I was just defending myself, claims the scooter rider who choked a motorcyclist on the road

The aggravated conflict between a scooterist and a motorcyclist in the south of Pilsen, which ended in the death of one of them, was resolved on Tuesday by the Regional Court in Pilsen. According to the indictment, Jan Navrátil (46) from České Budějovice strangled local Antonín M. (42) directly on the road after the conflict. The defendant told the court that he had no intention of harming the motorcyclist in any way. He was just defending himself because he was attacking him furiously and he was afraid of him. According to Navrátil’s defense lawyer Václav Polomis, this is a case similar to the one that took place near the Brno dam, where a Ukrainian fatally wounded Roma with a knife. Nevertheless, he was not convicted, the court came to the conclusion that it was a necessary defense. However, State Attorney Věra Brázdová suggested a minimum of 8.5 years in prison for Navrátil in the indictment.

Jan Navrátil’s defense attorney Václav Polomis:

The incident took place last year on the evening of July 22 between Přeštice and By the way, with which the defendant and the victim have a personal relationship. It all started at the intersection, where Antonín M. overtook Navrátil, who was riding a push scooter, and they argued because it was not sufficiently lit. Navrátil ran away, but Antonín M. overtook him and knocked him off his scooter. The same thing was then repeated once more, but the defendant already resisted. But it ended tragically. “After the defendant climbed out of the ditch and saw Antonín M. sitting on the motorcycle, he pushed him with both hands and knocked him down along with the motorcycle on the road. The defendant remained on the spot and waited, and when Antonín M. managed to get to his feet, he grabbed him and rolled him so that he got behind the victim’s back, they both fell to the ground, where the defendant rolled the victim over so that he was lying on his back on his stomach, Brázdová described, adding that he then put on a so-called tie. He choked him so intensely that Antonín M. died on the spot, his tongue was broken, among other things.

Navrátil, who cried during part of his testimony, initially said that he had no intention of harming the motorcyclist and that he was terribly sorry for what had happened. The man, who works as a store manager in České Budějovice and has never had a problem with the law, said that on the fateful day he was returning from a party in Přeštice and was in a great mood. However, a motorcyclist overtook him at the intersection and started scolding him psychopathically because of the inadequate lighting, even though he was wearing a watch. He sent him somewhere and ran away. Biker but he overtook him and knocked him off his scooter. He fell on the road, momentarily lost consciousness. He didn’t want to wash himself, so he tried to drive as hard as he could. But the aggressive motorcyclist knocked him off the scooter again after a while. He had already come to the conclusion that he had to defend himself against a much taller man. According to his words, they fell while doing laundry, he got under Antonín M. and caught him by the tie, but not directly by the neck, but by the hands.

He was supposed to smash the head of an acquaintance and stab him. Nonsense, he defends himself and insults the police

“I told him to leave it alone, that he definitely has someone to go to. When he didn’t answer, I let him go. He was snoring so I thought he fell asleep in the wind. I didn’t realize for a second that I would suffocate him,” Navrátil recounted, saying that he got out from under the motorcycle and told the two girls who arrived at the scene to call the police and drove off. “First of all, I was afraid that when he woke up, he would take off and kill me, and secondly, I didn’t want to have a fight with the police, we had two beers and I didn’t want to deal with the matter any further,” said the defendant, who repeated several times that the motorcyclist was very aggressive and he had no choice but to defend himself.

The trial was adjourned until June, when witnesses and a line of forensic experts from various fields will be heard. The defendant faces 8 to 16 years in prison, the survivors, many of whom did not miss the trial, also demand a total of almost 4.4 million crowns from him. According to Navrátil’s defense attorney Václav Polomis, it was a necessary defense. “We are referring to the case that took place recently in Brno, where there was an acquittal,” he recalled the case when a Ukrainian killed a Roma with a knife. The court acquitted him of the charges. He reasoned that three men were attacking him and he was just defending himself.