The court arrested Shota Elizbarashvili, the driver of businessman Georgadze who shot officials in Krasnogorsk

The Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow on Thursday decided to arrest until December 19 driver Shota Elizbarashvili, whom investigators suspect of aiding businessman Amiran Georgadze, who shot four people, a Mediazona correspondent reports from the courtroom.

According to investigators, the suspect helped Georgadze in committing three murders, brought him a backpack with weapons into his office and transported him in two cars. The investigation qualified his actions as complicity in murder and illegal arms trafficking (part 5 of article 33, paragraph “a”, part 2 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 1 of article 222 of the Criminal Code).

“Elizbarashvili assisted Georgazda with the provision of weapons, ammunition, and its transportation to the crime scene. Thus, he assisted in the commission of the crime. He also transported Georgadze, first in his car, then in his own Ford Focus,” investigator Grebenev said in court.

Elizbarashvili himself opposed the arrest; he said that he did not know about Georgadze’s plans, and later could not refuse him because he threatened him with a weapon. As soon as the opportunity arose, he ran away and voluntarily turned to law enforcement agencies, the suspect emphasized.

“I would look at everyone in this room, how would they prevent a crime when there is a nervous man with two pistols in his hands. Shota is not a criminal,” one of Elizbarashvili’s three lawyers said in court.

The defense proposed to assign the suspect a preventive measure not related to imprisonment. In particular, the lawyers offered bail in the amount of 3 million rubles.

On October 19, Krasnogorsk businessman Amiran Georgadze shot and killed the head of Krasnogorsk Electric Grids OJSC Georgy Kotlyarenko and the first deputy head of Krasnogorsk Yuri Karaulov in the official’s office. According to the Investigative Committee, a businessman who was involved in construction previously received government orders, but recently he lost them. Georgadze’s third victim was Konstantin Smyslov, a 53-year-old employee of the Security Service of the editorial office of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, and on Monday evening a fourth body was found in the businessman’s house - the body of Georgadze’s former companion.

A criminal case regarding the shooting in Krasnogorsk was initiated under articles of murder (parts 1 and 2 of article 105 of the Criminal Code) and illegal trafficking in weapons (part 1 of article 222 of the Criminal Code). On October 20, Amiran Georgadze was charged in absentia with Georgadze himself under paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code. He has not been found since Monday, October 19th.

After the incident, the Krasnogorsk branch of United Russia decided to expel Georgadze from the party.