George Andreou, 66, 8, from Xylofagou, pleaded not guilty to the charges of premeditated murder of 2013-year-old Pantelis Antonios Ropas, a taxi driver from Sotira who was killed on October 35, XNUMX in Ayia Napa.
During today's proceedings before the Permanent Criminal Court of Cyprus that met in Larnaca, the Lawyer of the Republic Andreas Aristides announced to the 35-year-old the charges for the murder of the 66-year-old taxi driver, that on October 8, 2013 he brought the DOKO Rope.
When asked by Mr. Aristides if he accepts the accusations, George Andreou answered "No".
Andreas Aristides told the Court that the main evidence in the case is the video footage from the closed surveillance circuits received by the Police, which shows the movements of the car with which the perpetrator of the crime allegedly moved.
The videos are being processed by the Criminal Investigation Service of the Police Headquarters and will be presented to the court and according to Mr. Aristides, the experts of the Service will need about three weeks in order to prepare the reports from the closed surveillance circuits.
Following this development, the President of the Criminal Court set Wednesday, December 4, 2013 as the day on which the hearing will begin. Until that date, George Andreou will remain in custody at the Central Prison.
It is recalled that the murder of the taxi driver took place around 12.45 pm on Tuesday, October 8, 2013, while Pantelis Antoniou Ropa was playing in a parking lot on "Island" Avenue in Ayia Napa, backgammon with a colleague, who recognized the date as perpetrator.
The victim received two shots from a shotgun, type DOKO, from a person who approached him with a double-cab vehicle. The 35-year-old allegedly shot the victim in his car and then left the scene in an unknown direction.
The shootings hit Pantelis Antoniou Ropas in various parts of his body. He was transported by ambulance to a polyclinic in Ayia Napa, where doctors on duty confirmed his death. The victim suffered injuries to his chest, neck and arms and his death was instantaneous.
It is noted that the Police carried out a search in the house of Andreos in Xylofagou, in which three hunting weapons were found and received, one of which is registered in his name and the other two in the name of his father. A number of hunting cartridges were also found, including the same type as the cartridge found on the scene.
The 35-year-old is a registered owner of the double-cab car through which he was seen by the victim's colleague shooting the 66-year-old. The car was picked up by the Police for scientific examinations. A shotgun and a number of complete shotguns were found inside the car.