Prosecutor from Caraș-Severin arrested pending trial following armed incident in Hunedoara
The High Court of Cassation and Justice has ordered the preventive arrest of prosecutor Radu George Bucurica, overturning a decision by the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal. He is subject to a general manhunt after failing to be found at his residence.
Prosecutor subject to manhunt after ÎCCJ orders preventive arrest
The High Court of Cassation and Justice ordered on Thursday the preventive arrest of prosecutor Radu George Bucurica, from the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Caraș-Severin County Court, according to Google News RO — Crime (ro). The decision overturns the ruling of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal from 10 August, which had rejected the arrest proposal without instituting any other preventive measure.
The arrest warrant was issued "immediately," and the period ordered by the supreme court covers the interval 27 August – 25 September 2026, inclusive. The ÎCCJ decision is final.
Bucurica subject to general manhunt
Shortly after the decision was announced, Bucurica was placed under a general manhunt. His name appears on the Romanian Police's website in the list of wanted persons, indicating that police officers did not find him at his residence when they arrived to execute the warrant.
One day before the ÎCCJ ruling, the Section for Prosecutors of the Superior Council of the Judiciary had already ordered Bucurica's suspension from office, at the request of the Judicial Inspection. He is also subject to a disciplinary investigation by the same institution.
Incident at a nightclub in Hunedoara
Prosecutor Bucurica was detained on the night of 9 August following an incident at an establishment in Hunedoara County. According to the General Prosecutor's Office, the man entered the bar carrying a lethal pistol, a knife and tear-gas spray. When police officers asked him to identify himself, he caused a disturbance and fired his weapon.
Local news site Știri din Hunedoara reported that the prosecutor entered the nightclub dressed entirely in black, wearing black gloves resembling surgical gloves, and displaying unusual behaviour. A person present alerted the police.
Case files indicate that Bucurica's firearms permit had been revoked on 27 July, a few days before the incident.
The ÎCCJ found in its ruling that the accused is charged with "violating the firearms and ammunition regime, disturbing public peace and order, and two counts of outrage," according to the judgment published on the supreme court's portal.
Alba Iulia Court of Appeal rejected arrest
On 10 August, the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal refused the preventive arrest proposal, whilst also criticising the prosecutor's office that had conducted the investigation. In the reasoning of the decision, the judge of rights and freedoms held that there was no evidence that Bucurica had fired the weapon, maintaining that it had been discharged by one of the police officers attempting to disarm him.
The court also faulted the prosecutor's office for allowing the accused to appear at hearings with a torn shirt — images captured in the courthouse corridor on Monday. The judge posed a rhetorical question in the reasoning concerning the extent to which the prosecutor's office had considered "social resonance and the public image of the judicial system" when permitting such an appearance.
On Thursday, the ÎCCJ dismissed these arguments, granting the arrest proposal made by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)