On the night of January 2 to 3, the gendarmes spotted two cars driving at high speed between Contz-les-Bains and Rettel, in northern Moselle. They lose sight of one of the vehicles. The flashing lights scare away the second. The chase begins. The gendarmes describe dangerous driving, excessive speed, crossing a straight line. The chased car crosses the German border. The patrol turns back and decides to go and wait for him on another road. Bingo. The Alfa reappears with its hazard lights and runs out of gas.
Driver and passenger are arrested. They were presented Tuesday before the criminal court of Thionville.
Audience spectacle
The defendants, aged 20 and 23, say they paid the Alfa Romeo 700 euros on an e-commerce site, without the papers. And for good reason, the car was stolen.
“Why did you buy a car when you don’t have a license? asks the president. “It was winter, it was to stay warm,” says the driver. “The personal belongings left in the vehicle and its price did not alert you? “, continues the judge. “No, there are plenty of them on the internet,” replies the person concerned. His attitude again causes laughter in the room. Family and friends are at the forefront. “It’s nice to see them,” replies the passenger in the car.
The scene is far from making the victim, owner of the stolen and damaged Alfa, smile. The public prosecutor cuts the show short. The magistrate requires one year in prison against the driver and nine months against the passenger prosecuted for complicity and concealment too. Sentences accompanied by continued detention. The defendants have loaded cases. They’re already in jail on a robbery case. Their lawyer pleads a confusion of sentences and releases her on concealment.
Is the procedure invalid?
The court will deliver its decision on June 27. Because the file is more complex than it seems. At least in form. The defense lawyer raised a nullity of procedure, likely to put an end to the proceedings if the court deems it admissible. Me Rodrigues believes that the police custody is not regular. He notes that the duty lawyer was called more than ten hours after the arrest of the defendants. “No written and reasoned decision signed by the prosecutor authorizes this postponement”, explains the lawyer, relying on Police Custody Act 2011. “Of course my clients were not heard by the gendarmes during this period but they were indeed deprived of their freedom”, he supports. The court will appreciate.
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