Attempted murder near a nightclub: heavy sentences at the Hérault assizes, where the defense pleaded for acquittal

Azem Férizi and Didier Jeanlard were the only two to appear detained. FREE MIDI – Aline Champsaur

The five accused, three of whom appeared free, have since the facts claimed to be in no way linked to the savage attack on a cleaning employee at the Entrepôt nightclub, near Montpellier, who was injured by a stab wound to the throat on August 30, 2019 around 6 a.m., upon his arrival on site.

A heavy verdict, in a heavy atmosphere. After a deliberation of less than four hours, the Assize Court of Hérault rendered its decision on Thursday, May 30 at the beginning of the afternoon in the trial of the attempted murder of which was victim on August 30, 2019, in the early morning, a cleaning employee of the L’Entrepôt nightclub, in Lattes, near Montpellier.

A group of Parisians on vacation in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone

Boucacar, 40, was seriously injured with stab wounds to the throat and hand, and beaten by several men who then fled by car. The investigation focused on a group of Parisians, who had come on vacation to Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, some of whom had had an altercation a few days earlier with bouncers from the establishment.

Six of the members of this group, some of whom already had a significant criminal record, having been sentenced for aggravated violence by the Paris Assize Court, were referred to the assizes, despite their protests of innocence. Their lawyers denounced the shortcomings of a judicial investigation partly based on crowded and pixelated video surveillance images, which were difficult to analyze.

The victim said on the stand that he recognized them all

But the victim, who had recognized two of the accused in photos during the investigation, affirmed at the bar to have the same conviction with regard to the three others, who appeared free. The sixth accused, on the run since the start, is wanted on an arrest warrant.

Attorney General Pierre Denier had requested sentences of seven to nine years for four defendants, and twelve to thirteen years in prison for the one suspected of having stabbed , believing that they were facing "a unique crime scene".

The court and the jurors considered that the facts deserved much heavier sanctions: Azem Ferizi, 23 years old, received 20 years of criminal imprisonment. Oudé Keita, 30 years old, Mody Diallo, 31 years old, and Namorye Samassi, 36 years old, all three repeat offenders, are sentenced to fifteen years. Jérémie Jeanlard, 34, who was detained, is sentenced to 14 years. Me Laurent Pasquet-Marinacce, defender of Azem Ferizi, has already announced that he is appealing: the case will soon be retried, in Perpignan or Carcassonne.

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