A 33-year-old man from As has been sentenced to 24 months in prison and fined €400 for burglary.
His 38-year-old accomplice, from Houthalen-Helchteren, received a 240-hour community service sentence, with a substitute sentence of 22 months in prison.
The pair broke into a bakery in Houthalen-Helchteren, Limburg Province, on New Year’s Eve, stealing a safe with €5,700. They also took a cash register containing €200, along with keys to an electric gate and a delivery van.
The cracked safe was found in a garage in Genk.
The garage owner noticed the safe, but did not know its origin. She suspected the man from As, who had stayed with her between Christmas and New Year.
Police footage showed two individuals entering the garage with a wheelbarrow covered with a cloth. During the investigation, both men admitted their involvement in the burglary.
The man from As had previously been sentenced to one year in prison for drunk driving. His accomplice was sentenced in 2014 to 3.5 years in prison for theft with violence.
The court found that neither had learned from their previous offences, but still sentenced the older man to community service.
