Auto. Former F1 driver Jean Alesi taken into custody

“Jean Alesi was taken into custody on Monday around 4:00 p.m. for damage to the property of others by means of an explosive device,” Nîmes deputy prosecutor Antoine Wolff told AFP, confirming information from the Team.

It is as part of an investigation for damage committed in the nearby town of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon (Gard), that Jean Alesi and his brother José found themselves in police custody. At 11:30 am this Tuesday, they were still in police custody according to information from the Dauphiné Libéré.

The facts occurred in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, the city of Gard where the former 57-year-old Ferrari driver resides, separated from the papal city by the Rhône, hence the referral to the Nîmes prosecutor’s office, said Mr. Wolff. .

The police had been called Sunday evening by the neighborhood, worried by the sound of an explosion. Thanks to the license plate number noted by a neighbor, the police were able to determine that the vehicle seen on the spot before leaving with all lights out belonged to José Alesi, the brother of the ex-pilot, who was arrested.

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A bad joke?

The former Scuderia driver (1991-1995) then went to the police station on Monday, where he cleared his brother of customs duties, explaining that he was in the car with his son and a friend of his. and that he himself had stuck a “big fireworks bought in Italy” in the frame of a window in his brother-in-law’s architect’s office, without imagining causing such damage, “he said. explained the Deputy Prosecutor.

Jean Alesi, who completed 13 seasons in Formula 1 for a grand prix victory, explained that he only wanted to play a “bad joke” on his brother-in-law, in the process of separation with his sister, ensuring not to be in dispute with him.

The brother-in-law, who says he has “no worries” with Jean Alesi, has however filed a complaint for the degradation of the frame of his window, said Mr. Wolff.

Jean Alesi’s son and his friend have also been taken into custody, to determine whether they are not complicit in this act.

“I am quite skeptical about the notion of a ‘joke’ carried out at 10 p.m., without the person concerned knowing who it is, and everyone is heard in order to check if there is no ‘other motive,’ added Antoine Wolff.

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