Firework thrown from Graz window led police to drugs party – West Styrian man in court
Young people celebrated on 28 December in Graz-Straßgang and threw a firework out of a window. The police were called and discovered drugs – a West Styrian man had to answer for his actions before the district court Voitsberg.
Firework noise led police to drugs party in Graz
On 28 December, four young people – three young men and a girl – celebrated in a flat in the Graz district of Straßgang. According to the Kleine Zeitung, a firework thrown out of the window triggered the decisive police operation: a neighbour alerted the officers, who immediately noticed the smell of cannabis upon entering the flat.
"We smoked joints together," one of those involved, a young man from West Styria, later said before the district court Voitsberg. Following the incident, he was summoned to see the district physician, who imposed four units of psychosocial counselling as a health-related measure.
However, the defendant failed to complete the counselling appointments – which is why the competent district administrative authority filed criminal charges. In court, he explained his situation: he had not received an appointment because registration would have had to take place online, which he said was not possible for him. He currently has no income and is expecting a child in the near future.
The judge showed little leniency: "Having a child in these circumstances is a great responsibility. Even for someone who has their life under control, which does not apply to you," she told the defendant.
The young man insisted that he had not consumed any drugs since the incident and pointed to his efforts to find work. The judge nonetheless gave him one last chance: if he completes the four counselling units in the coming months and demonstrates this to the court, the proceedings will be definitively discontinued. "If not, we will see each other again, and then there will be a verdict," she emphasised.
Source: Kleine Zeitung