalre lost almost all her jewelry due to a chat trick. Almost, because before the thief managed to run out of the senior complex, the neighbor stopped the man. After a struggle, he threw the jewelry box away and the police arrested him. The court sentenced Herber B. (34) from Leeuwarden on Tuesday to 103 days in prison and 80 hours of community service. He was also given a 77-day suspended prison sentence.
The court particularly blames Herber for deliberately choosing an older woman to make money. He had come all the way from Leeuwarden on June 23 to rob the very elderly woman of her jewelry. He and his friend Mike (22) had received a list of names of older, vulnerable people from whom something could be obtained and one of the addresses was in Waalre.
Herber did not want to mention the names of his clients, but did say that he would receive 1,000 euros for it, together with his buddy. And so the two borrowed a car and drove south. On the way they called the old woman and said that they wanted to see her jewelry for insurance purposes to see if they were properly insured.
And the woman fell for it with her eyes open. She probably collected her jewelry and the ‘inspector’ could get to work straight away. But at a certain point the woman no longer trusted it. Herber jumped up, grabbed the jewelry and ran out the door.
The 87-year-old woman gave chase and called for help. Her neighbor, who was walking on the gallery, stopped Herber. A struggle ensued in which the older man was punched and his shirt tore. Finally, Herber threw away the jewelry box, jumped over the balcony and went to the car. There he was arrested by the police.
Herber’s boyfriend, Mike, hadn’t bothered to come to court in December. He was also given 103 days in jail and 77 days of probation. Because both men have already spent 103 days in pre-trial detention, they do not have to go back to jail.
Mike doesn’t get community service, like Herber. That’s because Herber fought with a neighbor and Mike did not. According to the court, the fact that Mike was not in the old woman’s home makes no difference to the sentence. Both receive the same prison sentence, because they planned and carried out the robbery together.