Rich Russian MP who 'shot man dead thinking it was a bear' avoids prison
dailystar.co.ukREAD MORE: Woman survived being shot in the face after being caught in crossfire between two gunmen "What's there? I saw a bear."The gun is ready for shooting with a thermal imager… I took aim, and hit the bear with the first shot."The man he actually shot from the hatch of his all-terrain vehicle was husband and dad-of-one Andrey Tolstopyatov, 30, who died soon after identifying Redkin as his killer.The victim had been at the dump gathering scrap metal in Ozernovsky village in Russia's far east when he died after being shot in the abdomen with an elite £30,000 hunting rifle.Redkin said: "I heard that a bear, from which local residents might suffer, was wandering in the rubbish dump."I took the weapon and decided to scare the bear away.”But despite the horror shooting, Redkin has now learned he will not face time behind bars.Originally accused of "premeditated murder", which can fetch a sentence of up to 15 years, Redkin's charge was downgraded to causing death by negligence.Now the magnate has been handed a non-custodial sentence, forcing him to live within his district and report to officials once a month.The sentencing came after he paid a total of £410,000 to his victim's family.The victim’s wife Lyudmila, 27, said that while her husband had been a "beacon of light" to his child and stepchild, she had no further claims against his killer after the compensation agreement.The judge in the case believed Redkin had shown remorse, which may have accounted for the lower sentencing.They said: "The court took into account… his active assistance in solving and investigating the crime… and moral damages paid to the victims."Despite his lack of criminal punishment, Redkin no longer serves as an MP and has been booted from the.
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