The Astrakhan garrison military court handed a suspended sentence to private Kashin after finding him guilty of repeated drunk driving and assault on police officers, including a confrontation where he struck two individuals. This conclusion comes from the court decision examined by Socialbites.ca.
As detailed in the document, on the evening of February 18, 2024, Kashin, who was then serving in the military, was stopped by Astrakhan traffic police while driving a Mitsubishi Lancer. A strong odor of alcohol suggested impairment, leading officers to suspend his driving privileges for the time being. In response, Kashin became verbally and physically aggressive and was restrained in handcuffs. In a bid to free himself, he kicked one of the traffic officers in the head.
During the incident, he refused to take a breathalyzer at the scene and was subsequently transported to a drug treatment clinic, where he kicked another officer in the stomach. Tests revealed the presence of alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol, the active compound in marijuana, in Kashin’s system.
One officer sustained a pelvic contusion, while the other suffered a frontotemporal lobe abrasion. The court characterized these injuries as non-life-threatening and not seriously compromising health, though they were undeniably painful and disruptive.
The verdict notes that Kashin joined military service under a contract in the summer of 2023 and was soon assigned to a grenade launcher position. Following the altercation with the police, he chose to continue serving in the special operations zone, signing a renewed contract with the Ministry of Defense on July 31. The court took into account his charitable act of donating 20,000 rubles to the Raduga social center for minors, along with his expressed remorse and the fact that he grew up without a father, living with his mother and grandmother, as mitigating factors.
Ultimately, the court found Kashin guilty of drunk driving and of violence against government officials. He received a sentence of two years and six months in prison, suspended, along with a two-year probation period. His Mitsubishi Lancer was confiscated by the state as part of the ruling.
The decision also references a previous conviction for drunk driving in 2021, which led to a separate sentence that involved work in a correctional facility; that sentence was later replaced with four months in a penal colony. The current ruling therefore represents a continuation of Kashin’s troubled disciplinary record within his service career.
Contextually, there have been other notable incidents involving military personnel facing legal consequences in recent times, including cases where servicemen have encountered security and public safety restrictions in civilian settings. These legal outcomes underscore the ongoing tension between disciplinary standards in the military and the broader expectations of civilian law enforcement. Observers note that the combination of prior misconduct, the presence of alcohol and cannabis in the system, and the defendant’s family background likely influenced the court’s assessment of remorse and mitigating circumstances, although the charges themselves remain serious and carry substantial consequences for service members and their families. The entire case is a reminder that behavior off duty can have lasting repercussions on a service member’s career and legal status, even when a suspended sentence is ultimately imposed. (Socialbites.ca attribution)