“Very, very shocking,” said the judge about the heavy violence used by two teenagers in, among other things, a home robbery in Vlaardingen and a shooting incident at the summer fair in Assen. A 15-year-old boy from Assen was sentenced to one year of juvenile detention and TBS. A 17-year-old Assenaar is punished with two years of juvenile detention.
The maximum juvenile sentence applies to both. For a child under the age of 16 this is one year in prison and above that it is two years of juvenile detention. The 15-year-old was only 14 years old when he participated in a home robbery in Vlaardingen in July of last year. The robbers proceeded violently. The two residents, a man and a pregnant woman, were gagged and terrified. The group stole expensive bags, watches and money.
Not only was the loot huge, but their cheerful chatter on the way back in the car disturbed the judge in particular. “They made fun of the fear of the victims,” said the judge. The boy denied, but there was sufficient evidence from the CCTV footage, telephone records and the tapped conversations.
Five days before this event, the teenager, together with the 17-year-old co-perpetrator (then still 16 years old), robbed a house in Assen. The resident had a gun shoved in his mouth.
An attempt was made to loot .5000 euros, but that failed. According to the judge, this was also ‘brutal violence’. Last year, during the summer fair, the oldest teenager shot an 18-year-old boy from Beilen up close in the stomach. This could have ended fatally, the judge said and finds attempted manslaughter proven. Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service demanded two years of juvenile detention, of which eight months were suspended. The judge finds the case so serious that the boy should be given the full spanking.
Moreover, based on the reports, the judge sees no point in a treatment process. Both boys have also been convicted of illegal possession of weapons. The youngest had a quantity of soft drugs with him. The youngest has to pay a damage amount of more than 48,000 euros. For the oldest, that amount has been set at almost 6,700 euros.