A Kyiv resident attempted to steal a bottle of premium alcohol worth 4,999 hryvnias from Silpo under his jacket—here’s the court's decision.

A man entered a Silpo store and stole a bottle of cognac valued at 4,999 hryvnias. He attempted to take the item out in the pocket of his jacket but was apprehended by security. The individual committed this act after consuming alcoholic beverages in the food court, which led him to act irrationally. This information is detailed in the ruling of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, published on June 10, 2024.

On March 2, 2023, the man was in the premises of the Gulliver shopping mall, where he entered the store of Silpo-Food LLC, took a bottle of the alcoholic beverage "Martell Cordon Bleu," with a volume of 0.75 liters, worth 4,999 hryvnias, and placed it in the inner pocket of his jacket. He headed towards the exit, passed through the checkout area and anti-theft gates but was stopped by security personnel.

During the court hearing, the man fully admitted his guilt. While in the food court, he had consumed alcoholic beverages, which led him to act irrationally, especially since he had already been sentenced on December 9, 2022, for similar offenses to actual imprisonment, although the sentence had not yet been executed as it was under review by the appellate court. Thus, under the influence of alcohol, he decided to steal a premium alcoholic beverage. With this intention, he approached the shelves with alcoholic drinks, saw an attractive bottle in a box, took the 0.75-liter bottle out of the box, and placed it in his jacket pocket, leaving the box on the shelf. Together with the bottle, he headed for the exit, passing through the checkout area without paying for the item and the anti-theft gates, but near the escalator, he was caught by security staff, who ordered him to return the stolen bottle, which he did.

What punishment did the court choose?

The court found the man guilty of committing a criminal offense under part 2 of article 15, part 4 of article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 5 years of imprisonment. Based on article 71 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the unserved portion of the sentence from the ruling of the Sviatoshyn District Court of Kyiv from December 9, 2022, which had sentenced him under part 2 of article 15, part 4 of article 185, and part 4 of article 185, was partially added to the imposed punishment, setting the final sentence to 5 years and 2 months of imprisonment.