The journey of an influential Kaunas politician in the past almost ended in tragedy: he was driving so drunk he would not stop

Lost rights, job and wife’s car

The craving for intoxicants continues to drown Vasilijus Popovas, the once influential Kaunas politician. The former deputy mayor of Kaunas, who was once drunk on the job, was caught this summer when a drunk driver was driving his wife’s car.

Because of this story, V. Popov, 64, lost his job in the Garliava nursing home, earned 2,000. fined and lost 13.85 thousand. Mazda 6, his wife’s car from 2015, valued at 1 billion euros.

In the past, a famous politician and his wife have asked the court not to seize an expensive car, but the Kaunas Regional Court rejected the appeals with a final and unappealable ruling.

Indifferent driver noticed

The trip of the former Kaunas deputy mayor, whose craving for alcohol has long been talked about, ended on the night of July 9 this year.

Around 8 pm 30 minutes. In Kaunas, on Veiverių Street, near the “Moki – veži” store, a white “Mazda 6” car was strangely driven and maneuvered towards Garliava by a civic driver who was traveling with his son.

“The car had stopped at the entrance to the ‘Moki – veži’ store, right in the first lane of traffic, and the cars behind it almost collided with it. When the car stopped, it did not activate the stop signal. Driving around said car, I saw that the seated person was not orienting himself. When the car moved again, I informed the General Emergency Number 112 about a potentially intoxicated driver, “the witness later stated.

I drove in front of traffic, almost hit another car

The man followed the suspicious vehicle, constantly informing police officers of its route. The strange and dangerous maneuvers of the Mazda driver were filmed, and the video later became a strong piece of evidence in the criminal case.

“The car was maneuvering very dangerously, stopping several times and moving again. When turning from Veiverių Street to Vasario 16-osios Street, the opposite lane of traffic was circulating, almost colliding with a parked car, ”explained the person who followed Mazda.

The police had to stop the drunk driver

A police patrol team found a white Mazda in Garliava, Upelio street, where it had stopped.

“The driver was sitting in the car and the car was running with the engine running. When the driver was asked to turn off the engine, he did not understand the instructions and did not orient himself to the surroundings, ”the policeman recalled.

The official mentioned that the driver did not even realize the requirement to hand over the car keys. It was up to the policeman to get them out of the lock.

“After getting out of the car, the driver was obviously intoxicated, barely standing on his feet. The driver had to be restrained so that he would not fall, ”recalled the police patrol that knew the former deputy mayor of Kaunas.

The arrested officers V. Popov did not deny that he had been driving while intoxicated and said that he was going home to a “bunch” of friends. The former influential Kaunas Social Democrat was subjected to a serious drunkenness, which does not involve criminal responsibility but criminal responsibility.

According to the file, around 9 pm. V. Popov registered a drunkenness of 3.07 per thousand, and at 9 pm 17 min. – Drunkenness of 2.95 ppm, a pre-trial investigation for serious intoxication while driving was launched, and the criminal case was transferred to the Kaunas District Court.

He was driving his wife’s car

In court, V. Popov did not deny his guilt. He told me about the day without his wife knowing it, when she was at work, he took his car and drove to Jonava Street, where his friend’s birthday was being celebrated.

Popov said that he did not drink alcohol at first, but then did not control himself and drank alcohol.

“She sincerely regrets her actions and is ashamed of her friends and family. As a result of the suspension of the right to drive, she lost her position,” the court ruled.

The defendant also admitted to having had a problem with alcohol in the past. According to the case, in 2017 he got stuck while the agents were driving while intoxicated. This time, V. Popov was on, 0.57 avg. degree of intoxication. He was fined € 300 and disqualified from driving for a year.

He acted irresponsibly and frivolous

After examining the case of V. Popovas, the Kaunas District Court declared that he traveled from Kaunas, Jonava Street to Garliava “without orienting himself to the environment and, therefore, endangering not only his own health, his life and their property, but the damage was not caused solely by accident. “

It should be noted that the dangerous actions of the accused were observed by passers-by, that is, other vehicle drivers who requested the help of the police officers. It is clear from the defendant’s explanations that he drank alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car.

