The men allegedly responsible for an armed robbery of Avondwinkel Beek last August were identified by a police informant.
This informant thus immediately forms the linchpin of the case. His statements count as evidence for the prosecution, while the defense argues that his story simply cannot be used.
Years in jail
In court last week, the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) demanded four years in prison against the oldest suspect, a 51-year-old Sittarden man. His companion, a 32-year-old man from Geleen, should serve three years in prison. The difference between those demands is partly due to the find that police made in the fifty-year-old's home; 900 grams of amphetamine in the freezer compartment of his refrigerator, a spring-loaded weapon in a vase and a firearm in the hood.
Informant
The duo came into the police picture through an anonymous tipster. Store owner Haroen Jalili was also tipped off about the identity of one of the perpetrators. "It is someone who often comes to the coffee shop in Geleen and through that way his name came back to me," he told 1Limburg earlier.
No evidence
According to attorneys Sjoerd van Berge Henegouwen and Sjanneke de Crom, there is no evidence that their clients were involved in the robbery. "They rely entirely on information from the informant, an anonymous tipster, while that does not count as evidence. Not if the defense doesn't get a chance to ask this person questions. We did ask the prosecution for that, in vain," said Van Berge Henegouwen.
Exoneration
De Crom, attorney for the Geleen suspect, confirms that reading. "And in that case, in my view, no evidence remains. I really don't see how one would reach a conviction here. Normally I still like to suggest an alternative or lower sentence, but even I didn't do that this time. They got nothing." Both lawyers argued for acquittal.
Aggravating factor
Justice does consider it proven that both men committed the robbery, according to a spokesman. "And in the process, a weapon was used and the counter was hit with a hammer. This also happened at night, when a shopkeeper is at his most vulnerable. That's an aggravating factor."
The judge will rule next week.
