Fool's bullet: how ex-judge Trishkin is threatened by shooting at a taxi driver
On November 25, the court of the city of Vidnoye, Moscow region, began considering the merits of the criminal case against ex-judge Albert Trishkin. According to investigators, the accused quarreled with a taxi driver who blocked his path and shot his opponent in the leg with a traumatic pistol "found behind garages." Trishkin was charged with causing moderate bodily harm for hooligan motives. During the first hearing, new details came to light: it turned out that the former judge was also rude to the policeman, who wanted to take explanations from him immediately after the incident. About how new circumstances can affect the course of the case, see the Izvestia article.
What is the charge against ex-judge Trishkin?
On Tuesday, November 25, the Vidnovsky City Court of the Moscow region began considering the criminal case of Albert Trishkin, a former judge of the 2nd Western District Military Court. He is charged with three counts of intentional infliction of moderate harm from hooligan motives.
According to investigators, in August 2024, Trishkin quarreled with a taxi driver and shot a man in the leg with a Makarov traumatic pistol. The taxi driver arrived to order and, reversing through the courtyard, blocked the path of the judge's car.
The criminal case against Trishkin was opened in September 2025, after the Higher Qualification Board of Judges (HCCC) gave permission for this. The accused is currently on his own recognizance.
According to the investigation materials, Trishkin was the initiator of the shooting conflict. The incident was caught on surveillance cameras. The recording shows the former judge pointing a gun at the taxi driver, who grabs his left thigh after firing the shot. The victim reported Trishkin to the police.
According to the accused, he started a conflict with the driver "because of his lack of restraint." In his opinion, there were subjective reasons for this: the man was involved in serious accidents involving taxi drivers several times, and almost died in one of them. The ex-judge claims that at first he only threatened with a weapon, and the victim allegedly tried to grab a gun and generally behaved aggressively.
During the meeting, Trishkin said that he had found a traumatic pistol two days before the emergency near work — "behind the garages", put it in the car and was going to hand it over to the Department of Internal Affairs on the next working day.
— I discovered the presence of cartridges in the pistol after the incident. Being in a depressed emotional state, I got rid of the weapon after these events," the former military judge confessed.
He added that he apologized to the victim and wanted to negotiate with him on compensation for moral damage. But the taxi driver allegedly raised the amount several times — from 600 thousand to 6 million rubles.
In addition, the former judge stated that he had information that the victim was able to return to work ahead of the deadline specified in the documents. And one of the medical reports allegedly refers not to an average, but to a mild degree of harm to health.
What evidence was provided to the court
The participants in the trial were provided with physical evidence — two bullets, which were extracted from the injured taxi driver's leg. But law enforcement officers could not find the casings.
— I examined the area, I wanted to find shell casings. I couldn't find them," the policeman explained to the court.
Earlier, the check showed that there was one shot, but the bullet split into two components. In addition, it turned out that Trishkin was rude to a police officer who wanted to take statements from him after a conflict with a taxi driver.
— After the victim showed me a photo of his face and car, I called Trishkin. He was rude to me and said that if I arrived at such and such an address, they would explain to me who I was. I saw on the Internet that this is the building of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. After that, I found information about Trishkin's work on the Internet," said a policeman who testified in court.
Trishkin himself explained his behavior by saying that he did not perceive the person who called him as an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"The ministry itself says that police officers don't call, so that's what I answered," he said.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 2, 2025. It is expected that the ambulance staff, whom the injured taxi driver contacted after the emergency, will take part in it.
What threatens Trishkin for the shooting conflict
According to the article on causing moderate harm to health, Trishkin faces up to five years in prison, Anton Pivovarov, a lawyer at the Moscow Sed Lex Bar Association, told Izvestia. Moreover, the status of a former military judge will be considered a factor that increases the public danger of his actions.
— The fact that Trishkin held the position of a military judge will be assessed by the court. Formally, this does not make the punishment stricter, but courts traditionally proceed from the fact that representatives of the judicial system must demonstrate exemplary behavior," the expert explained.
In addition, the use of weapons, the motive of hatred of a social group and the commission of a crime in a public place are among the aggravating circumstances. Being rude to a policeman who called Trishkin would not be a separate crime, but could be considered a characteristic of a person, Anton Pivovarov believes.
— If we are talking about showing disrespect to a representative of the authorities, as a rule, this is indicated in detail in the case file, — he said.
In addition, Trishkin may be charged with another article on illegal possession of weapons. According to Konstantin Trapaidze, chairman of the bar association "Your Legal Attorney", much will depend on whether the investigators and the court believe in the suspect's version of the discovery of the pistol.
"If he hadn't fired that gun, his version would have looked quite working," the lawyer noted. — But in this situation, the issue of illegal possession of weapons will remain at the discretion of the prosecution and the court.
Mitigating factors may include Trishkin's admission of guilt, cooperation with the investigation, and voluntary compensation for harm to the victim, said Veronika Polyakova, a criminal defense lawyer and managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association. And if it is confirmed that the conflict "occurred emotionally and without premeditated intent," this may play in favor of the ex—judge, lawyer Anton Pivovarov added.
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