News

The Altai Territory Office of the Investigative Committee has charged a 63-year-old resident of the town of Rubtsovsk with a number of crimes including those committed in past years. The man is accused of setting up and leading an armed group (gang) to attack, rob and kill citizens, an attempt on a law-enforcer, attempted stealing and stealing of firearms, storage and transportation of explosives, manufacturing of explosives and disorderly behavior under Part 1 of Article 209, Article 317, Part 3 of Article 30, Part 4, items “a” and “b” of Article 226, Part 3 of Article 30, Part 2, items “b” and “g” of Article 105, Part 4, items “a” and “b” of Article 226, Part 4, items “a” and “c” of Article 162, Part 2, items “g” and “h” of Article 105, Part 4, item “a” of Article 162, part 1 of Article 30, Part 4, item “a” of Article 162, Part 1 of Article 222.1, Part 3 of Article 222, Article 213 and Article 223 of the RF Penal Code.

According to investigators, in 2005, the accused conspired with an acquaintance of his and headed a gang of two to commit major crimes. Desiring to get hold of firearms, he made an explosive device and set it off on 7 August 2005 near a vehicle with a crew of extra-departmental guards. Several police officers were injured and one of them died in an ambulance van. However, the accused failed to get hold of guns, as enforcements called by the injured police officers rushed in. On 16 and 27 August 2006, the accused blasted doors in residential buildings in the town of Rubtsovsk to check the devices and the fighting capacity of the gang.

In addition, on 18 August 2006, the man together with the second gangster armed with a knife and a gun attacked a mail carrier. They cut off her bag and stole more than 12 thousand rubles. A passerby saw the crime and tried to stop the gangsters. The accused tried to kill the man by shooting him in the head, but the man was able to protect himself by covering his head with a shovel.

On 16 August 2007, the accused tried to rob a post office, but failed as his IED did not go off. On 27 August, the accused and his accomplice attacked a rifleman of the military unit’s guards located in Pospelikha District, Altai Territory. They blasted a bomb there and shot guns to steal a service carbine. The watchtower sentry they had shot survived notwithstanding serious gunshot wounds to vital organs. On 16 June 2010, at a gas station the gang attacked a forwarding agent who was collecting receipts and was carrying a large sum of money that day. They shot the man to death and stole some 60 thousand rubles. Later, after the death of his accomplice, to continue his criminal activity the accused involved his nephew, who had recently been released from prison.

On 13 May 2015, the armed accused and his nephew attacked a mail carrier and stole from her more than 110 thousand rubles inflicting medium bodily harm to the victim. During a similar crime committed on 20 April 2016, they got hold of more than 120 thousand rubles.

The two men were going to rob another postman, but the police were able to stop them thanks to an eyewitness of one of the attacks. In August 2016, the vigilant mail carrier noticed a man who had been following her for some time. She called the police who detained the man.

Agents of the Altai Territory Directorate of the Interior Ministry and Office of the Federal Security Service searched the house of the accused and confiscated explosives and IEDs, this way the investigators were able to solve major crimes committed by the gang in past years. Both of the accused were put in custody pending trial. At present, investigative operations are underway to finish the probe.

Investigating and solving crimes committed in past years is one of priorities of the Investigative Committee. Probing guilt of the accused and his accomplices in past crimes is a sign of effectiveness of the principle of unavoidability of punishment. 11 years later, the people who committed crimes and killed two law-enforcers will go on trial.