Trained as a painter, the north African asylum-seeker lives near Detmold. In May of this year, he stole a woman’s purse from the back of her bike as she was pushing it across Marktplatz in Bonn. Shortly after that, he stopped at a Caritas stand and asked for directions to the Hauptbahnhof (central train station). After he left the stand, a man who had also been there noticed his wallet was missing and he gave chase to the 26-year-old. Pedestrians helped by blocking the suspect, who fell and hurt himself on his face and hands. The north African man lied to police that he had been the victim. He said he was chased, strangled and beaten by those chasing after him. Police took him into custody while investigating.

In Cologne, the asylum-seeker had been given a 6-month suspended sentence for theft. On “Rosenmontag” in February 2015, police saw how he and an accomplice got close to a woman and stole her cell phone. On December 29, 2015, he was arrested again for stealing and put in jail. He will answer for that crime in a Cologne court tomorrow. Further charges await him in Siegburg where he is charged with causing bodily injury, damage to property and resisting arrest.

Because he is accused with numerous crimes and still faces court hearings and sentencings, calls for an appeal were denied. The accused man protested that he wouldn’t steal again but the judge called his statement mere “lip service.”

(Orig. text: Benjamin Jeschor)