As the Kaunas District Court informs, during the court hearing held on March 28, it was again not possible to start the substantive examination of the case, because the victim Egidijus Smailis could not be properly informed about the process. The leader of the Smaugliai gang, who has been convicted 7 times before and was involved in murder cases, is ignoring the court process.
According to the official report of the police officers, the place of residence of him, recognized as the victim in the case, was visited three times, E. Smailys was seen through the window, but he refused to accept the summons.
Force will lead
Prosecutor Gabija Večerinskienė, taking into account the fact that the person clearly avoids accepting the summons, proposed to start examining the case in its merits.
This was opposed by all seven defendants and their lawyers. In their opinion, in this case, there will be no way to do without interviews of the victims.
“According to the judge, the circumstances stated by the prosecutor, the official report of the officers and the circumstances that the person was visited three times, but he did not open the door, and the summons sent by the court came back undelivered, give reason to believe that the person is deliberately avoiding accepting court summons and coming to court.
Due to the totality of all these circumstances, in order to ensure an operative and unhindered process, the judge decided to bring the victim to the next court session”, – 15 minutes said Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė, the press representative of the Kaunas district court.
The next court hearing in this case is scheduled for April 4.
Although the crime was short, its circumstances seem to be clear, dozens of volumes of material were on the judge’s desk during the trial. The meeting secretary has to carry her in a special wheelchair.
Shock attack
In August 2023, during the day, Kaunas County police officers received a report that a group of masked men attacked four men and a woman sitting at a table in an outdoor area of a restaurant on Laisvės avenue.
The attackers used fists, metal rods, machetes, knives and other objects to use physical violence against the visitors of the restaurant and disturbed the public order.
Erikos Ovčarenko/BNS photo/Court of the participants in the fights in Laisvės Alley
After the clash, the restaurant’s inventory was flying, blood was pouring on the pavement. One of the masked men, according to witnesses, shouted: “I’m still going to kill you.”
The three victims were born in 1973, 1980 and 1997. – ended up in the hospital. After a medical examination, they were released for outpatient treatment. As confirmed by law enforcement, one of the victims is Rytis Sadauskas, born in 1980, who is associated with the criminal world.
E. Smailys, a close friend of Saulius Velečka-Agurkos of the Agurkini gang shul, who did not escape the attacks of the attackers, also ended up in the treatment facility.
Also recognized as a victim in the case is associated with the criminal association of “Agurkinių”. Tadas Petrošius.
As Darius Pliavga, the deputy head of the Kaunas County VPK, stated on the day of the attack, the incident is related to the interpretation of the relations between criminal groups, outsiders who were in the cafe were not injured.
According to the General Commissioner of the Police, Renato Požela, the possible motive for the attack is an attempt to scare that “we are not paying attention to anything: that this is a public place, the center, among people”.
6 to be arrested quickly, 7 later
According to the investigation, nine men were involved in the group of accomplices, six of whom were arrested after the attack. All of them are from Kaunas.
Two suspects were arrested while traveling by car in Alytus, the other two were found in Molėtai district, in a wooded area near a pond. They did not resist the police officers.
The tools of the crime were also found – a knife and a metal rod. One car involved in the crime was detained.
Soon, the seventh suspect – Rokas Sipavičius – presented himself to the police. His case was added to the main case on February 26, two more suspects are still being sought. Due to their criminal acts, pre-trial investigations were separated.
In addition to R.Sipavičius, Juozas Minkevičius, Lukas Ščerbinskas, Tadas Muchinskas, Karolis Kavaliauskas, Edgaras Rezajevas and Vitalijus Zakrževskis were accused of the attack.
Erikos Ovčarenko/BNS photo/Court of the participants in the fights in Laisvės Alley
According to officials, these defendants are well-known in the criminal world, with dozens of convictions, including for murder and robbery. Their age ranges from 30 to 50 years. During the pre-trial investigation, they did not cooperate with the law enforcement regarding the incident on Laisvė avenue.
When the case ended up in court, some of them denied their guilt, others did not express their position on guilt. They assured that they would give their testimony after the interviews of all other participants.
According to the prosecutor, in principle, none of the defendants admit their guilt, some do not plead guilty.
