It is a journey, worthy of the Pieds-Nickelés, which led them straight into the nets of the police. Six men were arrested on Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 February by investigators from the banditry repression brigade (BRB) of the Versailles judicial police (Yvelines) after an attempted robbery, with a lot of explosives, at an ATM in Val-d’Oise. The facts date back to the early morning of October 5 in Sarcelles.
Nicknamed Jo, the Elder, the Bird, Mani or even the Disjunctive, they were all indicted, this Friday, February 10, by a judge of the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Paris, for “participation in a association of criminals with a view to the preparation of an offence” and for “attempted robbery in an organized gang” for one of them. They were then remanded in custody.
The BRB police followed the trail of this team after having identified the genetic fingerprint of one of the suspects on the debris of the explosive device used during the incident. That day, around 6:30 a.m., a powerful explosion sounded on Allée Paul-Éluard in Sarcelles. Awakened by the explosion, several residents discovered that the facade of a cash dispenser of a Banque Postale branch had been largely gutted. Under the effect of the explosion, debris was projected several tens of meters. Just after the detonation, a resident had time to see two men, hooded, fleeing on a powerful scooter.
They left empty-handed
Seized of the investigations, the investigators of the judicial police of Versailles proceed to the first observations, then recover a video showing the two fugitives, joined by a third accomplice, mounting their two-wheelers, a few moments after the facts, in a vehicle Renault Master utility vehicle, parked in a street in Sarcelles.
The police also discover that, despite the charge placed on the ATM relay safe, the robbers left empty-handed: the door of the trap did not yield and 310,000 euros are still there. A large sum deposited a few minutes before the explosion by conveyors from the Loomis cash transport company. When questioned, the latter did not notice anything suspicious on their route.
A few days after this spectacular attack, the investigators learned that a DNA trace had been isolated on the remains of a battery used in the device for firing the explosive placed on the ATM. Sifted through the national automated genetic fingerprint file (FNAEG), this DNA corresponds to that of a certain Jérôme V., alias “Jo”, 48 years old, domiciled in Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis). Described as “an active member of Ile-de-France organized crime”this father of a little girl has already been through prison several times.
One of the suspects already convicted for an ATM bomb attack
By consulting their archives, the BRB police find the name of “Jo” in a case of attempted robbery, already with explosives on an ATM, in a BNP agency in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (Seine- et-Marne) in the summer of 2004. Jérôme V. and his accomplices had tried twice to try to break into the precious chest and had no hesitation in keeping any curious people in check, armed with a spear. – rockets.
Jérôme V. was talked about again, in January 2011, by taking part in the robbery of two gold conveyors on the A1 motorway in the Somme. The victims, who were carrying about thirty kilos of gold in their car, had been the target of numerous firearm shots, before being relieved of part of their load, estimated at 800,000 euros. For these facts, “Jo” had been sentenced to eight years in prison, along with another figure of Parisian banditry, Fabrice Hornec. The same had again been involved in a vast cocaine trafficking while he was detained in a penitentiary center in the Oise.
Released from prison at the end of December 2021, Jérôme V. had settled in Bobigny and had taken over the head of a VTC vehicle rental company.
Confused by his DNA found at the scene of the explosive attack in Sarcelles, “Jo” was then closely monitored by police officers from the PJ’s research and intervention brigade (BRI). Versailles, who came to support their colleagues from the BRB. His vehicle, a Mercedes sedan, is “sound”. Jérôme V. is then heard discussing with several alleged accomplices, in particular on the sale of a large caliber weapon, but also on the search for cars. Over the course of these interceptions, “Jo” still evokes « chewing-gum » et ” An extension “.
A mysterious nocturnal trip to meditate on the grave of his… dog
For investigators, this seasoned criminal, who has already spent 27 years of his life behind bars, is preparing a new coup. Discreet tailings allow the men of the BRI to see him moving around the department of Eure-et-Loir, with several accomplices, mounted in a Renault Espace, on the night of January 21 to 22, before turning back. early morning. The same people observe them, at the end of January, in the process of carrying out what is akin to scouting using an electric scooter, near a Société Générale ATM in Villepinte.
A final episode challenges the investigators: on February 5, around 7 p.m., “Jo” and several of his accomplices see their black Renault Espace rear up before stopping its race on the D60 departmental road near Bonneuil-sur-Marne. Jérôme V. goes into a mad rage. He instructs his accomplices to set fire to this vehicle before agonizing them with insults. The reason for such a reaction? These henchmen would have used the wrong fuel when refueling…
Finally arrested, the alleged members of this team denied having participated in this attempted theft in Sarcelles. In police custody, “Jo” would have said to himself “great lover of mints” hence the use of the term « chewing-gum » and especially victim of” a work ” of robbers who would have placed his DNA on the scene of the facts to confuse the tracks. To justify this mysterious nocturnal return trip to Eure-et-Loir, he allegedly argued that he had “wanted to pray at his dog’s grave” buried in one of his former dwellings.
Another suspect mentioned the existence of a « sauce » to clear customs. A third put forward the idea of” Roleplay ” intended to make investigators believe that they were “Massive thugs” ; while a last claimed to have been “under the influence of laughing gas” and having lost all sense of discernment while talking with “Jo” in his car “sound” by the police…
Solicited, the lawyer for Jérôme V., Me Alexandre Sargologo did not “did not wish to speak”.
