The Maastricht District Court ruled Thursday that 35-year-old notorious traffic sinner Jantje K. will be released Friday. However, he must still appear in court for, among other things, driving into police officers.

Friday formally ends K's pre-trial detention. The prosecution wanted him to be remanded then because the offenses of which he is suspected are serious and there is a high likelihood that he will re-offend.

Plea

According to the Maastricht court, however, he cannot be detained twice for the same offense. In doing so, the court follows the plea of K.'s lawyer Justin Luiten. "A repeated use of coercive measures is only possible according to case law if there are new facts or circumstances. And there are none," Luiten said.

Last Wednesday's hearing was the continuation of Dec. 7, 2018, when K. was unable to appear due to a power outage at the Sittard prison. In the meantime, due to a system error, the prosecution allowed the legal deadline for extending K.'s remand to expire. Therefore, he will be released on Friday.

Criminal file

K., who has lived in Kerkrade, has already spent about seven months in pre-trial detention. He also has a long criminal record with 26 pages of traffic offenses. His driver's license has long been taken away, but K. continues to get behind the wheel. According to Luiten, the likelihood of recidivism is not nearly as high because his client is under supervision and requires treatment.

Experts have diagnosed K. with a personality disorder and ADHD. They recommend that K. be placed under tbs. The road pirate does not like this because it would separate him from his partner and children. Luiten asked the court for a new investigation into K.'s personality and behavior, but this was rejected. However, the experts must come to the court to explain and defend their findings.

Dollemans Ride

Among other things, K. is suspected of a madman's drive, pursued by police, on September 15, 2017. This began on the Emmaberg in Valkenburg, where he ignored a stop sign and sped off. He rammed a police car containing two officers, who fired several shots in an attempt to force him to stop. In vain. Until Meerssen, K. drove on the hard shoulder along the A79 motorway, against traffic. Only in the Maastricht district of Nazareth could he be trapped.