An easy prey. At least that’s how it seemed to the two friends. And accomplices. They had also taken care to remove the license plate from the stolen scooter before going on the attack. But they hadn’t taken into account the girl’s courage and tenacity: she had fought with all her strength not to have her purse snatched. She had received punches and kicks, and in the end the two muggers had left empty-handed and ended up in handcuffs. Neapolitans, both young – 20 and 23 years old – have settled for 1 year, 2 months and 20 days and 1 year and 4 months respectively, in addition to fines of 1,000 and 1,200 euros. Same crimes for both, i.e. attempted robbery, injury and receiving stolen goods, in addition to the illegal possession of a cutting screwdriver 16 and a half centimeters long, of which only the 23-year-old was accused. The sentences were suspended.
They had gone into action at night, in October 2022. And perhaps they were also certain to find the 30-year-old woman walking along the sidewalk of Via Emilia Ovest, in the Crocetta area. The scooter, it was later discovered, had been stolen a few days earlier, but it was not possible to attribute the theft to the two boys, who however were accused of receiving stolen goods.
Around half past midnight they approached the girl, ready to immediately shift into gear to leave after having pulled off the heist. The 23-year-old was driving and had already begun to rev while his accomplice put his hands on the shoulder strap of the girl’s handbag. He pulled as hard as he could, but she didn’t give up either. And so, the muggers and the target all found themselves on the ground. One of the two boys immediately got back on the saddle, while his accomplice, furious at that unexpected unscheduled event, pounced on the woman still on the asphalt. But she resisted and, above all, continued to scream for help. So many decibels in the silence of the night that the two muggers were soon convinced to change their plans. Even without a cent, they preferred to disappear without a trace. Or at least that’s what they wanted to do, because then they were arrested anyway. And that hard-to-justify screwdriver had also emerged from the inside pocket of the 23-year-old’s jacket.
G.Az.
