Convicted Killer Skips Prison Furlough, Caught in Podgorica
A convict from Sabac (S. V, 36) failed to return from a weekend furlough, crossed the border illegally and was arrested in Podgorica, where police suspect he was preparing a new crime.
- A convict from Sabac (S. V, 36) was serving a sentence for a murder committed nearly ten years ago.
- He used a weekend furlough and never returned to the prison facility.
- He crossed the border illegally and was arrested in Podgorica, where police suspect he was preparing a new crime.
- In Montenegro he received 18 days in jail for illegal stay, to be followed by deportation to Serbia.
A convict from Sabac, listed in police records under the initials S. V. (36), used an approved weekend furlough and never returned to the facility where he was serving his sentence. Instead of reporting back to prison management within the set deadline, he crossed the border and illegally entered Montenegro. He was arrested in Podgorica.
He was serving time for a murder committed nearly ten years ago. This is a serious criminal offense for which he was convicted with a final verdict, so in this case he is not a suspect but a convicted person who was in the prison system.
The weekend furlough is one of the benefits that the law provides for inmates. Prisoners who meet the conditions gain the right to spend a set amount of time outside the facility, with an obligation to return at a precisely defined time. When a convict does not come back, it formally counts as an escape, and the authorities open proceedings and issue a search warrant.
How did the convict end up in Podgorica?
According to the investigation, S. V. did not leave Serbia on his own. He is suspected of having an accomplice who helped him avoid checks and cross the border away from an official crossing. The illegal entry into the neighboring country further complicated his legal position, because he immediately committed a new offense, this time on Montenegrin territory.
Montenegrin police arrested him in Podgorica. According to unofficial information, local authorities suspect that his presence in the Montenegrin capital was not accidental and that the convict was preparing a new crime. That suspicion is being checked, and until it is resolved there can be no talk of a new indictment.
For staying illegally on Montenegrin territory, he was sentenced to 18 days in jail. After he serves that sentence, he will be deported to Serbia, where he faces the continuation of his original sentence and responsibility for escaping from the prison facility.
What does the escape mean for the case?
Failing to return from a weekend furlough carries concrete consequences for a convict. Such benefits are usually revoked, and the inmate’s conduct is reassessed. Time spent on the run does not count toward serving the sentence, so the convict effectively extends his stay in prison.
Beyond that, escaping from the facility and illegally crossing the border open the door to new criminal charges. If the suspicion that he was preparing a new crime in Podgorica is confirmed, separate proceedings could be launched against him in Montenegro before he is handed back to the Serbian authorities.
Cases like this always raise the question of oversight over how prison benefits are used. Furloughs are designed as a measure of resocialization and preparation for life outside, but they depend on a risk assessment for each individual convict. When someone convicted of a serious offense breaks the rules, that risk assessment inevitably comes under scrutiny.
For now, it is known that the convict is in custody in Montenegro and that, after serving his 18 days, he faces handover to Serbian authorities. It remains to be established who helped him leave the country and whether he was truly planning a new crime in Podgorica.
Should weekend furloughs for those convicted of the most serious crimes be restricted more tightly?
