New Belgrade Robbery Spree: Prosecutors Seek Detention
An investigation order was issued on August 13 against M.M., 53, over two robberies and two attempted robberies in New Belgrade. Prosecutors seek detention, citing the risk of reoffending.
The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has opened an investigation into a string of robberies in New Belgrade and asked the court to order detention for suspect M.M., 53. The suspect was questioned before the public prosecutor. The investigation order was issued on August 13, and he is charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery. According to the prosecution, he is a repeat offender with multiple prior convictions. The investigation names four victims.
Why are prosecutors seeking detention?
The motion for detention was filed with the Third Basic Court in Belgrade. Prosecutors cited the risk that the suspect would reoffend.
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement:
an investigation order was issued against the suspect on August 13 over suspicion that he committed two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery
The reasoning behind the detention motion itself came down to a single line. Prosecutors pointed to “specific circumstances indicating he would reoffend within a short period,” as the statement put it. The court will now decide on detention.
Four attacks in a single day
The first attack was reported around 1 p.m., near the bus stop by the Belgrade Arena. According to the investigation, the suspect threatened a 29 year old United States citizen with a knife and took 100 dollars, 100 euros and 10,000 dinars from him. The victim suffered injuries to his hand, elbow and hip.
Several hours later, around 5 p.m., an attack was reported on Antifasisticke Borbe Street. A 23 year old Ukrainian citizen said the suspect hit her in the head, entered her apartment and took 2,000 euros and gold jewelry.
Two more incidents followed that evening, which prosecutors classify as attempted robbery:
- around 9 p.m., on Jurija Gagarina Street, the suspect allegedly threatened a flower shop worker with a stun gun and took her shop key, but failed to unlock the shop
- around 9:30 p.m., on the same street, he entered a driving school office with a broken bottle, dragged a worker by the hair and cut her arm while demanding money
- the victim’s resistance, according to the investigation, stopped the attack from going further
Two of the victims are foreign nationals, and two are workers from shops on the same street. All four incidents took place within a span of just under nine hours.
From the reports to the arrest
Police launched a search after the reports came in. The suspect was found and arrested on Nehruova Street in New Belgrade, which we reported at the time of the arrest.
The timeline was short. The attacks were reported over the course of one day, the arrest followed that same evening, and the questioning before the public prosecutor and the investigation order came on August 13, with the detention motion filed immediately after.
M.M. is presumed innocent until a final verdict. At this stage of the proceedings, the prosecution is presenting reasonable suspicion, and evidence is still being gathered as part of the investigation.
