Danilo Mandić sentenced to one year in prison for stealing an official parliamentary vehicle
Danilo Mandić, the nephew of Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić, has been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing an official vehicle of the Parliament, while he has been acquitted of charges of causing minor bodily injuries and unlawful possession of weapons and explosive materials.
The verdict was delivered before the Basic Court in Podgorica by Judge Ivana Becić, who also lifted his detention, as he had already spent exactly one year in custody.
- He has been acquitted of the charge of committing the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosive materials, in conjunction with the criminal offense of minor bodily injury and the criminal offense of a serious act against public safety, as it has not been proven that the defendant committed the said criminal offenses. The injured parties, Perović and Turković, do not know who fired the projectile or who caused their injuries. This part of the indictment remained at the level of reasonable suspicion, as even eyewitnesses - random passersby - did not see who fired the shot - the verdict states.
According to the indictment, represented by the prosecutor of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica, Ivan Bojanić, Danilo Mandić was charged with a serious offense against public safety, minor bodily injury, unlawful possession of weapons and explosive materials, as well as the theft of a parliamentary official vehicle.
In his closing arguments, prosecutor Ivan Bojanić requested a guilty verdict for Mandić, while the legal representative of the injured parties, Darko Perović and Aris Turković, attorney Damir Lekić, withdrew from criminal prosecution.
The investigation against Mandić was initially conducted by the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica, but the case was soon transferred to the jurisdiction of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the indictment, on April 19 at around 3:40 a.m., while driving an official vehicle of the Parliament, Danilo Mandić blocked the path of Darko Perović and Aris Turković and then fired several shots from a firearm. As stated in the indictment, Perović was wounded on that occasion.
Throughout the entire proceedings, Mandić remained silent in his defense, while the injured witnesses, Darko Perović and Aris Turković, during their testimonies, were unable to recall key details from that evening. Perović repeatedly refused to testify.