A Vilnius resident who helped police arrest a drunk driver is a real strike

These circumstances became clear after the Vilnius Regional Court examined the circumstances of the criminal proceedings initiated by Bronislav A. for the second time.

“Since the criminal case is terminated, Bronislav A. has no legal consequences, including criminal sanctions,” the panel of judges chaired by Judge Nida Vigelienė emphasized that the court must terminate the process due to a substantial violation of the Criminal Procedure Code for trials were held in a lower court against the man brought to justice and, therefore, “had sufficient negative consequences.”

Such a result of the criminal case is the most realistic saliva for a Vilnius citizen, who informed police officers about a driver who maneuvered strangely on the road and increased traffic safety. In addition, the man later helped officers arrest the driver accused of the crime: “He was a drunk.”

“I drank, but didn’t feel dizzy.”

A criminal case was filed against Bronislaw A. on July 27 last year, because he was driving a Toyota Avensis car in violation of KET requirements around 6.28pm in Vilnius, Dzūkų St., suspected of being intoxicated, because the officers After detecting signs of intoxication, the police officer refused to check the concentration of ethyl alcohol in the exhaled air and thus avoided the intoxication test.

Both at the beginning of the investigation and in court, Bronislav A. admitted that he was sitting behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol, but denied having avoided checking whether he was intoxicated.

“On the day of the event, I had sex with the children, I drank two glasses of wine around 5 in the afternoon, I felt normal, I did not feel dizzy, I thought I could drive,” he said. – I admit I got drunk, I am to blame for that. While driving, I became weak, so I entered the parking lot; I was driving correctly, no one stopped me, I was looking for a place to park in the parking lot. And when I got up, I was sitting in the car, but after about a minute the police came up to me, I started shaking, I was stressed. When the officers gave me the popcorn on the breathalyzer, I didn’t give up, but the puff failed 5 times. Then the officers sat in his car and ordered me to sign the documents, even though I didn’t have glasses, but I did sign, but I didn’t read what I signed and didn’t go in anymore. “

The man said he was taken to an arrest at the police station, from where he was released until the following afternoon.

“I thought the officers would take me for a blood test, but they didn’t take me,” Bronislav A. also recalled that while he was in the parking lot, the police “asked him to go in a straight line, hit the tip of his nose with your finger. “

The man said he later complained to officials that he was in a great heartache: “They saw that I was short of air, so I couldn’t inflate, I really didn’t refuse to inflate, I just couldn’t.”

At that time, the policemen and a Vilnius citizen, who informed them about the strange maneuvers on the road, presented a completely different version of the incident.

“I was driving out of the hospital that day when I saw in the mirror that another car was flashing my headlights,” the witness said. – I changed to the first lane and then I was very surprised because the driver of that car started driving all the way. I thought I was maneuvering so I caught up with the car and then realized that the driver was drunk. It was immediately apparent that something was wrong with him, as he was maneuvering the entire way, the car’s speed was over 100 km / h. Then I went to jump it, but when I saw that the man was waving to me, I decided to see if it was suitable, but when I saw that it was not, I called the police. “

According to Vilnius, the police officers asked to drive a car that was maneuvering strangely and only stopped when it entered a parking lot in the courtyard of one of the apartment buildings.

“I got out and told the driver not to go anywhere, I asked him what he had, but then I could smell the driver’s alcohol,” the witness said. – He started to apologize to me, he asked how much to pay, but I didn’t take any money from him. And then the police arrived. “

A Vilnius citizen said he had seen the driver try to blow into the breathalyzer, but still did not understand whether he could adequately meet the officers’ requirements.

“The driver was really drunk,” he emphasized.

This witness was also supported by a police officer who testified in court, pointing out that the driver actually looked drunk and did not even deny that he was sitting behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol.

“We hit him, but he was drawing air for himself, he heard when the breathalyzer was blowing, but the driver started to draw air, so the breathalyzer showed an error,” the policeman said. – Since he didn’t breathe into the breathalyzer, we took him to the police station. The driver was drunk, shaking and incoherent. “

According to the official, the driver deliberately drew air instead of blowing, “so he avoided checking for sobriety.”

