A 23-year-old man from Assen should serve a seven-year prison sentence for his role in the violent home invasion in Vlaardingen last July, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM). During that home invasion, the residents were abused, tied up, threatened and taken hostage.
The man from Assen is also accused of three home burglaries in Sleen, Gieten and Hoogeveen. This also happened last year in July, when the residents were not at home.
Several men were tried in the case, all of whom allegedly had something to do with the home invasion in Vlaardingen. According to the Public Prosecution Service, a 31-year-old man from Groningen is also guilty of serious home robberies in Vlaardingen and Assen in 2022. The Public Prosecution Service believes that a prison sentence of 9 years for this, plus TBS with compulsory treatment, is appropriate.
A 36-year-old man from Den Helder has been sentenced to six years in prison for the home invasion in Vlaardingen and a burglary in Gieten. According to the public prosecutor, the home invasion in Vlaardingen was tipped off by a 25-year-old Rotterdam resident. He whispered to the other suspects what could be obtained in Vlaardingen.
The Rotterdammer was known to the couple from Vlaardingen. He was actually a guest at their wedding. The woman was seven months pregnant when the robbers entered the home. Her husband was taken to the floor and she had to lie on the couch with a blanket over her head.
She was terrified, the woman said at the hearing. She exercised her right to speak as a victim. She thought her unborn child would not survive. She was shocked about her alleged boyfriend from Rotterdam. “We had every confidence in him. And what does he do? He opens our door wide to criminals,” the woman said.
The Rotterdam resident was not physically present during the home invasion. But the Public Prosecution Service does find him complicit. This should result in a four-year prison sentence for the Rotterdam resident, one year of which is conditional. The case came to light through another investigation in 2021, in which the 23-year-old Assenaar was involved.
The man was bugged and a beacon (a tracking system) was placed under his car. The officers were treated to hundreds of hours of audio clips. “This gave a disturbing picture of how the suspects operated,” the prosecutor said. You could hear how crimes were planned, committed and discussed.
The home invasion in Vlaardingen was also reported. There was laughter about the victims’ fears and the woman’s screams. A 14-year-old boy from Assen was also in the car as an accomplice. Last summer, the minor was sentenced to one year of youth detention and youth TBS for this home invasion, among other things.
In addition to the tapped conversations and the routes driven by the car of the 23-year-old from Assen, there is sufficient other evidence, according to the Public Prosecution Service. Including from the telephone records of the suspects and searches of various homes. Captured material from Vlaardingen was found in the then home in Gasselternijveen of the twentysomething from Assen.
For example, there was a bank card belonging to the declarants in the wheelie bin. The voices of the suspects were also all recognized by police officers. According to the public prosecutor, the suspects acted with sophistication and prepared their act extensively by collecting information about their target.
The suspect in Groningen called the accuser ‘a danger to society’. According to the Public Prosecution Service, he was involved in two similarly gruesome home robberies. Experts noted personality disorders in men, which are exacerbated by cannabis use. He is found to be less accountable.
The court will make its ruling on January 29.