A court hearing took place on 21 October 2026 in the case of the poisoned drinks at an arms factory in Šternberk and around Olomouc. The state prosecutor Jindřich Pazdera called for an exceptional sentence for the defendant and for the protective measure of secure detention.
According to the indictment, the man first poisoned drinks at the Excalibur Army arms factory in Šternberk, in which, according to the case file, one employee died. In 2025 he is then said to have placed bottles and cartons with drinks containing poisons, morphine or lead compounds around Olomouc, in places frequented by homeless people. According to the indictment, these acts were not completed because of police intervention. The indictment also charges the defendant with preparing an attack on intervening police officers, in which he is said to have considered shooting or a booby-trap explosive device and to have obtained chemicals. The police discovered the acts while investigating other criminal activity.
The defendant admitted the acts in the pre-trial proceedings; before the court he denied guilt, saying that he had been lying at the time. The prosecutor said there are no mitigating circumstances and pointed to the defendant's earlier court sentences for theft and animal cruelty. The defence proposed acquittal on all counts. It said that the poisoning of colleagues had not been proven, that for the drinks intended for homeless people it sought acquittal on grounds of insanity, and that the last count of the indictment is not, in its view, a criminal offence.
Chronology
- — A man charged with poisoning drinks at an arms factory in Šternberk and in Olomouc faces an exceptional sentence. Novinky.cz iDNES.cz
Sources
- Novinky.cz — 21 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 21 October 2026