A 49-year-old man has been sentenced to 3 months in prison for stealing almost 6,000 cans of Red Bull energy drink and an electric pallet truck. The public prosecutor demanded a partially conditional community service order of 240 hours. The sentence was too low, the judge ruled.
The distribution company in Peize experienced an increase in thefts in 2024 and cameras were therefore installed. As a result, the suspect was caught on September 30 when he stole an electric pallet truck.
The man was fired on October 2. There was great surprise within the company when the suspect reappeared on November 25.
Shortly afterwards, thousands of cans of energy drinks appeared to have disappeared. By reviewing the camera images, the reason for the suspect’s return became clear.
On that day, two full pallets were wheeled out by the suspect. The cans were loaded into a van there. Two unidentified men drove away in the bus.
The suspect was clearly recognizable on the screen. The man was interviewed by the police shortly afterwards, but he remained silent about this action.
Within the company the man was known as a cheerful and friendly colleague. He misused the code he still knew to control the pallet truck. He has seriously damaged trust, the judge said.
He also blamed the absent suspect heavily for asking an employee to prepare cans of energy drinks shortly before the theft in November. The former colleague didn’t burn his finger on that.
The suspect then asked him not to say a word about it. The theft was an act of revenge because he had been fired, the suspect allegedly told him.
The thefts did not happen on impulse, the judge said. “These have been planned, thought out and others have been called in.” Moreover, the man has a significant criminal record to his name.
According to the company in Peize, the damage is 11,600 euros. The suspect must pay almost 5,300 euros (the value of the stolen cans of Red Bull). The rest is insufficiently substantiated and rejected.