Slonim Resident Stole Bottle Of Vodka And Will Now Spend Two Years In Reinforced-Security Colony For That

Why so harsh?

A resident of Slonim was convicted of robbery over a bottle of vodka stolen from a store. At the time of the crime, the man had a pending criminal record under the same article, that is, he was a repeat offender. Therefore, he was given a relatively severe punishment - two years in a maximum security colony, the court decision says.

The Slonim resident came to the store at about 10 pm, already drunk. He took a 10.51-ruble bottle of vodka from the shelf and, without particularly hiding, headed past the cash register to the exit. The saleswoman, seeing a man with a bottle in his hand, grabbed him by the clothes and demanded to return the unpaid item, but he broke free and ran away with the loot. They found him using CCTV footage.

A criminal case was opened against the man under Part 2 of Article 206 of the Criminal Code (Robbery). It turned out that he had previously been convicted under the same article, and committed a new crime during the period of the unexpunged pending conviction. The state of alcohol intoxication at the time of the incident also served as an aggravating circumstance.

On this basis, the court saw in the actions of the Slonim resident the presence of a repeated offence, which entails a more severe punishment. He was found guilty of repeated robbery and given two years in a reinforced-security penal colony, although in other circumstances under the same article one could end up with a fine or arrest.