Former Lithuanian kickboxing champion shot dead in Vilnius, ex-policeman suspected
Former Lithuanian kickboxing champion Vincas Jašmontas was shot dead in Vilnius last Friday. Delfi reports that a former police officer, Roland Novickas, is the suspect and has been released under precautionary measures.
Vincas Jašmontas, a former Lithuanian kickboxing champion, was shot dead last Friday in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. The news portal Delfi reported on Monday that a former police officer, Roland Novickas, has been named as a suspect. A pretrial investigation is under way, and the full circumstances of the killing remain unclear.
The victim
Jašmontas previously used the surname Danisevičius. In kickboxing, he won a silver medal at the European Championships in 2016 and became Lithuanian champion in 2017.
The suspect
Novickas was born in 1973. He used to head the second division of the Organised Crime Investigation Board of the Vilnius County Police. According to Delfi, he left the force about 15 years ago.
He was detained at the scene on Savanorių Avenue after the shooting. He did not try to flee and waited for officers to arrive. Police seized a firearm that he owned legally. The suspect was later released from detention and placed under precautionary measures: his travel documents were taken away, and he gave a written commitment not to leave the country.
What happened
Police first received a report of an assault. The caller said he was being attacked by armed men. When officers arrived, they found a man near a bus stop who had been shot several times. Preliminary information indicates that the shooting took place during a conflict.
