The Krasnogorsk city court sent to the pre-trial detention center until August 2 all three accused of involvement in the murder of the former Special Forces soldier Nikita Belyankin in the village of Putilkovo near Moscow. The judge granted the petition of the investigation, which requested the arrest of Sergey Khojoyan, Narek Stepanyan and Suren Markosyan for two months.
“The petition of the investigator to satisfy, to elect in relation to Sergey Khojoyan a preventive measure in the form of imprisonment for a term of 2 August,” the judge Anatoly Mordakhov announced. He made similar statements regarding Stepanyan and Markosyan.
The investigation insisted on the arrest of the defendants in the criminal case, since, while at large, they could escape from the organs of justice, put pressure on witnesses or otherwise interfere with the course of the ongoing investigation. The prosecutor fully supported the petition of the SC.
The main suspect in the murder of Belyankin, an unemployed citizen of the Russian Federation Sergey Khojoyan, is accused under part 1 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Murder”). And working as a bartender at the Birkhaus institution, near which a mass brawl took place on the night of June 2, Armenian citizen Narek Stepanyan and auto parts dealer Suren Markosyan are accused under part 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior agreement” ).
All three defendants did not admit their guilt in the crimes incriminated to them, and Khojoyan assures that he tried to help Belyankin, who received a stab in the heart.
“I did not commit this crime. I am not capable of it. I went to help the man, but in the end everything fell on me, ”Khojoyan said in the courtroom.
The accused also said that prior to his arrest, he was unofficially engaged in the sale of auto parts, and he had three children dependent, reports TASS. The lawyers for the defendants asked not to satisfy the petition of the arrest investigation, stating their readiness to cooperate with the investigation and calling for the choice of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest.
Oleg Zhiltsov, a lawyer accused of killing Khojoyan, said that at the confrontation with his client, the girl of the deceased could not identify Khojoyan. In addition, he reported that the knife, which was committed the murder, has not yet been discovered during investigative actions.
In turn, Stepanyan’s lawyer stated that he was at his workplace in the Birhaus bar while committing a crime, “did not violate public order, did not express obscene language, did not control the actions of other people, did not express any threat of physical violence or life ".
At the same time, the investigator Alexey Titov stated during the court session that Stepanyan’s guilt was supported by testimony and other material evidence. In turn, the prosecutor supported the petition to detain the accused in custody, since his term of temporary registration in Putilkovo expires on 26 June.
Markosyan denies his involvement in the crime: “I don’t admit my guilt, I didn’t participate there, I don’t know anyone and therefore I cannot put pressure on anyone.” The man also told the court that he was married and "from day to day" is waiting for the birth of two children, reports the city news agency "Moscow".
Attorney Markosyan asked to send him under house arrest, including in order to care for his wife and mother, who live with the defendant. The lawyer told the court that Markosyan is a “socially stable” person.
Before the meeting, lawyer Narek Stepanyan asked the court to close the hearing from the media, because his client is afraid for his health, his accounts are in social networks, and information about him in the media "does not correspond to reality." However, the court found no reason to conduct the meeting in closed session.
A former GRU special forces soldier, Nikita Belyankin, was killed on the night of June 1 and 2 in the suburban settlement of Putilkovo after trying to stop a fight near the Birhaus beer bar. There, a group of unknown beat a man, Belyankin tried to scare them away, firing a traumatic gun several times into the air, but the attackers switched to him. In the ensuing scuffle, a former soldier was stabbed in the heart, the attackers fled.