Carjacking, robberies: three men tried before the Gard Assize Court

Un accusé a comparu libre, un deuxième détenu. Le troisième était absent de l’audience. Midi Libre – BARBIER STEPHANE

Since Monday, March 25, three men had to answer for the crimes of theft and attempted theft with threat of a weapon. Only two of them were present at the hearing.

This November 19, 2021, in the middle of the afternoon, they saw themselves die. In Pontet (84), first of all, this couple of uneventful retirees had just returned from the cemetery, when, in a dead end, three masked men, hoods on their heads, appeared out of nowhere. Vehement, threatening, armed with their 22 long rifle which later turned out to be unloaded, these three strangers extricated the 79-year-old man and his 75-year-old wife from their Peugeot 308. Neither one nor two, the trio took in the process the escape aboard the vehicle, leaving the traumatized, distraught couple on the side of the road.

In Remoulins a little later, a tobacconist was the target of the three criminals, who would subsequently be confused thanks to the store's video surveillance. "I’was at the checkout with a customer, when’a determined man took aim at me, before that someone else doesn't ask me for cash" , remembered, this Wednesday March 27, the manager of this tobacco shop still traumatized. " I started screaming. The unexpected presence of my son in the back room obviously caused the leak of these two men and their colleague ! ".

25 cartridges, 1000 euros in cash

During their trial which was held Monday 25, Tuesday 26 and Wednesday March 27 , before the Assize Court of Gard, three accused had to answer for these "aggravated theft" and "attempted robbery with a weapon", as well as the robbery of a grocery store in Bézouce, which occurred this same November 19, 2021 at the end of the day. If these three men  nbsp;had ended up recognizing their participation in all the facts, only two of them were present during the hearing.

On the last day of the debates, Wednesday March 27, the former manager of this grocery store, clearly still very distressed, explained at the bar that he had to, following the events, leave the industry permanently. of commerce for that of construction.

"On the day of the incident, around 5:55 p.m., I was hit in the back at butt shots, before receiving a punch in the shoulder. At gunpoint, I finally had to hand over 25 cartons of cigarettes, as well as the money that was (around 1,000 euros) in the cash register. three young men", he confided mid-morning, during the recess of the hearing.

12, 15 and 22 years required

In her submissions, General Counsel Cécile David requested a minimum of 12, 15 and 22 years of criminal imprisonment against the defendants who were barely 19, 20 and 21 years old at the time of the facts. The accused faced, in this case, under the texts, 20 years of criminal imprisonment for one, life imprisonment for the other two.

Insisting on the astonishment, the feeling of d& rsquo;humiliation'' or even ''anxiety'' experienced in this case by the victims, the magistrate brushed aside the idea of ​​an alteration of discernment, with regard to the main accused.

Emotion at the moment of the verdict

It was a warm, sincere handshake between victim and convict which marked the end of this criminal trial. The one between an 82-year-old man who has clearly forgiven everything, and one of the perpetrators of the carjacking for which he had paid the price 3 years earlier with his wife. An author whose role was considered minor and whose behavior was exemplary throughout his trial.

"My client suffers from Charcot's disease, his lack of empathy is precisely caused by this disease. An illness which undoubtedly has repercussions on his cognitive abilities  !", his lawyer immediately pleaded, urging the jurors not "sacrifice your client because he is not equipped like the others".

At 5 p.m., these "three kids", as their lawyers continued to describe them, were sentenced to prison terms. 12 and 10 years of imprisonment for the first two. The last one who appeared free received a mixed sentence of 8 years of imprisonment, 6 of which were accompanied by a probationary suspension of three years.

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