Nicosia district court Judge Niovi Petridou on Tuesday issued a remand order for six of the nine suspects arrested in connection with the attempted murder in Lakatamia in April.
The victim, Demetris Andronikos was shot at from a motorbike in broad daylight on April 23, sustaining wounds to the neck, and is still in critical but stable condition in hospital, police spokesman Christos Andreou told the CyBC.
According to Andreou, the marathon 15-hour court session, lasting from 10am on Monday until 1am on Tuesday when the decision was announced, was a drawn-out affair in which investigation findings to date were presented by the CID, along with next steps to be taken justifying the remand order request, which had the chance to be countered by the suspects’ lawyers.
Six suspects were remanded while for the remaining three the decision will be announced at noon on Tuesday. The first six together with one of the other three others were already being held in an eight-day detention. The suspects arrested are of various nationalities, with one Greek Cypriot, the police spokesman said.
One of the suspects is a convict being held in the central prisons, Andreou stated.
According to Philenews he is a 43-year-old sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2021 for the attempted murder of Nikos Rodotheos in Nicosia in November 2018.
A suspect of Romanian origin who had been included in the slew of ten arrests on April 27 was later released. Police had linked him with the alleged shooter, even though he had stated that he did not know him.
Information presented by the Nicosia CID in the context of its request for the renewed detention of the remaining nine suspects, ranging in age from 22 to 45, mainly concerned the 45-year-old, according to the daily, against whom written testimony has been secured.
The testimony in question allegedly reveals that the 45-year-old congratulated another (sixth) arrested suspect of Arab origin, who shot Andronikos, aka Demetroui three times, paying him €10,000 euros through a third person and promising the alleged executor a sum of €1,500 monthly, for life.
The 45-year-old was presented by the police as having taken over as Nicosia gang leader last autumn and embroiled in a conflict with the 34-year-old victim, who was attempting to control properties, primarily betting agencies.
The fifth suspect, initially pegged by Nicosia CID as the driver of the scooter-type motorcycle on which the executioner was riding, was presented as an accomplice. He allegedly tried to shoot the 34-year-old on two separate occasions, but hesitated, whereupon the sixth suspect took over the job.
The polices request for remands, read in full in court, comprised a summary of the roles each of the main suspects allegedly had in the commission of the crime.
Police previously stated the case to be intricate and complex with Andreou on Tuesday saying “serious” evidence had been sent for tests and the exact motive would be announced following completion of the investigation.
Reading her decision after midnight, the judge said that the police witness had made a good impression and his testimony was solid.
The weapon used had so far remained elusive and a burned motorbike reported found in Aglantzia was being investigated for links to the case.
The attempted murder took place in Nicosia’s suburb of Anthoupoli while the 34-year-old target was riding his motorcycle away from a police station. He was shot in the neck by a man who was a passenger on another motorcycle.
The victim at the time was reported as “well known” to police.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
