A man was sent a picture of a man covered in blood and said, “This is what I’m going to do to you!” …The tragic end of the “black market robber” who mowed down a couple in their 80s.

I don’t know who he is, but he is one of us.

He was so desperate for money that he easily accepted a job from an unknowing instructor without knowing the details of the job. It was a selfish and short-sighted act.

The prosecutors criticized the behavior of the man who applied for the black market job robbery.

On February 2, the Saitama District Court heard the first trial of Rikiya Morita, 26, who is charged with robbery and other crimes. Morita was involved as a perpetrator in a string of black market job robberies in the Kanto region. He is alleged to have conspired with others to break into houses in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, and other locations, restrain an elderly couple, and cut them up, robbing them of approximately 160,000 yen in cash.

Morita applied for the job through a social networking service. Believing the job was “a simple job of carrying things,” he bought a hammer and adhesive tape, even though he thought the job was suspicious. The prosecution is seeking 17 years in prison, saying that the crime is serious because he ‘had many opportunities to turn back.

On the other hand, according to the defense, Morita was sent a picture of a man covered in blood by his instructor, who threatened him, saying, “This is what I will do to you and your parents! Morita was threatened by the instructor to do this to him and his parents. Morita sent personal information about himself and his family to the instructor. The defense is seeking a sentence of 10 years in prison.

FRIDAY Digital covered the case immediately after Morita’s arrest. We would like to introduce the detailed modus operandi of the crime and the tragic end of the life of the perpetrator of the black market robbery.

The incident in which Morita was involved occurred in the early morning hours of October 1, 2012. Morita and others broke the kitchen window of a house in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, with a hammer and entered. They tied up the residents, a couple in their 80s, with adhesive tape and threatened them, saying things like, “Hurry up with the money. They cut them with a knife, took about 160,000 yen in cash, and fled.

Four perpetrators, including Morita, were involved in the case. They did not know each other. It is a characteristic of “black market robbery” that the perpetrators do not know each other’s faces or names. In another case, five perpetrators first met at a family restaurant in Tokyo and drove to the scene of the crime. One of the perpetrators who was caught stated to the police, ‘I don’t know who they are (the other perpetrators), but they are my friends.

I guess you don’t mind if my family is harmed.”

It is known that Morita was also involved in an incident in Kokubunji City, Tokyo, the month before, on September 30. The criminal scheme is cunning. They obtained customer information from a remodeling contractor and ascertained the family structure and property conditions of the target’s house. It is believed that he had made detailed plans in advance.

Morita stated, “I went to Tokorozawa (the site of the October 1 incident) with the promise of receiving a reward. He said, ‘I was instructed to commit robbery (in Tokorozawa as well), and I couldn’t refuse. Morita apparently went there only to receive the reward for the Kokubunji incident, but was instructed to commit another crime on the spot.

It is very dangerous to believe the words “easy job” in the social networking site where Morita applied for a part-time job. Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains.

The “directing officers” will terrorize the applicants who apply. They ask applicants to send an image of their photo ID and to specify their family structure. The orders are absolute. The instructor asks the applicants, who are the perpetrators of the black market robbery, to ‘hit the target so many times that you kill him,’ or ‘beat him up and rob him. If they refuse or hesitate, they are threatened with “You’ll get hurt badly,” “You don’t mind if your family gets hurt,” and so on.

The demands of the instructor will only escalate. The perpetrator should have the courage to ask for help from the police or local government counseling services. Certainly, it is understandable that the perpetrator, who has already committed a robbery, has a sense of entrapment. However, if they do not consult with the police for fear of retaliation from the instructor, they will continue to commit crimes. Moreover, the instructor remains under a cloud. It is the perpetrator who will be arrested.”

Morita is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9.