Truck theft, burglary, smashed wall and cell phone theft: in a few hours, the incredible journey of a delinquent in Montpellier

The accused stole the young woman's cell phone at Place Roger-Salengro. – GOOGLE STREET VIEW

From a truckload of fruit and vegetables stolen at night to the assault of a young woman to steal her cell phone early in the morning, this 30-year-old man committed a series of crimes before being arrested.

Thursday August 1, early in the morning, a 20-year-old young woman called the police: an individual accosted her in the street and stole her cell phone, instead Roger-Salengro, in Figuerolles. The victim explains that she was leaving for work at 6 a.m. when this man who was driving a fruit and vegetable truck approached her to ask for information on her route.

He ends up hitting her

The young woman consulted her phone to look for information, the driver asked to see the screen more closely, and took the opportunity to grab the device. She caught up with it, but the individual threatened to hit her… before carrying out his threat.

The victim gave the police the description of the suspect and his vehicle, and they made the connection with a burglary committed a little earlier, at 5 a.m., on Impasse Jasset, in the Croix d'Argent district. There, a resident raised the alarm after coming face to face with a man whom he put to flight, but who left with two payment cards. In his hasty departure, the burglar made a bad maneuver in the dead end and broke down the wall of the neighboring house, then hit three parked vehicles.

When arrested, he denies everything

The police cross-checks reveal that the truck was stolen during the night at the Mosson market halls, with a load of fruit and vegetables worth 4,000 euros inside. The police finally found the vehicle in the Cité Gély… parked, to top it all off, in a space reserved for disabled people.

The individual was arrested at 7:35 a.m., at the end of his improbable escapade. Placed in police custody, he denied all the facts and mentioned schizophrenia. He was brought before the public prosecutor on Friday, August 2.