On November 11, the Chernihiv Court of Appeal sentenced a man to eight years in prison for the premeditated murder of police officer Oleksandr Levchenko, which occurred in Bakhmach in 2022. In addition, the convicted person must compensate the deceased's wife and daughter for moral damage in the amount of 500 thousand hryvnias each.
Previously, the Borznyanskyi District Court found the man not guilty, acquitting him on the grounds of alleged self-defense, and left the civil claim for moral damage without consideration. The victim appealed to the Court of Appeal with a demand to review the case and impose a sentence of 15 years in prison and 15 million hryvnia in moral damage. The Court of Appeal partially satisfied the complaint.
According to the verdict, on November 19, 2022, at about 11:00 p.m. near a cafe in Bakhmach, the accused stabbed Oleksandr Levchenko. The policeman died the next day in the hospital. According to the deceased's wife, a conflict arose between the accused and the policeman's company, which he tried to break up.
The accused pleaded not guilty and explained that he acted in self-defense due to an alleged attack by a police officer and his acquaintances. The court found that his actions qualify as premeditated murder (Part 1, Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
While serving the sentence, the terms of pretrial detention and 24-hour house arrest were credited with the corresponding calculation of days towards the term of imprisonment.
Oleksandr Levchenko was an inspector of the response sector of the patrol police of police department No. 1 of the city of Bakhmach.
