Livorno, minor arrested. Held responsible for extortion and robbery causing damage to the other two very young people.

Upon order from the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Juvenile Court of Florence, the Carabinieri of the Livorno Center station have executed a precautionary custody order in prison against a 16-year-old from Livorno, seriously suspected of being the perpetrator of the crimes of extortion and robbery perpetrated last September in Livorno against two very young people.

The military, with the coordination of the Deputy Prosecutor in charge of the file, have collected serious and consistent circumstantial elements supported by the analysis of the public and private video surveillance systems, from the statements made in the complaint by the victims as well as from the testimonies, reconstructing a identikit and a modus operandi who directed the military towards the alleged perpetrator of the crimes.

The investigations were inspired when, on 9 September 2023, a group of five very young friends who were stationed in Attias square were approached by one of their contemporary who, in a threatening manner, keeping one hand in his pocket and making himself strong in the presence of two of his friends, addressed one of the boys in the group in particular, arrogantly asking him to hand over the money in his possession.

The boy, to whom another member of the group had reported that the attacker owned a small knife, initially scared he hands him 70 cents. Not satisfied and threatening that otherwise”it would have been worse”, demanded to see the wallet and took possession of a 50 euro banknote contained therein and then walked away.

The circumstances reported by the minor victim and by the peers of the group, in particular by another who had given the robber the monete in his possession fearing more serious consequences, were confirmed by the versions of all the very young people present and by the images of the cameras, promptly extrapolated and carefully analyzed by the investigators.

The precautionary measure issued against the 16-year-old would be justified, according to the GIP who issued it, both from methods of conduct, that from lifestyle and personality of the boy, not new to similar facts, considering that the suspect identified a group of younger boys who may have had some money with them and started with increasingly insistent requests for money exploiting the fear of the offended people, fear caused by the reputation he had in the city, by his attitude which could have made it clear that he had a knife and by the encirclement put in place.

The risk of repeating the crime was also considered by the Judge concrete and current.

Since these are preliminary investigations, the investigative findings will subsequently be verified in the judgment aimed at ascertaining the criminal liability of the suspect.

The episode is an opportunity to highlight the importance of reporting crimes that occur but also of reporting any anomalous situation via 112 NUE to allow the intervention of the police.