Bruges Criminal Court has sentenced a 45-year-old man from Blankenberge to 18 months in prison for two burglaries and a case of shoplifting. In one of the bug, Steve V. was found naked at a hotel.
The accused forced his way into the Avenue Boutique Hotel in Blankenberge on 13 July 2023.
According to the prosecution, V. remembered the code of an entrance door. However, during the burglary, the police were able to arrest him stark naked and under the influence of drugs.
During his arrest, the accused was found with a bottle opener, binoculars and sailing knives from the hotel’s storage room.
On 18 October, Steve V. was again guilty of burglary in Blankenberge. Together with a friend, the 45-year-old stole lighters, a watch, tweezers, some jumpers and a darts board.
Later that evening, they ran into the victim and police in the same building. Samera H. was carrying part of the loot, while V. was wearing a stolen jumper. During a search, the darts board was also found. Finally, five days later, V. captured another tube of day cream at Aldi in Blankenberge.
“Mr V. is an alley without end,” stated prosecutor Jochen van Aalst in his indictment. After all, the defendant already ran up several convictions. In those circumstances, 18 months of effective imprisonment was demanded. For his companion, the public prosecutor demanded seven months’ effective imprisonment in absentia.
Defence laywer Ellen Eneman explained that her client in the wrong environment. "It is actually an extremely distressing situation," she echoed. The defence urged for a more lenient punishment, but V. was sentenced, like H., to the requested effective prison term.
