A man nicknamed the "Rambo of the Black Forest" was sentenced Friday in Germany to three years in prison for stealing police weapons, before hiding for nearly a week in the woods.
Yves Rausch, a 32-year-old German, was convicted of illegal possession of weapons, resisting arrest, grievous bodily harm and hostage-taking by the court in Offenburg (Baden-Württemberg).
His sentence is a little lower than the requisitions of the public prosecutor, who had asked for three years and nine months in prison at the end of this trial which lasted a month.
The man was arrested in mid-July in a forest near the French border in possession of several weapons after a manhunt that had held the country in suspense.
Some 2,500 police, sometimes aided by thermal cameras and supported by helicopters and dogs, had been mobilized for six days, the time of his hunt in the Black Forest.
During this period, the kindergartens and the outdoor swimming pool in the locality had been closed as a precaution by the municipality of Oppenau, which had referred to a "dangerous situation".
Forest walks and outdoor activities were banned and aerial overflights of the region suspended.
The man had fled into the forest after successfully disarming four police officers.
He had been slightly injured during his arrest.
The accused had a long judicial past
At the start of his trial in mid-January, Mr Rausch's lawyer read a statement from his client in which he admitted to having fled with the police weapons, while insisting that he did not want do no harm and that he was just afraid of being arrested.
"I am a person who loves freedom," he explained.
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His lawyer challenged the hostage-taking charge and requested an 18-month suspended sentence.
However, the accused had a long judicial record.
He had previously been convicted of illegal carrying of weapons, theft and attacks with injuries.
In 2010 he was sentenced to prison after seriously injuring a friend with a crossbow.
Police discovered pedophile material on his cell phone during a 2019 investigation for possession of explosives.
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Without a fixed address since the fall of 2019, he had settled in the cabin where he was finally apprehended after his stalking.