The 20-year-old Rakheem H. from Amsterdam was sentenced to three years in prison today for his role in a home robbery in Nieuw-Vennep, more than a year ago. That is slightly less than the requirement of 3 years and 4 months from the Public Prosecution Service.
Dressed in PostNL coats, H. and another man called at the address on the Vivaldisingel on 21 July 2021 around 10 p.m. As soon as the female resident opens the door, she is pushed to the floor.
Threatened by a large kitchen knife, the robbers demand a Rolex with a certificate of authenticity, which they apparently know is in the home. Once the woman has handed over the watch, they tie her hands behind her back with the cord of a hair dryer and continue to search for valuables.
They found a Nintendo Switch (game console) and a counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag, which they took with them just like the Rolex watch.
Transmission tower
Research has shown that the smartphone of the 20-year-old Amsterdammer connected to a transmission tower in Nieuw-Vennep when he called the girlfriend of a co-defendant shortly before the robbery. The court finds additional evidence in the fact that an account was created on the stolen game console less than 4.5 hours after the robbery at an address in Hoofddorp.
A week later, the Nintendo Switch was installed at an address in Amsterdam-North. When the police went there a few months later to confiscate the game computer, the resident phoned the co-defendant in the presence of the officers.
After that phone call – as it turned out later on – the co-defendant called again with the suspect convicted today, who after that conversation on the internet looked up how to delete an account on the Nintendo Switch and how many years in prison you can get for a house robbery.
Drillrap lyrics
The court found additional evidence in drillrap texts that were created on the suspect’s phone weeks after the robbery. In those texts, details of the robbery were mentioned, as the victim had reported to the police.
During an earlier hearing, H. denied that he had been involved in the robbery. “I would never do this to a woman in my life. I didn’t do this, I don’t know if you believe me and I don’t care. It makes me very happy to be able to say this to you,” he said. assaulted resident.
Relation
His lawyer today again pleaded for his client’s innocence, stating that two co-defendants committed the actual robbery. The court did not agree, because the victim had a relationship with one of those co-defendants and she should therefore have recognized him.
The court considers H. and the fellow robber(s) heavily that they specifically selected the house because they knew that valuable items were present there. That makes it even more intimidating for the resident. The woman previously said she felt ‘pity’ for the robbers.
Cameras and roller shutter
“The victim had to call in psychological help after the robbery, but is still afraid of the dark, is shocked by loud noises and has nightmares. After the robbery, the victim felt unsafe in her own home, while her own house was an excellent place to stay. is where people should feel safe. She felt compelled to secure her home with cameras and a roller shutter.”
The three suspects were arrested in November last year. The two co-defendants – including the victim’s ex-boyfriend – are in custody and will have to answer to the judge at a later time.