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The court has recognized the evidence collected by Vologda region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee sufficient to convict Alexey Shestakov,33, Tatyana Vazhalina, 35 and Alexander Rusakov, 36.

Depending on the role of each one, they were found guilty in organizing a crime – hijacking of an aircraft (paragraphs “a”, “c” and “d” of part 2 of article 211 of the RF Criminal Code), escape from a place of confinement and complicity in it (part 3 of article 313), stealing of a transport means (part 1 of article 166), threat to use violence against a representative of the authority and attempted auto theft (part 1 of article 318 and part 3 of article 30, part 4 of article 166), article 119 (threat to kill). Rusakov is also charged with illegal acquisition, storage, transportation without the purpose of selling of psychotropic drug on an especially large scale (almost 1.5 grams of amphetamine), which, investigators believe, he had obtained in Saint-Petersburg and had transported it on himself until he was detained (part 2 of article 228 of the RF Criminal Code).

The court and investigation have found that on 22 March 2012, in the early morning a helicopter of Vologda airlines ordered by the accused Shestakov through a third party, arrived to transport of people to recreation center Irma of Sheksninsky district, Vologda Region where it took aboard 2 people. In the air the passengers – Tatyana Vazhalina and Alexander Rusakov – threatening to use objects as weapons, forced a pilot to fly to the village of Sheksna. On arriving at the village the armed people forced the pilot to descend the helicopter over the territory of correctional facility № 17 of the Vologda Region Directorate of Federal Penitentiary Service. The convict Alexey Shestakov, who was serving his sentence, grabbed a rope thrown down to him from the helicopter and got in. The helicopter then flew to Vologda, where it landed near Okruzhnoye highway and the passengers left it and fled the scene.

The same day, local police forces stopped a car approaching the town of Gryazovets. The car was driven by Alexey Shestakov, who earlier had escaped from the correctional facility. The convict threatened the police to blow them up with fake grenades and pointed at them a pistol which was like a real one. After that, wishing to flee from the police officers, Shestakov sat to a driver seat of a car he did not owned and drove in the direction of the city. After several dozens of meters he abandoned the car, being armed with an airgun, tried to seize UAZ Patriot automobile where a driver and his son were at the moment. He aimed the gun at them and started to open the door of the car, but failed as was detained by the police.

Investigating this unprecedented escape from prison, investigators established not only all the circumstances of the crime, but revealed a lot of violations in the organization of work in prison. Not only escape itself, but its organization became possible with the connivance of prison guards. As a result the convict had good chance to agree with his accomplices on hiring the helicopter, payment, place and time, when he will be in an open air. Investigators found that it took about three months to prepare the escape. By the way, Shestakov was in a privileged position, that means he could go outside in any time being a convict in a high-security prison, serving his term for murder. The objects with which Rusakov threatened to the pilot say how carefully Shestakov’s accomplices were preparing for the crime. He had several kinds of imitating grenades, bodies of hand grenades and a pneumatic gun resembling Makarov gun. All these and alpinist rope Vazhalina bought in Saint-Petersburg. Other persons the accused involved in helping them – the taxi driver and the helicopter pilot did not know about their criminal intentions. Their testimonies helped a great deal to find the three accomplices.

It should be noted that under the motion of the investigator, 40 employees of the prison, from which Shestakov escaped with the help of Vazhalina and Rusakov, will be prosecuted. Alexander Belolikov, deputy head of the prison, who was playing favorites with Shestakov, was most severely punished. He has been sentenced to 4 years in prison.

The court has sentenced Shetakov to 24 years in a high-security prison, first 5 years in solitary confinement, Rusakov – to 12 years, Vazhalina – to 11 years, both in a high-security prison.