They were charged with carrying out a robbery using a dangerous weapon against a passenger on an MZK bus in Jelenia Góra. Jarosław L. was additionally charged with violating the victim’s bodily integrity and damaging property.

The robbery took place on the evening of July 22, 2015. The victim and his girlfriend were returning by MZK bus from Jelenia Góra to Mysłakowice. The defendant Jarosław L. was traveling on the same bus. When they reached their destination and everyone got off the vehicle, Jarosław L. began insulting the victim and the girl accompanying him. However, they did not react to his taunts.

The victim walked his friend home and then returned to the bus stop. Jarosław L. was already there, along with Hubert C. and four other friends. When the victim tried to board the bus through the middle doors, Jarosław L., without saying anything to him, kicked him in the chest. The young man therefore boarded through the front doors and told the driver that he had been attacked. The driver did not react. The victim sat in one of the front seats.

The attackers also boarded the vehicle. One of them approached the victim and ordered him to go with him to the rear of the vehicle, where the defendant’s friends were. At first, he refused. However, out of fear, he complied with the demand.

During the journey, the defendant Jarosław L. ordered the victim to hand over his mobile phone, threatening to beat him if he did not. At that moment, the other attacker, Hubert C., took out a knife and, holding it in his hand, threatened the man that if he did not give them the phone, he would stab him in the body. Fearing that these threats would be carried out, the victim handed Jarosław L. a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone worth PLN 585. In addition, both attackers spat on the victim.

At one point, the young man managed to escape to the bus driver. Jarosław L., apparently unafraid of anything, also approached the driver. The latter told the defendant that if he did not return the victim’s phone, he would call the police. However, the perpetrator ignored him, opened the emergency door, and got off the bus together with Hubert C.

During the proceedings, it was established that on November 7 of the previous year, at a restaurant in Jelenia Góra, Jarosław L., while intoxicated, broke wooden-and-metal tables and chairs, overturned flower pots, and bent metal ashtrays, causing total damage amounting to PLN 1,350.

Questioned as suspects, Hubert C. and Jarosław L. denied carrying out the robbery with a knife against the victim. Jarosław L. admitted that he stole the young man’s phone, but maintained that he did not threaten him.

At the request of the District Prosecutor in Jelenia Góra, the local District Court ordered pre-trial detention for both perpetrators. Both defendants had previously been convicted. They now face up to 15 years in prison.

District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra/ii