Bulgarian Police Rearrest Sofia Serial Arson Suspect

Crime | February 1, 2012, Wednesday // 11:44
Bulgarian Police Rearrest Sofia Serial Arson Suspect: Bulgarian Police Rearrest Sofia Serial Arson Suspect Yuliyan Kovachki, accused of a number of car arsons in Bulgaria's capital Sofia, is escorted out of the courtroom. Photo by BGNES

The man who was declared by the Bulgarian police to be a serial arsonist, Yuliyan Kovachki, had been arrested again.

The news was reported Wednesday by the largest private TV channel bTV.

This time the man was arrested because he acted violent in a bar in the capital's "Mladost" residential district. The reason for his hooligan act is still investigated.

After being taken in the seventh police precinct, he again showed his temper and broke to pieces the furnishings of the cell in which he had been held.

On December 27, the Sofia Appellate Court released Kovachki on own recognizance. He was allegedly responsible for about a dozen of car arsons that took place in Mladost.

On December 18, the Sofia City Court ruled to keep him in permanent custody, on the grounds there is reasonable doubt he had committed the arsons and because he has a criminal record.

Yuliyan Kovachki, 29, was arrested on December 15 – it was revealed that he knew the majority of his victims and committed the arsons over anger from being unemployed in the last two years. He admitted to 12 arson cases, and has been indicted on 12 counts of arson. In Court, however, he claimed innocence. He told magistrates that the cars began burning on their own when he was walking near them,

In addition to being unemployed, it was reported that he was an orphan and often abused alcohol. He has a criminal record for theft and hooliganism. Kovachki further failed the lie detector test after being arrested in connection with the arsons.

The appellate magistrates decided that there was not enough evidence to keep the suspect behind bars and ruled for him to be released on own recognizance.

The judge stated that witness testimony did not prove the crime had been committed by Kovachki. Among other motives were the facts that traces of flammable substances have not been established on the defendant's clothes; the psychologists could not be questioned as experts, and the lie detector test is not admissible court evidence.

Kovachki, allegedly, committed the arsons under the influence of alcohol and had been involved in setting vehicles and buildings on fire to counter his anger and dissatisfaction with life.

Though subsiding, there had been over 60 arson incidents in Sofia in the last two months and over 30 others outside the capital.

Police say that the arsons were committed by several groups with different motives and some have been copycat criminal actions. Others believe the arsons were set on purpose by an unknown, but powerful mastermind in order to destabilize the cabinet of the ruling GERB.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Crime » Be a reporter: Write and send your article
Tags: hooligan, hooliganism, violent, arrested, arrest, car, arsons, arson, police, sofia, bail, Sofia City Court, recognizance, car arsons, Yuliyan Kovachki, GERB, Mladost

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria