Charges Filed Against Four Individuals in the Murder of 41-Year-Old Man in Spitak

The investigation into the murder of a 41-year-old man in Spitak has concluded at the Lori Regional Investigative Department of the RA Investigation Committee. Four individuals have been charged in connection with the case, which involved a murder carried out in a manner dangerous to many lives and with particular cruelty, as well as intentionally causing medium gravity harm to health, and illegal possession of weapons.

This was reported by the RA Investigation Committee. As a result of extensive investigative actions during the pre-trial proceedings, the circumstances surrounding the murder of the 41-year-old resident of Spitak, as well as the motives, have been clarified.

It was revealed during the investigation that residents of Vanadzor, born in 1990 and 1988, had strained and unfavorable relationships with the victim, a 41-year-old resident of Spitak born in 1978, who worked at a local office of an insurance company owned by another resident of Spitak born in 1987.

According to the investigation, on January 14, 2019, one of the defendants, a 29-year-old man, called the director of the aforementioned insurance office, expressing a desire to meet the victim unexpectedly, suggesting that they organize a meeting. The director, fully aware of the 29-year-old's intent to take revenge on the employee, realizing the possibility of dangerous consequences, misled the office employee into believing that important information needed to be shared and invited him to the office of the insurance company in Spitak, while concealing the fact that the 29-year-old was expecting to meet him.

In coordination with the 29-year-old, the director also called another acquaintance from Vanadzor, born in 1988, to ensure the element of surprise, putting the phone on speaker while conversing with the victim. During this conversation, the 29-year-old, along with a friend from Vanadzor also born in 1988, arrived at the office armed with a firearm and a knife.

Subsequently, with the intent to unlawfully take the life of the 41-year-old man and being aware of their combined actions, the 29-year-old fired shots from an illegally acquired smoothbore pistol in the public space of the insurance office, inflicting three gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, the 31-year-old man, ignoring the victim’s pleas to be taken to the hospital after sustaining gunshot wounds, exhibited particular cruelty by intentionally cutting off the base of the victim’s left ear, amputating it completely, and also cutting the upper edge of the right ear, collectively killing him.

Moreover, it was established during the investigation that the 29-year-old, conscious of the potential for further dangerous outcomes from his actions, intentionally caused a penetrating gunshot wound characterized as medium gravity harm to another attendee with his firearm, after which all three escaped from the scene. The director of the insurance office subsequently cleaned up the blood at the crime scene, discovered two shell casings, took them, and left. The 41-year-old man died on the way to the hospital due to hemorrhagic and traumatic shock resulting from his injuries.

Based on the collected evidence, the 1988-born man has been charged under Article 104, Part 2, Points 5 and 7 of the RA Criminal Code, the 1990-born individual under Article 104, Part 2, Points 6 and 7, Article 113, Part 1, and Article 235, Part 1, and the director of the insurance office under Article 38-104, Part 1.

The pre-trial investigation has been concluded regarding these three individuals, and the criminal case, with a request for approval of the indictment, has been sent to the prosecutor supervising the legality of the investigation.

As for the fourth individual present at the murder scene, another resident of Vanadzor born in 1988, a search warrant had previously been issued against him. Recently, as a result of operational-search and investigative measures, he was located and presented to the conducting authority. He has been charged under Article 334, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code. The investigator has petitioned to the court to reaffirm his detention as a preventive measure, which has been granted.

The parts of the case regarding him and the unidentified individual that involved the illegal transfer of weapons to the 29-year-old have been separated for independent proceedings, with the investigation continuing in that regard.