Four suspects accused in violent robberies in Hrom and Gjorgje Petrov
Skopje prosecutors launched an investigation into two home invasions that left one person dead; stolen gold and cash were sold in the Old Bazaar.
The Skopje Basic Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigative procedure against four people suspected of taking part in two violent home robberies that left one victim dead and saw stolen valuables sold in the Old Bazaar.
According to the prosecutor's office, the suspects are charged with robbery under Article 237, paragraph 5 in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. The first break-in occurred in the early morning of October 22 in the Hrom neighbourhood of Skopje.
"In the first incident, in the early morning hours of October 22, they violently entered a house in Hrom, tied the owner’s hands and feet, began to beat him on the head and body and suffocated him with a pillow. They then searched and ransacked the house, from where they took cash and gold jewelry in a total value of 300,000 denars. On the same day in the afternoon, one of the suspects took the others with his vehicle and brought them to a jeweller in the Old Skopje Bazaar where they sold the gold for an amount of 2,840 euros. The night between October 26 and 27 the suspects entered a house in Gjorgje Petrov, where using physical force they attacked the owner, began to beat her on the head and body, and tied her hands, legs and mouth and put her in the bathroom. The victim died from the blows, and they took money, jewelry and valuable items from the house, in a total value of about 200,000 denars. In a similar way as the first time, the stolen gold jewelry was sold," the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office - Skopje said.
Proposed detention and potential penalties
The public prosecutor has submitted a motion to the pretrial judge to order pre-trial detention for all four suspects. Because the victims were intentionally deprived of life during the robberies, investigators are treating the cases as an aggravated form of the offence.
If convicted under the cited provision, the suspects face a prison sentence of at least 10 years or life imprisonment.
Photo: press material from the event
