Rzeszów appeals court hears case of shooting on Siemiradzkiego Street
Two men have appealed against convictions for attempted murder of a flat owner who was shot during the recovery of the property. The appeals court has set the next hearing date for September.
Rzeszów appeals court hears case of shooting on Siemiradzkiego Street
An appeals court hearing in Rzeszów is under way in a case concerning a brutal incident from July 2022. Two 28-year-old defendants – Sebastian Sz. and Mateusz M. – have appealed against sentences issued in December of last year by the district court.
The incident occurred when the owner of a flat on Siemiradzkiego Street arrived with her husband and daughter Zuzanna to reclaim the property from the tenants. Following an earlier termination of the lease agreement, the woman had called a locksmith to open the door if the tenants failed to vacate the property by the specified date. As the locksmith began work on the lock, the door opened from the inside. Mateusz M. then directed pepper spray towards the people standing at the entrance, whilst Sebastian Sz. fired a shot from a semi-automatic pistol. The bullet struck Zuzanna G.-M. in the hand and abdomen, causing cardiorespiratory failure and creating a real threat to her life.
In December 2024, the district court sentenced Sebastian Sz. to ten years' imprisonment and Mateusz M. to eight years. Additionally, both men were ordered to pay jointly three hundred thousand złoty in compensation to the victim and four thousand złoty each to her parents, who acted as subsidiary prosecutors. The sentence was not final.
The prosecutor is seeking in his appeal to increase the sentences to fifteen and thirteen years' imprisonment respectively. The defendants' lawyers will argue for acquittal or a change in the legal classification. Sebastian Sz.'s lawyer argues that his client acted in necessary self-defence and requests a change of the charge to negligent infliction of injury. Meanwhile, Mateusz M.'s lawyer disputes the existence of an agreement between the defendants, contending that his client acted independently in order to repel an attack.
At the first appeals hearing, which lasted over two hours, the court admitted motions for evidence submitted by the prosecution and the subsidiary prosecutors' representative. The judge set the next hearing date for 21 September, when witnesses who were detained with the defendants will be examined. One of these persons allegedly received information from Sebastian Sz. concerning the ongoing proceedings. The defence lawyers did not object to this motion, although they argue that the detained men had no opportunity for mutual conversation. On this matter, the court will contact the director of the penitentiary.
The evidence includes video footage from the victim's telephone, which documents the moment of the incident. The recording confirms that the door was opened from inside and that pepper spray and a firearm were used simultaneously. Additionally, correspondence between the defendants was secured, which shows that they had planned to use pepper spray and a firearm against the people who came to reclaim the flat. Experts established that at the moment the offence was committed, both men were of sound mind and sober. Zuzanna G.-M. suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her injuries.
Source: TVP Rzeszów
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)