At the Linz regional court, a pair of Romanian brothers stood before the jury. They are accused of using brute force to clear out two jewelry stores in Linz and Salzburg. Loot included luxury watches and jewelry worth a total of around one million euros. However, the trial ended with an adjournment.
A pair of brothers from Romania (42 and 48 years old) are said to have stolen watches and jewelry worth over one million euros in two burglaries at jewelry stores in Linz and Salzburg. To get into the shops, the defendants took brutal action: They mounted wooden stakes on the trunk of their cars and rammed them into the entrance doors while reversing. Within a few minutes, the perpetrators emptied display cases and fled in the cars – which had stolen license plates mounted on them. Trial in Linz On Wednesday, the brothers stood in front of the jury in Linz. They are accused of serious commercial burglary as part of a criminal organization and license plate theft, with a penalty range of one to ten years in prison. However, the trial day at the Linz regional court ended after just under 1.5 hours with an adjournment to January 2024. The second defendant insisted on formal extradition proceedings, so the hearing could not take place. Partially pleaded guilty The main defendant pleaded guilty to the burglary in Linz in October 2017, but not to the one in February 2020 in Salzburg. Here his legal representative announced new evidence. These are intended to prove that his client was not in Austria at the time of the crime, but was on vacation in the Dominican Republic. The brothers will remain in custody in the Linz and Salzburg prisons until the trial continues – this is intended to prevent any possible collusion.
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