At that moment, his colleague recalled that he did not even try to talk to the driver, because “he did not speak much, he did not orient himself in the environment, he was very drunk, he stood hard, the smell was spreading, something was incoherent, he did not even understand any language “.

Doctors were even questioned in court, asking if people with health problems could blow into the breath tester. A doctor pointed out that Bronislav A.’s state of health was not such that he could not blow with the breathalyzer.

“Blowing into the breathalyzer requires a breath of air, no special or special force is required, that is, within the framework of normal breathing, even patients in a state of severe shortness of breath can blow into the breathalyzer,” the doctor raised surprise.

Popcorn intentionally avoided in the breathalyzer

The agents conducting the pre-trial investigation initially suggested to Bronislaw A. that the process be terminated by a criminal order, which would be offered a sentence that would be imposed by a court at the time of the criminal order. The man agreed, but soon changed his mind that he did not meet the conditions of the sentence, so he asked to refer the criminal case to a court hearing.

In October last year, the Vilnius City District Court found that the charges against Vilnius prosecutors Bronislav A. had been upheld, but had released him from criminal responsibility on bail for two years. However, the court sentenced the man to criminal penalties, banning the vehicles for two and a half years and confiscating the car that belonged to him.

The acquitted man and his lawyer appealed against this sentence on appeal, requesting the acquittal or the reduction of the disqualification to drive to 1 year and not to impound the car. At that time, the prosecution did not appeal the conviction either in an appeal or cassation procedure; it found the driver to be reasonably released from liability.

The panel of judges that heard Bronislav A.’s appeal noted that the man was unjustifiably acquitted because he pleaded guilty and only regretted driving the car while intoxicated, but did not admit that he had refused to take the intoxication test or that he had avoided such an examination. The judges referred the case to the district court for a new trial.

And then it was decided to convict Bronislaw A: “The defendant realized that he was drunk and, when he was able to blow into the breathalyzer, he sucked the air into himself, that is, he blew the air out of the breathalyzer, thus avoiding sobriety. Therefore, it must be considered that his conduct was intentional. The court decides that the defendant was aware of his actions and must be held accountable for them ”.

Judges’ mistakes that can no longer be corrected

But Bronislav A. appealed the verdict again, and then it turned out that the district court had accepted the illegal verdict, as the prosecutors had previously agreed to the verdict on appeal and had not appealed, and the complaint had been filed only by the exempt. driver, in which case the rights guaranteed by law to a fair trial could not be restricted and the situation not aggravated on the basis of an appeal filed.

In other words, the Vilnius Regional Court ruled that the mere fact that Bronislav A. had appealed the sentence could not result in a harsher penalty than before, when he was acquitted and confiscated from his car and banned from driving.

“Bronislav A. could not be convicted at the time of appeal, since the case was re-examined in the court of first instance only on the appeal of the defense lawyer of the acquitted person,” said the panel of judges chaired by the judge. N. Vigelienė.

– However, Bronislav A. could not be released from criminal liability on bail for the appealed verdict, as the Vilnius Regional Court ruled that bail was not possible in the current situation. Therefore, the Court of First Instance had to suspend the criminal proceedings in the new trial, considering that the conviction would constitute a material violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure that could not be corrected and that the acquittal (the first – Delfi.lt) According to the judgment of the Vilnius City District Court, it is not possible, as stated in the valid judgment of the Vilnius Regional Court ”.

According to the court, “only after the complaint of the defense of the acquitted was the situation of the person worsened by his conviction”, that is, a fundamental violation of the criminal process was committed, which cannot be corrected, since the causes of the previous resource.

In addition, the court emphasized that the prosecutors also made mistakes, as Bronislaw A. was charged not only with not taking the intoxication test, but also with driving while intoxicated.

“Meanwhile, he could not be charged or convicted in any way for driving under the influence of alcohol, as he had not been found to be intoxicated by 1.51 ppm or more,” the court said, that Bronislav A. was driving in intoxicated, but could have been convicted of evading the intoxication test.