Dangerous “souvenir” causes a lot of trouble
Until now, hans A. (name changed) an absolutely blameless man. Since wednesday he has a criminal record.
The court sentenced him to six months' imprisonment with two years' probation for unlawful possession of a live weapon with 50 rounds of ammunition and a machine gun. A must also. Pay 1000 euro to the volksbund kriegsgraberfursorge. Here it had an effect that A. For four children must pay alimony.
Judgment immediately legally binding
The court, presided over by matthias gobhardt, followed the very balanced motion of prosecutor melanie roth. Defense attorney fritz kubik had considered a fine sufficient. The sentence at the lower limit of the punishment range became legally valid, because A. The sentence was immediately accepted.
"It sounds worse than it is", kubik had said to the prosecution. The worst accusation: A. Had as a "souvenir" took a machine gun barrel from the german army. This part is subject to the rigid law on weapons of war. Even illegal possession is considered a crime. Minimum penalty: one year in prison. He kept the machine gun barrel together with other machine parts. It must have looked chaotic there.
In addition, he had received a working fire machine gun from a buddy in exchange for an old tractor. This is also punishable by law, as it is a violation of the "normal" weapons law weapons law. For this there is at least six months in jail. The gun was lying dismantled at his home, but A shot at it. So that never. He is more of a technology fanatic than a weapons fanatic. Weak excuses: he had forgotten them and thought his wife had put them away.
Explosive dogs in action
The affair came to light when his "ex" reported him for bodily harm and mentioned the weapon (parts).
The police searched with a good 20 officers and two explosive dogs A.'S property: "i thought my mother was going to have a heart attack." The state criminal investigation office and the federal armed forces were called in, and charges were brought.
A. Was fully confessed. The taking of evidence turned into a lesson in weapons technology. A police officer assembled the MP ("there could be practically no ammunition in it"), but he could not disassemble it. A had to. Help. The harmless-looking machine gun made of tempered steel did not make a very dangerous impression. Judge gobhardt ("unfortunately, I am an undischarged") loved to be informed. Now the court knows what fields and zuge are, what a polygon run is. Then gobhardt stated: "you can't do anything with that thing as such." A. Countered: "yes, you can beat someone to death with it."
"Chain of unfortunate circumstances"
Prosecutor roth called the evidence "interesting, with shop talk and reminiscences" with a slightly satisanic undertone." But it is about the accusation of a crime. The accused law charges stated. In the case of the machine gun ("not dangerous in itself"), however, it was a minor case, but not in the case of the MP with ammunition. 20 years have A. Kept them unprotected. In addition, he had let the deadline for unpunished surrender of the weapons (parts) expire.
Defense lawyer kubik argued that if the marriage of A. It went well, said the "not here today". The machine gun barrel is "nothing without the entire weapon system". A. Did not know that he violated the war weapons control act. Even the possession of the MP was only a minor case. The "collector's piece" had been "dumped" in a closet. He spoke of a chain of unfortunate circumstances. A. Locked himself in his last word to.
