Panevėžys District Court announced on Thursday that a suspended prison sentence was imposed without intensive supervision, but obliging M. Balčiūnas to work or be registered with the Employment Service during this period, participate in behavior correction programs, and not leave the boundaries of his residential area without the permission of the institution supervising the convicted person.
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The court satisfied the civil claim of the injured priest Eugenijus Staleronka and ordered M. Balčiūnas to compensate him for the damage of 2.1 thousand euros.
According to the case data, M. Balčiūnas, who had previously worked on farm tasks for the priest and ran out of money, broke into the rectory of Smilgiai St. George Parish through the basement on December 7, 2025, and stole property of very high value – more than 65 thousand euros and about 2.7 thousand US dollars, belonging to the parish and the priest.
The thief found the money in the rectory’s study room, in drawers and an unlocked safe: about 58.7 thousand euros and 2.7 thousand dollars of personal money belonging to priest E. Staleronka, and about 5.9 thousand euros belonging to the parish. Most of the stolen money was found and seized during searches. The court determined that more than 2.1 thousand euros had been spent.
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In court, 24-year-old M. Balčiūnas pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, and promised to return the spent money. The misappropriated property is of very high value, and the law provides for a fine or imprisonment for up to eight years for this act.
“The court, guided by the general principles of sentencing, taking into account that the convicted person is unemployed, disabled, the act committed was spontaneous and not pre-planned, and most of the stolen property was found and returned to the victim, concludes that the imposition of a real prison sentence would clearly contradict the principle of justice,” said Judge Česlovas Kulikauskas, who heard the case.
The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed to a higher court.
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