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Five American high school students in the KMC were recently convicted by the German youth court of aggravated assault.
The convictions stem from a series of incidents over the summer where the students frightened and alarmed citizens in Kaiserslautern by randomly shooting at pedestrians with an air gun through a moving car.
Five German citizens were injured by the teenagers, who passed the air gun amongst themselves and took turns at “target practice.”
The students, who awaited the Oct. 11 criminal trial in pretrial confinement in a German jail, pled guilty to the offenses and were sentenced to six to ten months of suspended confinement. All five of the young men are children of U.S. military members stationed in the KMC.
German authorities have criminal jurisdiction over civilians accompanying U.S. military personnel in Germany. German authorities can and will punish Americans, including teenagers, who violate German law.
As representatives of the U.S., all personnel in the KMC, civilian and military, have a responsibility to follow the law and to behave with the utmost courtesy and respect.
“One incident like this can tarnish the reputation of Americans in the community for years,” said Lt. Col. Mark Allred, 435th Air Base Wing Staff Judge Advocate.
More commonly, infractions like driving under the influence of alcohol, drug use and shoplifting have immeasurable consequences for our whole community, he said.
In addition to possible German penalties like fines and jail, civilian misconduct can result in sanctions from military authorities. For example, since April 2004, 17 civilians were barred by the Air Force from KMC installations, and 29 lost their BX and commissary privileges. Others had their driver’s licenses taken away, were sent back to the U.S. early, and were removed from base housing.
For more information about German criminal law, contact the legal office at 06371-475911.
