Police in Lviv apprehended a man who threatened a gas station cashier with what appeared to be a gun, stole cash, and fled the scene. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident. The suspect now faces up to 15 years in prison.
The robbery occurred on January 9 at around 4:40 a.m. at a gas station in a village in the Lviv district. The suspect, dressed in black and wearing a balaclava, threatened the cashier, took the money, and escaped.
To investigate the crime and apprehend the suspect, law enforcement involved a task force from Police Station No. 1 of Lviv District Police Department No. 2, criminal investigation officers, canine units, and officers from the criminal analysis department, along with patrol police of the Lviv region.
After reviewing footage from the “Safe Lviv” video surveillance system, police identified the suspect as a 25-year-old resident of Novoyavorivsk with a prior criminal record for robberies.
The man was detained near his residence with the assistance of special forces officers.
At the crime scene, law enforcement discovered a gun, a shell casing, and other evidence, which were sent for examination to the Lviv Forensic Research and Criminalistics Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Investigators have opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Article 187 (Robbery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The article provides for a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The pretrial investigation is ongoing, and the court will soon decide on pretrial detention for the suspect.