Last March, a 15-year-old boy from Marum was so scared by three young Groningen residents that he jumped out of a moving car near Meerstad. This was preceded by an argument about ‘a girl’.
According to 15-year-old Marumer, the three boys from Groningen threatened to cut off his toes and fingers and kill him in Germany because he was hooking up with an ex-girlfriend of one of the attackers. They demanded money and access to the underage target’s smartphone.
He was allegedly beaten in the backseat of a moving car and one of the men allegedly put a knife to his throat.
In an unguarded moment, when his phone was searched by a 22-year-old from Groningen, he seized his chance to escape. At Meerstad he opened the door and jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving. The people of Groningen were unable to catch him, because he managed to flag down a passing motorist who came to his aid. He called 112 with his phone ‘battered and shaking like a straw.’
22-year-old Groningen resident still on the run
The 22-year-old Groningen man is still on the run, but after the incident the 18-year-old driver and his co-driver (23) were arrested. They decided to remain silent or accuse the victim of lying. Until they appeared in court on Tuesday morning. According to the two suspected Stadjers, the argument between the victim and the fugitive man in the backseat ignited before they even realized it.
“The fact that he says that I threatened me with knives or guns, I don’t know from which ‘box’ he got that,” the 23-year-old told the court. “He can lie very well.” But he was unable to explain the fact that a conversation was found in his phone in which he wrote that he had done “something stupid”, referring to the car trip that got out of hand.
The 18-year-old suspect largely denies all involvement. He does express regret that he had become involved with ‘certain people’ prior to the incident in the car. He seemed to insinuate that the blame lay with the 22-year-old man who has still not been found by the police and the judiciary.
‘They scared him to death’
The story of the Public Prosecution Service is diametrically opposed to this. “These men left a 15-year-old boy terrified,” the prosecutor said. “His mother is happy that he was still there shortly after the incident. But that is not due to the suspects.” According to him, there was a case of kidnapping and extortion, which ended due to the “heroic action of the victim.”
However, he did not think that both men should return to prison, given their young ages. He did demand a conditional prison sentence of almost six months and 150 hours of community service against the 23-year-old.
For the boy of 18 years old, juvenile criminal law should apply as far as he is concerned, which means that the punishment requirements will be lower. He is sentenced to 60 hours of community service and 50 days of suspended prison time. The gentlemen do not have to serve these prison sentences if, among other things, they undergo treatment within the next 2 years and do not contact each other or the victim.
Their lawyers see little evidence of deliberate kidnapping and extortion, because according to them there was no premeditated plan. They ask for an acquittal. The court will make its ruling on November 21.