Two sentenced to preventative detention for Tbilisi shooting

Tbilisi City Court sentenced the two individuals involved in the downtown shooting that left one person injured and caused a traffic incident on Tuesday to detention ahead of their trials.

Giorgi Aduashvili and Konstantine Jorbenadze were sentenced to the preventative measure on Friday, after hearing the Prosecutor's Office's argumentation for keeping them in detention.

The prosecution argued there was a risk of "fleeing, influencing witnesses, interfering with evidence collection and engaging in another criminal act" by Aduashvili, who fired on Zurab Kutchava, the injured individual.

See a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Georgia video, showing the moment the driverless car of Kutchava rolled down Tatishvili Street and cut across the traffic on Melikishvili Street:

The Office also argued for keeping Jorbenadze, a friend of Aduashvili who was arrested with a charge of failing to report a crime, in detention on the same basis.

Both individuals have continued to deny wrongdoing since their arrest.

They were arrested after the shooting incident in which Aduashvili opened fire from the back of a car on Kutchava, who was driving a car behind on a downhill Tatishvili Street. The Prosecutor's Office said Aduashvili had fired more than 10 times in the incident.

Kutchava latter escaped the car, which then rolled down the street and cut across the traffic on perpendicular Melikishvili Street, before eventually coming to a halt after hitting a parked vehicle next to Tbilisi Concert Hall.

Kutchava was later taken to a hospital but refused to cooperate with police.

The main trial for Aduashvili and Jorbenadze is scheduled for March 12. If proven guilty they could be imprisoned by up to 14 and seven years respectively.