During a test drive last April, William (57) decided to take off with the camper from a rental company.
An act of desperation, William says four months later to the Utrecht police judge, where he is on trial for embezzlement. He no longer had a home, there was no one to help him and he didn’t want to be a burden. He did not see himself sleeping in the homeless shelter, but also not on the street, among the young guests, “after all, I am no longer the youngest”. William, in his own words, was driven by instability, panic and stress.
He wears jeans with legs that flare out at the bottom, his medium length hair is tied back in a ponytail. A month after he drove away in the camper, he was tracked down by the police in Den Dolder – the rental company had reported it. During a search, officers found a key to a Harley-Davidson. He had not returned it after a test drive either. After “crossing the line of theft” with the campervan, William says, he decided “hope” that a motorcycle “might as well do it.” “A mistake, of course.”
“Take the helmet and key with you”
Where William parked the camper and how he lived is not further asked or discussed. William especially wants to convey that he is sorry. “When I was arrested, I told everything honestly.”
“Not right away,” says the judge. “You came up with the story that you had borrowed the things. And then you went to consult with your lawyer and…”
“After the arrest I immediately said; take the helmet and key with you.”
So William decided to “follow the system” after all – he can’t say it often enough how hard he’s working to get his life back on track. He applied for homeless care and when he had a place to sleep again, he started looking for work, which he found within a week. Now he works four days a week at Decathlon. He helps everyone very well, the “pleasant people, the less pleasant people”.
“Are we going to talk about it,” says the judge, and she continues that he should not think too lightly about the facts.
William interrupts her again, because he already knows that. “Madam, I am aware of myself.” His lawyer, sitting to his right, puts his hand on his arm to silence him.
“I think the personal stress with the landlords has been bad, I have thought all those things through. I’m sorry, I apologize. But it was not a well-thought-out act that I wanted to steal a camper on a nice day.”
Eventually, after the thefts, William ended up in the homeless shelter. “I have my own room. Before that I spent six weeks in dormitories, a horrible period, I was bizarrely short of sleep. Because of all the stress I got heart problems and high blood pressure, while I’ve lived a healthy life all my life, I’ve always tried to have a good body, but now I’m in the shelter and it’s all off the charts. Things are not going well at all.”
The public prosecutor believes that William has abused good faith. The camper and motorcycle were both worth more than 10,000 euros, and it also took a lot of people a long time to track him down.
After “crossing the line of theft,” he decided “hope” that a motorcycle “might as well do it”
A Harley-Davidson is not a “necessity of life”, his lawyer also understands, “it is a bit more difficult to explain”. But it was dictated by how easy it was to steal the camper…
William: “It was more the anger against society.”
His lawyer: “Well, he says it himself.”
The judge agrees with the officer’s demand: William will receive 180 hours of community service, of which 80 will be suspended.
William gets up in some desperation. “See you soon,” he says warmly. “Or well, hopefully not see you later.”