Five tractor thefts and dangerous driving: 37-year-old in court in Mels
A 37-year-old man is appearing before the regional court in Mels on charges of five tractor thefts, dangerous driving on the A3 motorway, and other offences. The public prosecutor's office is seeking three years' imprisonment.
Tractor thief in court: dangerous driving, police collision and "a lot of bloody nonsense"
A 37-year-old man appeared before the Werdenberg-Sarganserland regional court in Mels on Wednesday, charged with a series of tractor thefts and other serious offences. According to Google News CH — Crime (de), the 24-page indictment covers five tractor thefts, two attempted thefts, dangerous driving on the A3 motorway, and attempted serious assault.
The defendant has been held in pre-trial custody at Saxerriet prison for just over a year. In court, he was taciturn but remorseful: "I've done a lot of bloody nonsense," he said.
Always the same pattern
The offences took place mainly in the Sarganserland, Wartau and Linth region. The man visited agricultural premises and stole tractors — without much effort, because the keys were always readily accessible: in the ignition, on the sun visor, in the ashtray, on the dashboard, or in the cup holder. According to his own account, he had consumed substantial quantities of alcohol at the time of each drive, typically four to nine cans of beer, occasionally also wine. He has not held a driving licence for agricultural vehicles for a long time.
With the stolen vehicles, he usually drove to his place of residence. In doing so, he repeatedly caused damage: he knocked down fences, rammed house walls, and in late May 2025 drove a stolen tractor into a stream bed near Berschis.
Dangerous driving on the A3
The situation became particularly dangerous during a night in July 2025. The defendant drove a tractor stolen from Grabs onto the A3 motorway on Glarus cantonal territory, turned around, and drove as a wrong-way driver until the Glarnerland rest area. A police patrol noticed the unsafe driving and attempted to stop the driver. Instead of stopping, the tractor overtook the police vehicle. The officers in turn overtook the tractor and used increasingly urgent warning signals in accordance with procedure.
It was to no avail: the tractor — equipped with a front loader and trailer — rammed the police vehicle at approximately 40 kilometres per hour from behind, pushing it into open countryside. Both police officers suffered whiplash injuries and other injuries. The driver continued driving, collided with further obstacles, and finally spent the night in the open air — apparently conscious that he had done something serious.
Previously, in early May 2025, he had already driven as a wrong-way driver on the A3 near Niederurnen. The judge showed videos of this incident during the hearing. "Yes, I was lucky that nothing worse happened," the defendant acknowledged.
"I switched my brain off"
When questioned by the presiding judge, the defendant gave brief replies. He described his method as follows: he would walk around, drink, "get into a foul mood", switch his brain off — "then I didn't care about anything" — and then steal the tractors. It was like an addiction.
A psychiatric report found the man to have alcohol-dependent disorder and an immature personality disorder. The psychiatrist compared the 37-year-old's life to a "rather poorly equipped theatre stage" and described alcohol as "the fuel for the man's criminal problems". With the defendant, pressure seemed to be the only thing that worked; whether inpatient treatment offered long-term success was left open by the psychiatrist. What the man needed was "a very tight corset".
The offences were not limited to tractors. The indictment also lists cash thefts and the theft of bells and chimes together with straps — acts committed in the Sarganserland, Werdenberg and Linth region.
Defence argues for outpatient therapy
The court-appointed defence counsel called for acquittals on several points. With regard to the collision with the police vehicle, she saw no intention to injure the officers: her client had been startled by the police's "dangerous manoeuvre", which had cut off his path. She argued for outpatient therapy as part of detention at Saxerriet prison — the defendant felt comfortable there. This is not his first stay there. His life had been characterised by criminal activity over many years.
"I'm truly sorry for what I've done to you," the defendant said in his closing remarks.
Public prosecutor's office seeks three years' imprisonment
The public prosecutor's office is seeking a sentence of three years' imprisonment — less a suspended custodial sentence of 144 days, twelve days in pre-trial custody, and over a year of early custody already served. The court must now determine both the appropriate sentence and appropriate therapeutic measures. The offences are undisputed except for one theft. No verdict was delivered on the day of the hearing.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)