Published April 26, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
Law & Right. Two men, aged 19 and 24, are acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of other crimes after firing a submachine gun during a police chase.
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TwittraShare< p>On August 12 last year, the police tried to stop a car in Östersund, but the driver instead chose to drive away at high speed.
During the pursuit, shots were fired from the car, but none of the shots hit the two police cars. After some time, the car drove off the road and the perpetrators fled into the woods.
A 19-year-old man, who was 18 years old at the time of the incident, was arrested soon after, while a 24-year-old could be arrested the next day.
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The duo was charged with, among other things, the attempted murder of four police officers, aggravated sabotage against blue light operations and aggravated weapons offences.
Now both are sentenced to prison – but not for attempted murder. The 19-year-old is sentenced for aggravated threats against an official, aggravated sabotage against blue light sabotage, aggravated weapons offenses and illegal threats to prison for six years. The 24-year-old is sentenced for aiding and abetting a serious threat to an official, serious sabotage against blue light operations, serious weapons offences, illegal threats and burglary to four years in prison.
The district court considers that the investigation in the case was not sufficient for it to be considered beyond reasonable doubt that the 19-year-old who fired the shots aimed them at the four policemen. According to the district court, the two accused men cannot therefore be considered to have acted with the intention of killing the following police officers, and therefore they are not convicted of attempted murder.
Through their actions in connection with the escape, however, according to the district court, the two men have been guilty of gross threats against officials and aiding and abetting this crime. For the same incident, they are also jointly and in agreement guilty of gross sabotage against blue light operations, according to the verdict. Furthermore, they jointly and in agreement possessed the used submachine gun with the associated magazine and ammunition without having the right to it. Because the weapon was of a particularly dangerous nature, was kept in a car in a public place and came to criminal use, the act has been assessed as serious weapons offences.
The duo must jointly and severally pay SEK 60,000 in damages regarding infringement to each of the four policemen for the serious threat they were exposed to.
For an incident that occurred earlier that day, the district court also convicts the two men of illegal threats against a person from whom they wanted information about another person.
The district court has also found that the 24-year-old was guilty of burglary when, after finishing the car chase, he entered a holiday home and stole, among other things, clothes that he considered necessary when he got wet and cold after many hours in the forest while he was searched, among other things, by helicopter.
The younger of the men is called Mustafa but cannot be deported under current legislation because he has obtained Swedish citizenship. The 24-year-old is Swedish.