Officers from the Criminal Department of the District Police Headquarters in Lubań were working on a case involving property thefts that occurred in Lubań and Nawojów Śląski. The victim played a key role in the arrest of the first man: he recognized the vehicle that the perpetrators had used the previous day to steal, among other things, handheld blowers, chainsaws and a 5-liter canister of diesel fuel from the man’s property.
The man following the thief notified the police, who immediately headed in the direction in which the perpetrator was driving. The vehicle was stopped by an unmarked police patrol, and the 38-year-old was arrested. A check in the police database revealed that the perpetrator was subject to a driving ban. The man was charged immediately. Officers secured evidence in the form of surveillance-camera footage. It was established that the crime had been planned and that the perpetrator had an accomplice who helped him commit it.
The officers’ professional approach and experience enabled them to take swift and effective action and identify the person travelling in the second Opel vehicle. They then began observing and monitoring the roads where they suspected the wanted vehicle might appear. The officers’ instincts did not fail them.
At noon on Monday (9 December), the wanted car entered a parking lot, with an unidentified man behind the wheel. Upon seeing the plainclothes officers, he tried to escape and rammed an unmarked police car. The officers immediately reacted by blocking the road again to prevent him from fleeing further. Despite the damage to his vehicle, the man continued trying to get away. He got out of the car and began running on foot. He was eventually arrested after a brief chase. The 38-year-old resident of Bolesławiec County was subject to an active driving ban, so he will also be held accountable for that offence.
The suspect was charged with a total of five offences, including theft, burglary, violating a driving ban, assaulting an officer and forcing police officers to abandon their official duties. By decision of the prosecutor, the suspect was placed under police supervision and banned from contacting the other perpetrator. He now faces up to 10 years in prison.