These circumstances show the frivolous and completely irresponsible attitude of V. Popov towards the current order in society, towards his own safety and that of others. The defendant, completely behind the wheel, ignored the possible negative consequences, acted with direct intention, knowing that the law prohibits driving while intoxicated, he knew the dangerousness of the crime and wanted to do so, the court said in the sentence.

He requested custody of his wife

V. Popov, who has not denied guilt, asked the court not to confiscate his spouse’s 2015 production Mazda 6, release him from criminal liability on bail, and transfer it to his wife Valentina Popovienė.

The wife of the former Kaunas deputy mayor asked the same and believed that it could have a positive impact on her spouse as she does her best to avoid drinking alcohol. The woman mentioned that she works alone in the family, so the economic situation is not good.

However, the court rejected the application of the spouses. It is questionable whether the wife can have a positive impact on a 64-year-old man.

Although the defendant and his spouse have close ties, this does not suggest that the guarantor can have a real positive effect on his spouse, since the defendant acted against the law while living and running a joint farm with his spouse, being administratively sanctioned , even for driving. while drunk, he did not change his behavior and did not dissuade him from committing the crime.

All the more so since the defendant is a fully trained person with extensive experience in both life and professional life, so it is doubtful that such correction of his behavior is at least somewhat effective for such a person in this case, “the court stated in sentence.

He asked that the family car not be taken away

The Kaunas District Court awarded V. Popov 2,000. fined for two years and decided to confiscate the instrument of crime – 13.85 thousand. The 2015 car, the Mazda 6, is valued at € 2,000.

It was the decision to confiscate his wife’s car that led V. Popov to appeal to the Kaunas Regional Court with a request to leave the car with his family. The wife of the former politician argued that she is currently the only person who works in the family, the vehicle she needs to go to work. It is alleged that confiscation of the car will also violate your rights.

The complaint states that although the appeals court does not see any reason not to apply the confiscation of assets at all, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate whether 13 thousand. The confiscation of a car worth 850 euros follows the principles of fairness and proportionality.

However, the appeals court took a different view that the value of the car could not be linked to the crime committed: driving under the influence of alcohol.

“The value of the vehicle does not influence the seriousness of the crime. In order to prevent analogous criminal acts dangerous to society, the interests of society are put before the interests of the perpetrator, ”said the panel of judges of the Kaunas Regional Court, which dismissed the appeals by means of a credit judgment and did not appeal.

In the township – a drunken deputy mayor

V. Popovas, a long-time Kaunas politician and former member of the municipal council, became famous for becoming vice mayor when he came to work the morning of December 17, 2013, completely drunk.

After seeing the deputy mayor, who was having difficulty navigating the surroundings, municipal employees called the police. Officers arriving around 10 pm V. Popov found a severe degree of intoxication. V. Popov inflated 2.94 promiles to the alcohol tester.

Speaking of the incident, which was an embarrassment to the municipality, he mentioned that he had consumed alcohol at night and went to bed late. The then deputy mayor admitted that he had problems with alcohol consumption, had been receiving treatment for some time, but had not retired.

This stain on the biography did not prevent V. Popov from occupying the post of deputy mayor in the next term, the Social Democrat became the deputy mayor of Kaunas Visvaldas Matijošaitis elected for the first time in direct elections.

In late November 2016, he unexpectedly handed his resignation to the mayor. Officially it was explained that the 60-year-old deputy mayor had decided to give way to the youngest. V. Popov curated very important areas: education, health, ecology, sports and others.

Later, an influential Social Democrat found work in the Kaunas district municipality, which is run by representatives of this party, and worked in the Garliava nursing home as a specialist responsible for agricultural work. Popov, who has lost his retirement age due to drinking, is not working at this time.