Three suspects linked to the deadly shooting in Coevorden last summer appeared in court today. The case has not yet been substantively dealt with.
An argument broke out between several men at a café in the city center in July. 21-year-old Remmelt Wolters was hit by a bullet.
“That night is a combination of circumstances,” says the prosecutor. “It starts with an argument in which an 18-year-old young man is taken towards a car. He is pushed, beaten and threatened with the intention of putting him in a trunk.”
On the way to the car, more people get involved in the argument. Camera images show that Wolters is also walking with the group. “His role is unclear, but he does not play an active role.”
Shots are then fired in an alley near Kromme Elleboog and half an hour later five more shots are fired. Wolters is hit from a considerable distance by one of those bullets.
During the hearing, the public prosecutor said that the firearms used to shoot were found in Germany at the end of last week. These still have to be brought to the Netherlands to be examined.
One of the suspects stated that there was a fuss about setting up a cocaine trade, the judge said at the end of the hearing. According to the judge, that conflict has not yet been resolved.
On the night of July 18 to 19, emergency services found 21-year-old Remmelt Wolters from Emmen seriously injured on the Kromme Elleboog in Coevorden. He dies in hospital from his injuries. An 18-year-old suspect, the man who was kidnapped that night, was arrested that same night.
A 16-year-old boy from the municipality of Emmen and a now 24-year-old man from Schoonebeek were arrested a few days later. Those two are suspected of Wolters’ murder.
The two men are also suspected of attempted murder of three other men who were present that night and of prohibited possession of weapons. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes that they shot several times at the 18-year-old man, a 31-year-old man from Emmen and a 33-year-old man from Coevorden.
The case against the minor suspect was heard behind closed doors today. The court ruled that he will remain in custody for the foreseeable future. The case of the 24-year-old man from Schoonebeek was discussed publicly. He didn’t want to say much today. “Words fail me. I just don’t know. I never wanted this.”
“There is a case of emergency,” his lawyer Natanya Spijker said today. “Bryan D. tried to intervene to help his friend.” That’s the 18-year-old boy who was tried to kidnap. “Several attempts were made to get the boy back in one piece, but that was not possible. My client feared for his friend’s life.”
According to his counselor, friends are being called to help. “One of him puts a firearm in my client’s hands. Out of fear, he takes the gun with him, because the men who took his friend also had a gun. He hears his friend being told: ‘Undress and get in the trunk.’
He also thinks he hears a gun being put in the boy’s mouth. He shoots into the air to scare off the kidnappers. His friend who is with him does the same.”
“They never saw Remmelt and did not know that he was in that alley. In addition, my client did not shoot in a targeted manner, but in the air to deter.” According to the lawyer, the 21-year-old victim was not hit by a bullet from Bryan D.’s gun, but by a bullet from his friend’s gun.
She believes that her client, who is in pre-trial detention, should be released. The court did not agree with this. The court also decided this afternoon that the man must be examined at the Pieter Baan Center, despite the man himself refusing to do so.
33-year-old suspect Anel B. from Coevorden is suspected of kidnapping the 18-year-old young man. According to his lawyer Umut Ural, his client is not guilty of kidnapping and was actually trying to calm the argument. “He does not feel guilty about the kidnapping, otherwise he would not have voluntarily reported himself to the police.”
According to the lawyer, statements from the victim show that there was no question of a kidnapping. He would have volunteered. “Camera images show that he runs away and comes back himself. That does not indicate a kidnapping.”
Anel B. didn’t want to say anything today. He will also remain in custody for the time being. The court will investigate whether the man can be released with an ankle bracelet.
The 18-year-old young man who was kidnapped but also arrested as a suspect in this case has been free since the beginning of August. The investigation into him is still ongoing.
A fifth man, who is also said to be involved in the kidnapping, has also been released earlier. The Public Prosecution Service expects that he will also be prosecuted.