The Sverdlovsk Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished investigating a criminal case against blogger from Yekaterinburg Vasily Fedorovich, 28, and several of his accomplices aged between 21 and 33, who were members of the gang. Depending on the role of each one, they are charged with crimes under parts 1, 2 and 3 of article 209 of the RF Penal Code (banditry), part 2 of article 105 (murder), part 3 of article 30, part 2 of article 105 (attempted murder), part 3 of article 126(abduction), part 1 of article 119 (threat to kill), part 3 of article 161 (robbery), part 4 of article 162 (robbery), part 4 of article 159 (fraud), part 4 of article 158 (theft), part 1 of article 132 (sexual abuse), part 1 of article 282 (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity), part 3 of article 166 (abstraction of a transport vehicle without intention to steal it), article 127 (illegal deprivation of liberty).
According to investigators, the gang set up and led by 30-year-old Daniil Potashnikov and 28-year-old Vasily Fedorovich, committed a number of serious and especially serious crimes against citizens and their property in the period between December 2006 and June 2012 in the city of Yekaterinburg, the Sverdlovsk and Kurgan Regions.
The investigators have information that there were 11 people taking part in those crimes. However, only 9 of them are being prosecuted as Semyon Yermolinsky, born in 1987, from Saint-Petersburg is internationally wanted and Daniil Potashnikov was killed in May 2012 by his own accomplices. His body was found in June 2013 in the woods near the town of Pervouralsk. A forensic DNA test confirmed that the body was Potashnikov’s.
The investigators believe that the gang members are responsible for 14 murders and 5 attempted murders. To commit their crimes the gang members used different types of cold, gas and firearms (knives, pistols, revolvers and a hunting rifle). In addition, they had other objects, which they used as weapons: tomahawks, bludgeon, knuckle-dusters, rubber batons, etc. The said objects were found and confiscated from the residents of several of the gang members, including Yekaterinburg blogger Vasily Fedorovich. For more mobility of gang the accused used different vehicles (BOGDAN, DODGE, MITSUBISHI, VAZ cars and others). They discussed their criminal plans in the residences of the members or their ralatives, as well as in a garage, where they also committed their crimes, including murders.
During the investigation in was found that former at present 30-year-old police officer was a member of the gang. Acting as a member of the gang, he used his police ID to buy in specialized stores police uniforms to have been used by the accomplices for some of their crimes.
In addition, he also bought and passed to his accomplices other specialized gears – like handcuffs, which were also used for some of the crimes, as well as provided information on the citizens worth attacking.
The investigators have gathered enough evidence, therefore, the criminal case with the approved indictment has been sent to court to be tried on the merits.
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