Jens Lapidus - Easy Money

The plaintiff Joakim Berggren has, among other things, said the following: The three men, Patrik Sjöquist, Mrado Slovovic, and Ratko Markewitsch, came to restaurant Kvarnen at around 0120 on August 23 of this year. The security guard who was working the line at the door, Jimmy Andersson, informed Berggren through the internal communication system that the three men had acted in a hostile manner and had demanded to speak with the person in charge of the coat check. Jimmy Andersson chose to let them in. Berggren understood that the three men belonged to the so-called Coat Check Mob, a segment of Stockholm’s organized-crime world that seeks to make money on different restaurants’ and bars’ coat-check business. He therefore informed them that Kvarnen was not interested. Despite this, he welcomed them into the restaurant. The three men acted aggressively. Among other things, Patrik Sjöquist said that they refused to leave the venue if they were not permitted to speak to the person in charge of the coat check. After approximately two minutes, the men entered the venue without having spoken to anyone regarding the coat check. Berggren continued to work the coat check and the door. At around 0300, he went to the rest room to urinate. Patrik Sjöquist entered the rest room. Shortly thereafter, the other two men also came in. Berggren was standing at one of the urinals. Patrik Sjöquist went up to him and headbutted him across the nasal bone. He believes the nose was broken. After that, Patrik Sjöquist grabbed hold of Berggren’s hair and hit his head against the side of the urinal. Thereafter, Patrik Sjöquist pounded Berggren’s head against the edge of the urinal at least three times. He remembers that Patrik Sjöquist yelled, “You fucking fag” and “This is what happens to people like you.” Shortly thereafter, Berggren lost consciousness.

In response to the charges, the defendant Patrik Sjöquist has made the following claims. He was threatened by Joakim Berggren, who said that “he would grind him to a pulp if he ever set foot in Kvarnen again.” The reason for this was that Patrik Sjöquist had refused to check his coat. He believes that is the reason that Joakim Berggren believes that he belongs to some so-called Coat Check Mob. Later, he went to the bathroom to urinate. Inside the bathroom, he was shoved in the chest by Joakim Berggren. He tried to defend himself and there was a scuffle. He is not able to remember exactly what happened, but he knows that he received several punches and, in turn, hit Joakim Berggren. He is claiming self-defense against Joakim Berggren’s assault. However, he admits that he hit Joakim Berggren in the face with at most three blows. The reason for this is that he was protecting himself and acted in self-defense. He does not believe that he pounded Joakim Berggren’s head on the urinal. He would not do something like that. After that, the two other persons ran into the bathroom. Sjöquist did not know that they were security guards. One of them began to fight with Mrado Slovovic. Sjöquist does not know why. He was inebriated at the time.

DISTRICT COURT’S JUDGMENT

The security guard Peter Hallén has recounted, among other things, that he saw Patrik Sjöquist holding Joakim Berggren by the neck when he entered the bathroom. He also saw how Mrado Slovovic “wrestled” one of the other security guards, Daniel Lappalainen, to the floor and put his leg in a lock. The restaurant guest Christer Thräff has recounted how he heard Patrik Sjöquist yell to Joakim Berggren that he would “teach him a lesson,” as well as that he saw how Patrik Sjöquist head-butted Joakim Berggren. The witnesses’ testimonies appear to be reliable. The District Court further believes that Joakim Berggren’s testimony is reliable. For example, he has described details regarding what Patrik Sjöquist yelled. His testimony is supported by the medical reports and by the testimonies of witnesses Peter Hallén and Christer Thräff.

Patrik Sjöquist sustained no reported injuries and also did not consult a doctor after the incident in question. The witness Christer Thräff has recounted that it was Patrik Sjöquist who, unprovoked, head-butted Joakim Berggren. This leads the District Court to believe that Patrik Sjöquist’s testimony is unreliable.

In summation, the District Court finds Patrik Sjöquist guilty of assaulting Joakim Berggren, consistent with the prosecution’s allegations. Patrik Sjöquist did not act in self-defense. The assault was of an unusually ruthless nature and shall be judged as aggravated assault, since it included repeated blows to the head, with severe injuries as a result. The charges are supported and will therefore be accepted. The crime shall be labeled aggravated assault.

Patrik Sjöquist has seven previous convictions on his criminal record. Most recently, he was convicted for assault by Nacka District Court and sentenced to four months in prison. His record also includes a previous conviction for assault as well as unlawful threats, hate crime, illegal possession of arms, illegal doping, and various traffic infractions. Based on medical records by court-appointed doctors, it is clear that Patrik Sjöquist lives in an orderly way. He is employed as a construction worker and spends a great deal of his free time on so-called body-building. He has a yearly income of around 200,000 kronor. There is no present need for surveillance. Patrik Sjöquist has agreed to community service.

Considering the severity of the crime and the aggravating factors discussed supra, no alternative sentence to imprisonment is available. The sentence shall therefore be set at three years in prison.

COUNT 2 (MRADO SLOVOVIC; ASSAULT)

Evidence

The prosecutor has, as verbal evidence, referred to the statements/questioning of the plaintiff, security guard Daniel Lappalainen, as well as to the questioning of the witness, security guard Peter Hallén.

Daniel Lappalainen has, among other things, recounted the following. He does not know if he was wearing his security guard’s badge at the time of the incident. He understood that there was something “going on” in the men’s bathroom. When he entered it, he saw Joakim Berggren lying on the floor. There was blood on the wall and on Joakim Berggren’s face. There were a number of people in the bathroom. He yelled at everyone to stay in the bathroom. One man ran past him out the door. Another man, Mrado Slovovic, grabbed hold of his leg, so that he lost his balance. Mrado Slovovic then put his foot in a lock. It hurt a great deal. He thought that Mrado Slovovic would break off his foot. Then Mrado Slovovic told him that “Kvarnen would be visited again” and that “Joakim Berggren had messed with the wrong guys.” After that, Mrado Slovovic and Patrick Sjöquist left the venue.

The security guard Peter Hallén’s version of events is the same as under Count 1.

In response to the charges, the defendant, Mrado Slovovic, has made the following statement. The security guard Joakim Berggren had been very unpleasant to his friend Patrik Sjöquist earlier during the night. When Mrado Slovovic came into the men’s bathroom, he saw that the situation was generally tumultuous and that a fight was going on between Joakim Berggren and Patrik Sjöquist. He was on his way to break up the scuffle when two men entered the bathroom. Mrado Slovovic did not realize that they were security guards. One of the men, Daniel Lappalainen, must have thought that Mrado Slovovic was involved in the fight, because he tried to “wrestle” him to the floor. At that point, Mrado Slovovic became very frightened. Mrado Slovovic succeeded in freeing himself from Daniel Lappalainen’s grasp. He may have grabbed Daniel Lappalainen’s foot in order to tear himself away, but it was not hard. Daniel Lappalainen was not wearing a security guard’s badge and Mrado did not realize that he was a security guard.