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Moped gang goes to court

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Moped gang goes to court

Five youths have been indicted on trespassing charges in connection with the emotive Rödeby shooting in southern Sweden.

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In a case that has reverberated across Sweden, a 15-year-old boy was shot dead and a 17-year-old boy was seriously wounded after they encroached on the property of a 50-year-old man whose son had been bullied over a long period by a group of moped riding youngsters.

In addition to the trespassing charge, the 17-year-old has also been indicted for threatening behaviour, harassment and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The charge sheet also includes a number of incidents that preceded the shooting in Rödeby.

For example, the injured 17-year-old and another boy the same age are accused of spray-painting the family's car with the names of the family members along with the letters DAMP, the Swedish equivalent of the acronym for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

The boy wounded in the October shooting has been charged with harassment after placing a rubbish bin in front of the family's car in September as the mother of the family attempted to park in the village of Rödeby.

He is also accused of driving up beside the woman and opening the back door of the moving vehicle later that same evening. One month later, On October 5th, he is alleged to have once more driven alongside the woman's car and aimed a kick at the vehicle.

He is further accused of threatening the woman moments before her husband came out of the house and opened fire on the boys. As she drove into the front yard, the boy approached her carrying a cudgel, causing her to drive away.

The 17-year-old has also been charged with driving under the influence.

Another boy has been charged with driving "a moped that was converted into a motorcycle".

Because of the young age of the five suspects, the trial must be held within the next two weeks.

While a date has not yet been set, it is certain that the youths will be tried before the end of the parallel murder trial of the 50-year-old man. That trial has been put on hold pending the results of a psychological evaluation of the suspect, the results of which are not expected until mid-March.

"It is most unfortunate that we now have two parallel trials that partly deal with the same matter," said Christer Holmqvist, the injured 17-year-old's lawyer.

His client has previously admitted to some of the charges against him when questioned by police.

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