The 31-year-old Hannes W. from Hoogeveen has to go to jail for four years for attempted manslaughter on his 37-year-old cousin. W. shot from his balcony of the flat on the Bilderdijklaan at his cousin Dennis de W., who got out of his van in the parking lot.
The judge finds insufficient evidence that the 37-year-old cousin shot back from the parking lot. The man was acquitted of attempted murder. A month ago, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands five years in prison against W. and three years in prison, of which six months are conditional, against De W.
The shooting incident in August of last year was preceded by a lingering family conflict. After a grim app conversation between the cousins, De W. approached his younger cousin. Even before he entered the flat, he was shot at. According to the judge, it is possible to extract from the evidence that the shooting was only done from above.
This explains the shell casings found in the gallery and at the bottom of the flat. The shooting incident happened around 3 a.m. The apartment dwellers were startled by the noise. Many made a video of this scene. According to the judge, those videos also show that only the gallery was shot.
There were bullet impacts in the roof of the De W van. Shortly after the incident, agents saw that a side window of the car had been broken and the car was strewn with glass shards. Only one witness saw De W. walking with a rifle, but according to the judge, he had a poor view of the parking lot. In the videos, De W. had no gun in his hands.
Bullet impacts were found in the facade of the flat, but they could also have been caused at a different time. The judge regrets that the police investigation has got off to a bad start. Insufficient trace research has been done, such as the investigation of gunshot residue on the hands of the suspects.
The place where it happened (crime scene) was not examined for traces until later, but many traces had already been lost by then. According to the OM, W. was supplied with the weapon by 23-year-old Lambert B. from Hoogeveen. There was also too little evidence of this and the man was acquitted of complicity in attempted murder.
The 23-year-old was convicted of possessing prohibited weapons, which were found in his home, and of vandalism. The judge sentenced him to six months in prison, while the Public Prosecution Service had demanded 38 months in prison, of which 8 months were conditional. Only Hannes W. is still in custody. The other suspects have since been released.
Hannes W.’s sentence was lower, because the judge found fewer criminal offenses proven. W. was also acquitted of throwing fireworks in a letterbox of a home.