“We're dealing with some rogue people”: three people, including two minors, before the courts for thefts in the Bambouseraie area

Me Joris Numa assurait la défense du prévenu. Midi Libre – Paul Barraud

Un Alésien de 22 ans comparaissait, ce lundi 2 septembre, pour des faits de vols avec des mineurs comme complices. 

Of a fairly stocky build, reminiscent of a rugby player, Dylan V., 22, remained standing and almost silent throughout the hearing at the Alès court on Monday, September 2. The justice system accuses the young man from Alès of having committed a series of thefts and burglaries in the towns of Générargues, Salindres and Rousson between the end of May and the end of August. He is also accused of having directed two teenagers, a girl and a boy from his close circle, to participate in the operations.

Because they are minors, the files of these two other defendants are on the desk of the magistrates of the juvenile court in Nîmes.

Around and in the Bambouseraie

A majority of the alleged thefts were committed in the parking lot of the botanical park near Anduze, which is very busy during the summer. The modus operandi is always the same: the criminals tried their luck by looking for unlocked cars. Wallets, but also phones and game consoles were stolen.

Still at the Bambouseraie, the trio allegedly tried, on May 24, to steal a high-pressure cleaner belonging to the park staff, after breaking in by making a hole in the fence. Too heavy, the machine was ultimately left behind. There we will find a bracelet bearing the first names of Dylan V.'s children, which will make it easier for investigators to find him.
The defendants are also allegedly responsible for several burglaries in which garden tools, brush cutters and televisions were stolen. The defendants' cell phones contained histories of advertisements for items put up for sale on the internet.

“I would never steal near my home”

On August 20, one of the bank cards stolen in front of the Bambouseraie was used by Dylan V. and one of his accomplices to, among other things, fill up with petrol at a nearby service station. Before the magistrates, the defendant did not deny having made a payment or having tried to steal equipment from the botanical garden. But in his defense, he downplays his involvement. Regarding one of the bank cards, one of the teenagers allegedly had it “found on the ground”. “And even found like that, using this bank card is not strange?”, asks Vincent Edel, president of the hearing. A simple “if” comes in response. However, he denies any direct involvement in the other thefts. “I would never steal near my home, I have a job”, he says, assuring that he was only going to pick up the two minors by car without being aware of the burglaries.

A position that struggles to convince the deputy public prosecutor, Quentin Larroque, who suspects the defendant of being at the heart of the organization. “They were a team of burglars” with “perversion of minors” concerning the oldest of the defendants. Dylan V. having already been convicted, in 2021, for sale and possession of narcotics, the prosecution is requesting two years in prison, one of which is suspended for two years, accompanied by a fine of €2,000 and compensation for the victims.

"A heavy sentence for someone who only has one mention on his criminal record", pleads the defense lawyer, Me Joris Numa. "We are really dealing with nickel-plated feet, and above all a delinquency of misery in view of what was stolen." After deliberation, the court acquitted the defendant of the thefts, but nevertheless sentenced him for provocation of minors to commit crimes.

Dylan V. leaves the court with 18 months in prison, including 6 months firm, which he will serve at home, under electronic bracelet, with the obligation to compensate the victims.

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