The court in Petropavlovsk found 33-year-old Pavel Stravinskas guilty of stealing jewellery and intentionally destroying someone else’s property by arson. The man was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
WHAT THE COURT ESTABLISHED
According to the Telegram channel «HALYQSTAN», at night the man smashed the window of a premises bearing the sign «Jewellery» with a stone, broke in, and stole gold earrings, chains, and other ornaments.
He later returned to the building. In court, Pavel Stravinskas claimed that he noticed sparking wiring inside, accidentally tipped over a canister of an unknown liquid, after which a fire broke out. According to him, he panicked, ran outside, and asked a passer-by to call the fire brigade and a taxi.
WHAT EVIDENCE THE COURT EXAMINED
A witness questioned in court reported seeing the defendant near the burning building of the «Galaktika» shopping centre, where he was throwing stones and pieces of kerbstone through the broken window. The man himself explained his actions as an attempt to save property.
According to the conclusions of experts from the Department for Emergency Situations (DES), the cause of the fire was an ignition source introduced from outside. The defendant’s version about faulty electrical wiring was not confirmed.
WHAT DAMAGE WAS CAUSED
After the fire was extinguished, the owners of the premises discovered that the fire had destroyed equipment, furniture, tools, laptops, and blanks for making jewellery.
One of the jewellers alone estimated the damage caused to him at more than 9 million tenge.
WHAT SENTENCE THE COURT PASSED
The court in Petropavlovsk sentenced Pavel Stravinskas to 5 years in a maximum-security facility.
In addition, the court ordered the convicted man to pay more than 5 million tenge in material damages.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.
