Two men on trial in Berlin over 37 alleged burglaries in city's south
Loot and damage topping 425,000 euros: two alleged members of a burglary gang have gone on trial in Berlin. A plea agreement is possible.
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Two men aged 58 and 41 have gone on trial in Berlin as alleged members of a burglary gang. Prosecutors accuse the older man of 37 break-ins at apartments and single-family homes and the younger of 21, according to the Tagesspiegel newspaper. Loot and property damage total more than 425,000 euros, the report said.
The burglaries allegedly took place mainly in the districts of Zehlendorf, Lichtenrade, Lichterfelde and Mariendorf, targeting cash, jewelry, collectible coins and expensive watches, according to the indictment. Prosecutors describe the 41-year-old as the gang's "planner, logistician and driver" and say a fence was a fixed part of the operation. Police arrested the two men on Feb. 24, investigators say just after a break-in in Lankwitz.
The defendants are presumed innocent. A plea agreement is possible, the report said: with a full confession, the 58-year-old would face between seven years and nine months and eight and a half years in prison. The trial resumes Oct. 20.