Dissatisfied, he wanted to blow up the town hall of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières

The former legionnaire was sentenced to prison and placed in pretrial detention. J.-P A. – Midi Libre

Prosecuted for threatening to blow up the town hall of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, he was sentenced to prison and will then have to leave the department.

A man was sentenced, this Wednesday, September 4, to 10 months of detention, six of which were suspended with probation for two years. He was ordered to treat his alcoholism and he no longer has the right, for 5 years, to reside in the department of Hérault. He was placed in pretrial detention.

The defendant is a former legionnaire. Marked by life and solitude, he lives a life of misery in Saint-Pons-de-Thomières. On August 30, copiously drunk, he went to ask for help at the Saint-Pons town hall. He wanted the mayor to help him recover the sum of 56 euros that his neighbor owed him. Faced with the lack of responsiveness of the town hall secretary who had told him that she would take care of everything, he got angry and threatened to blow up the town hall with a gas bottle. Well known in the high cantons and released from detention in October 2023, the man has a pedigree with some 21 convictions. Most of them for acts of insult or violence. There was therefore no question of letting such a threat pass.

He admits the facts

The individual was arrested and brought before the Béziers court as part of an immediate appearance. “I admit the facts, he admitted before the court. I'm not going to stay in Saint-Pons because no one is helping me. I'm going to go to Mende to help a farmer friend. I got angry because I was receiving a Legion pension of 971 euros and since I turned 62, I've only been given the RSA. 56 €, it’s important to me", the defendant repeats.

"This is a man who has acted"

"His behavior can make you smile, insists the representative of the public prosecutor, but no. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the town hall secretary who had to live through these threats. When you read his record, you know that this is a man who has taken action and he is no longer funny. He wants to blow up the town hall because someone owes him 56 euros. But where are we going?? This man, we must not see him as a grandfather. No, he has been a delinquent for 40 years." He will request a prison sentence with a 15-month committal warrant, as well as the revocation of a suspended sentence of up to 6 months as well as a ban on staying in Hérault.

We are not equal when it comes to administrative procedures

"We are not here to smile, pleads Me Bernadette Lhados-Hérail for the defendant's defense. I'm not going to minimize what happened, but the record is much more important than the facts. For him, administrative procedures are not simple. That's how it is, there are people who are intellectually limited and who don't know how to get by with everything. Before, when you had a problem you could go see your mayor. That's not the case anymore. You have to know where to knock. I ask for your greatest indulgence for this man.”