Tallinn police nab armed robber
Members of the police rapid response squad on Friday night caught a 42-year-old man suspected of robbing three people at gunpoint on Sitsi street in the city district of North Tallinn a few hours earlier.
The suspect, who has prior convictions for robberies and thefts, was remanded in custody on Saturday.
The police were informed just before 7 p.m. on Friday that a 27-year-old woman and two 27-year-old men had been threatened with an item resembling a firearm and personal items taken from them on Sitsi street. Several patrols, rapid response personnel, a dog patrol, and investigators were dispatched to the scene.
On the basis of information gathered by tens of police personnel in the area it was revealed that the robbery probably was committed by a 42-year-old man punished for robberies and thefts previosly. At 10 p.m., members of the rapid response squad detained the suspect in an apartment in North Tallinn belonging to an acquaintance of the suspect.
On the night between Friday and Saturday, the police also found the item resembling a firearm allegedly used in the robbery, whose origin is being investigated.
"The police always responds to cases of items resembling a firearm very seriously. This time with good reason, as the man who had prior convictions is suspected of committing a grave crime in which he apparently used a real firearm," said Urmet Tambre, head of the office for criminal investigations at the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board.
A court on Saturday placed the suspect in custody for two months.
The investigation was opened on the basis of the section of the Penal Code dealing with robbery. The investigation is led by the North District Prosecutor's Office and conducted by the office for criminal investigations of the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board.
--
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Helen Wright