Five months after a machete-armed robbery against a 38-year-old man, the Hamburg Regional Court opened the trial on Monday against the two suspects believed to be behind the crime. Prosecutors say the 26-year-old lured the 38-year-old man to a meeting in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg via a dating app. In the hallway of a high-rise building, the two young men allegedly robbed their victim. They are charged with aggravated robbery with extortion.
Death threat with a machete
As the 38-year-old testified, he had traveled to meet the 26-year-old on the evening of June 25, expecting sexual activity. They greeted one another at the building and went up to the 13th floor. There, in the stairwell, the other defendant joined, brandished a machete in his face, and threatened to stab him. In that moment the victim surrendered his phone, a smartwatch, his car keys, and his bank card.
According to the charges, the 27-year-old held the victim at bay with the machete while the 26-year-old left the building to retrieve the victim’s wallet from the car. He then allegedly attempted to withdraw cash using the card’s PIN, but the effort was unsuccessful, according to prosecutors.
Because the perpetrators were not satisfied with the loot, one of them allegedly warned: “If you keep going like this, I’ll blow your lights out.” In a state of mortal fear, the victim later confessed that he had stashed several hundred euros under the driver’s seat of the car. The police later recovered the money and the men fled. The suspects were arrested three weeks after the robbery, and both have since confessed to the crime, according to the court.
Money allegedly stolen for a birthday gift
The 26-year-old’s defense attorney had a statement read aloud in court. In it, the defendant expressed remorse for what happened. He said he had earned money through services on the dating platform and had used a lot of marijuana. He also claimed that his co-defendant and former friend had tried to pin the blame on him, while the 26-year-old, at the time, was unemployed and planned to begin training as a security officer.
The 27-year-old, according to his attorney, would address the court at a later date. However, the presiding judge then read out a transcript from a remand hearing, in which the defendant stated that he needed money to buy his mother a coffee maker and cash for her birthday. He also said he owed money to a friend. At the time of the June 25 incident, he was on probation. He had started training as a bus driver but earned little money.
Victim suffers from panic attacks
The victim, a resident of Schleswig-Holstein, was employed at the time as a court official. During the assault he thought to himself, “If I don’t do this, I won’t get out alive.” The psychological aftermath forced him to change careers. He lost his new job at a car dealership during the probation period because he was unable to work for two weeks. Because of ongoing anxiety and panic attacks, he will soon begin psychological treatment.
Alleged homophobic motivation plays no role in court
Police had indicated after the suspects’ arrest that the crime appeared to be homophobic in motive. However, this factor did not affect the charges or the initial statements of the participants in the trial. (dpa)
