Teenager Robbed Store in ‘Red Bull Delirium’
From the Sydney Morning Herald
A teenager who drove 300 kilometres to rob a supermarket of $17,000 at knifepoint may have done so partly because he had drunk too much of the energy drink Red Bull, a judge said yesterday.
The 17-year-old Darwin boy, who cannot be identified, was a conscientious high school student with two part-time jobs, who also found time for volunteer community work, the Northern Territory Supreme Court heard.
Psychiatric and medical evidence suggested he might have been suffering caffeine intoxication when he drove from Darwin to Katherine on May 19 armed with a butterfly knife and carrying a balaclava to rob the supermarket. The boy was drinking up to 11 cans of Red Bull a day before the robbery – more than twice the caffeine needed to cause significant toxic effects, the court heard.
Caffeine intoxication may have altered the boy’s state “such that his judgment was impaired and he performed this robbery in the context of experiencing delirium”, the psychiatrist’s report said. A pre-sentence report also pointed to caffeine as a contributing factor.
“It appears there was a blurring between fantasy and reality, perhaps induced by caffeine and chronic sleep deprivation,” the report said. “Since committing this crime, [the boy] has weaned himself off the Red Bull and no longer has any caffeine. I’ve noticed the change in his ability to think rationally and he sleeps well.” AAP
This was sent to Sinister, and I thought I would share it.
Will
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