District Court of Dachau: Photos without a spray can are not proof

Created: 07/03/2022, 19:26

By: Thomas Zimmerly

The Dachau district court closed the proceedings against a sprayer.

© dpa

The district court of Dachau has dropped the case against an alleged graffiti sprayer against a fine of 2,000 euros.

Dachau - According to allegations by the public prosecutor's office and the police, the 32-year-old from Dachau is said to have left no fewer than five letters in Dachau and Karlsfeld using spray cans.

But the evidence against the event technician was very thin.

Or as the defendant's defense attorney put it in a brief: the police probably wanted to polish up their statistics by attributing the graffiti to his client.

Evidence against the Dachau sprayer was extremely thin

In fact, the evidence was extremely thin.

According to the lawyer, there is no strict proof, only circumstantial evidence.

Witnesses, DNA, expert reports - none.

There was only one Instagram account of the 32-year-old where he had uploaded pictures showing him in front of the "works of art" - with a smile but without a spray can.

The investigators also found sketches of the motives.

That's it.

Judge Tobias Bauer, however, said in the direction of the accused: "According to the file, there is some evidence that you are the perpetrator." But he also said that the assignment by the police to the defense offered significant starting points to cast doubt on the perpetrators.

After all, the law on graffiti is strict, according to the judge.

"Every single tag (graphically designed signatures, editor's note) must be proven."

According to his own statements, he was "not so involved in the scene," Bauer continued.

A Mr. Darryl McCray from Philadelphia is said to have invented the tag in the mid-1960s.

Under the pseudonym Cornbread he wanted to impress his girl.

Well, the perpetrator in the case heard in Dachau certainly didn't want that.

Smearing in various places

The words "Greed" and the sentence "Money destroys the world" were emblazoned on the wall of the Stadtbauhof.

Something similar could also be read on the walls of two transformer stations in Dachau-Ost, on a wall of a house in Karlsfeld and on the container of a shoe collection point in Königsberger Straße.

Material damage according to investigators: 6500 euros.

Speaking of money: The accused, who had no previous convictions, had received a penalty order for 100 daily rates of 40 euros each for damage to property and had lodged an appeal.

Judge Bauer suggested reducing the penalty to 90 daily rates.

This does not result in an entry in the certificate of good conduct and is "sufficient for legal peace".

The defender, on the other hand, who, as I said, had good starting points to cast doubt on the 32-year-old's guilt, suggested bringing the matter off the table for a fee.

The prosecutor agreed, as did the judge, and the trial ended with a 2,000-euro fine.

You can read more news from the Dachau region here.