Eight months of theft and damage, between Mende and Marvejols, against a backdrop of great social poverty

The hearing took place on Tuesday March 5 before the Mende Criminal Court. Midi Libre – Archive

A young man of almost 20 years old was tried by the Mende criminal court, this Tuesday, March 5, 2024, as part of a deferred appearance.

When they look back on the journey of this young man, almost 20 years old, at the bar of the Mende criminal court, on this Thursday, March 5, lawyers and magistrates are unanimous. They have "compassion" for this defendant who is being tried in the context of a delayed appearance for a series of thefts and damage, in a state of legal recidivism, committed mainly in Mende and Marvejols, between May 2023 and January 2024. During these eight months, the young adult entered many premises to steal, above all, food and money. Thirteen facts, to which are added the consumption of cannabis and death threats.

During his pleading, his counsel Ms. Clarisse Ribière recalls that the parents of the native of Saint-Affrique were convicted by a criminal court for habitual violence against their six children. The almost twenty-year-old suffered severe abuse from the age of 9 to 15, before the siblings' teachers made a report.

Emotional and educational deficiencies

"He was punched. He was deprived of meals. He ate the dog's kibble and begged for food in the village. He had to do chores repeatedly. He was hit in the face with a sword. His father threw him in the mud, burned his wrist, threw stones at his head. The latter himself took care of his children's teeth, whose teeth he pulled out with pliers, lists not without a certain emotion l& #39;Mendoise lawyer, who has been supporting her client for several years.

Emotional and educational deficiencies which, if they do not justify the offenses that the accused committed, help to explain them. And which sheds light on his personality. The homeless person, who spent the entire winter of 2022-2023 in a tent in the Poilus forest of Mende, is in fact described as antisocial and incapable of complying to standards. He is also recognized as disabled, and suffers from a slight mental deficiency, which according to Me Ribière would rule out any premeditation, since'he presents & ;quot;poor mental processing skills". 

Five civil party constitutions

Finally, during the criminal hearing, only five legal and natural persons, out of the 15 victims identified, became civil parties. The La Traverse association, which hosted the young adult, will be reimbursed 584 euros. which were taken from him. The operator of a hotel-restaurant bar in Mende obtains the repair of her video surveillance camera, broken during one of the two thefts of food that she suffered. #39;she suffered, as well as partial coverage of her lawyer's fees.

The Mendois Weightlifting Club, victim of a theft of €562, will also be reimbursed. The man, who was threatened with death, will receive 150 € for moral damage, after having formulated the exorbitant sum of 2,000 €. Finally, the City of Marvejols, represented by its first deputy Gilbert Girma, certainly became a civil party, but did not make any request for compensation, after the intrusion of the accused into premises belonging to him.

Two years in prison

Valéry Morron, public prosecutor of Mende, asks the magistrates of the seat "to provide an important warning& quot; while recalling that the sentence incurred was fourteen years. It requires thirty months in prison, including ten months in full with a two-year probationary suspension, with an obligation to provide care, to work, to compensate the victims and a ban on making contact with the one he threatened.

Yves Gallego, the president, and his two assessors, Edith Lledos and Clara Gellf, finally sentenced the young man to twenty-four months in prison, including four months in full with fines. ;a reinforced probationary stay, with the same obligations as those formulated by the public prosecutor.

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