2024-08-06 09:27:41
M. Vilčinskas was given a suspended sentence of 2 years and 4 months, with the sentence suspended for two and a half years – the threat of being in prison will not arise if he does not commit a new crime during this period. During the deferral period, intensive care will be provided by wearing an electronic collar.
The perpetrators of the high-profile crime have not yet been identified – the verdict was heard only by 34-year-old M. Vilčinskas, who is considered the perpetrator, and the court ordered him to compensate the victim and his family members a total of 11,000. non-pecuniary damage of EUR 55,000. EUR property damage.
When trucks and a car crashed into a private property at night in Vilijampolė, a business man from Kaunas was in serious danger: the people who were sleeping in the house near the yard engulfed in flames survived only thanks to a lucky coincidence.
Law enforcement officials initially suspected that the crime was ordered to resolve mutual disputes. The victim is engaged in a business related to heavy transport equipment, cargo transportation.
“According to our information, the arson was ordered, but the motive remains unknown. The suspect denied his guilt during the pre-trial investigation,” Kaunas prosecutor Jolanta Laurinavičiūtė told the news portal lrytas.lt before the start of the trial in June this year.
The puzzling story of the arson testifies that the shadowy world associated with the cargo transportation business in the temporary capital still tends to resolve relations in drastic ways.
The investigation of this crime resembled a detective in a tense plot – piece by piece of evidence collected led the investigators to M. Vilčinskas, whose burnt hands also became important clues.
Both the tractors and the monocoque were on fire
The arson was committed on April 25, 2023, around 2 a.m. of the night
According to the prosecutor’s office, after climbing over the fence, M. Vilčinskas poured flammable liquid over two MAN trucks belonging to the owner of the estate.
Not only these heavy vehicles were badly burned, but also the Chrysler Grand Voyager parked nearby. The flames also destroyed 60 square meters of paving, a fence, a gate, yard vegetation and other property.
Three members of the same family are recognized as victims in the case, whose total loss, according to them, amounts to almost 55 thousand. euros.
The court satisfied the civil claims of the victims for pecuniary damage, and partially – for compensation of non-pecuniary damage.
“The person was found guilty of all the criminal acts charged against him – destruction or damage of property in a generally dangerous manner, illegal violation of the inviolability of a person’s home, and illegal possession of narcotic or psychotropic substances without the intention of distributing them,” the assistant to the chairman of the Kaunas district court informed the portal lrytas.lt media and society Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė.
“The accused admitted his guilt and was sorry, he apologized to the victims during the hearing. The person stated that an acquaintance offered him to set fire to the trucks in exchange for narcotics, and he blamed his addiction to narcotics for the committed crime. During the court hearing, the accused confirmed that he set himself on fire while burning the trucks and suffered injuries that had to be treated,” judge Vita Padriezaitė told the portal.
Suspects revenge or blackmail
Criminologists tend to reject the version of a random attack due to hooligan motives, because all the facts testify that the crime was planned in advance, with the aim of committing it in a specific object – a residential property in the Vilijampolė microdistrict.
It is suspected that this was done in order to take revenge on the owner of the private estate who is engaged in business and lives there with his family.
It cannot be ruled out that the crime could have been committed in order to intimidate or blackmail the owner of the plot.
According to the authorities, M. Vilčinskas worked with an accomplice, who could not be identified during the pre-trial investigation.
The evidence is burns on the hands
Traces found at the fire scene, video cameras installed in public places and other evidence helped criminal investigators to find the suspect, which allowed them to bring M. Vilčinskas to the bench. The latter had severely burned his hands, but he probably did not seek medical attention officially – when they asked the medical institutions, the officials did not receive such a confirmation.
Some time later, after the arrest of M. Vilčinskas, the burn marks had not yet disappeared.
To document this, the investigators turned to forensic experts who confirmed the relevant injuries.
Drugs were also found
Almost 2 months after the arson, narcotic substances – cannabis – were found in M. Vilčinskas’ possession.
This episode, for which the Kaunian admits guilt, is connected to the arson case.
Meanwhile, the unemployed man denied his guilt during the pre-trial investigation.
For destroying someone else’s property in a generally dangerous manner, Mr. Vilčinskas faces a fine, restriction of liberty, arrest or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
The family affected by the arsonists claimed that they did not know M. Vilčinsko.
Previously, he was convicted three times for theft, possession of drugs, resisting law enforcement officers.
It has not yet been possible to identify the possible masterminds of the crime, but the officials are in no hurry to shove the material deep into the drawers – a separate pre-trial investigation is currently being conducted, looking for the remaining persons who put their finger on the arson. No one has been charged in the separate case yet.
A lesson about the mystical “Sasha”
In court, the arsonist has already admitted his guilt, stating that he was offered to commit the crime by an acquaintance “Saša” who gave him money for it. The proposal was made when they met by chance at Vilijampolė market place.
It is said that “Saša” also participated in the arson, which the law enforcement could not identify: it is possible that he is completely fictional.
Mr. Vilčinskas set the trucks on fire after arriving at the specified address in his own third-class BMW.
Saša” allegedly mentioned to M. Vilčinskas that the owner of the trucks had debts, which were not recovered, so it was decided to take revenge on him.
After the arson, the mystical “Saša” disappeared from M. Vilčinskas’ sight, he never saw him again.
2024-08-06 09:27:41