Prague burglar jailed 25 months for breaking into 20 establishments with livestock pistol
A forty-year-old man from Prague broke into twenty shops and restaurants in Prague 4 using a livestock pistol. The court sentenced him to 25 months in prison.
Livestock pistol as burglary tool: Prague repeat offender ransacked twenty establishments
A forty-year-old man from Prague broke into shops and restaurants in Prague 4 with the help of a livestock pistol — a weapon intended for slaughtering cattle. As reported by Novinky.cz, he caused damage exceeding a quarter of a million crowns before being apprehended by municipal police officers.
Operators of the emergency line received the first report of a break-in on 1 August last year. It concerned an establishment in Prague 4; further cases in the same district followed progressively. The targets were primarily food and tobacco shops, restaurants, and also a hair salon.
"Because during each break-in he always damaged the doors in a highly unusual way using a weapon intended for slaughtering cattle, there was no doubt from the outset that it was the work of one and the same offender," said Prague police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová in a press statement.
The burglar wore a mask with an illuminated headlamp. After damaging the entrance doors, he always headed straight for the cash register, where he took all available cash. Occasionally he also took cigarettes. "In some cases he stayed in the establishment for only a very short time, while in others he went through the back areas very thoroughly," Kropáčová added.
Shortly after the last break-in, Prague municipal police officers apprehended the man. He confessed to his actions and subsequently described the individual offences. Detectives from the 4th department of the District Police Headquarters Prague IV proved he had broken into twenty establishments.
The judge sentenced him to 25 months imprisonment without suspension for the criminal offence of theft by burglary. The man defended himself by claiming he committed the thefts to provide for his family and pay off debts.
Source: Novinky.cz