Lot. The descent into hell of young people aged 18 and 19, ready to do anything to satisfy their desires

Three young men, all suffering educational deficiencies and lack of benchmarkshave been convicted since Criminal Court of Cahors, August 19, 2022; meet today at prisonafter committing a series of serious acts, in the company of minors …

Three young adults; 19-year-old Pierre, 19-year-old Paul and 18-year-old Jacques (names have been changed) appeared before the criminal court of Cahors, arrested after a series of thefts, home thefts *, violence, destruction … acts committed between 20 June 2022 and on 4 July 2022, in the municipalities of Castelnau-Montratier, Caylus, Fontanes, Lalbenque, Lhospitalet and Souillac.

The three defendants operated with gloves and balaclavas. They were allying themselves with two minors, tried for their part behind closed doors, in front of the juvenile court.

The three defendants had been presented for the first time before the criminal court, on 7 July, as part of the proceeding called immediate appearance. All three had asserted their rights to have time to prepare their defense. However, they had been held in detention until the August 19 hearing, this time assisted by their lawyers.

Damage, theft, violence …

The president of the court examines the charges against each of them, including: theft of laptops, cell phones, a bicycle, a motorcycle helmet, game console, two cars, cash, driving without a license … Many crimes committed in the assembly and which have been accompanied on several occasions by violence and damage to property: burnt car and burned house. Two elderly people were attacked, one of whom was recognized for 7 days of ITT (Total Incapacity for Work) and the other for 3 days of ITT.

The explanations of the three accused, about their misdeeds, aroused the judge’s concern several times in the hearing.

In Castelnau-Montratier, on 25 June, the three defendants fell into the home of an elderly person, while the village festival was in full swing. As soon as the lady had opened her door to the insistence of the bell, she found herself pressed against the refrigerator by one of them, while the other two were in charge of searching the premises and collecting the car keys. her. They take a computer, a mobile phone, an e-reader, 80 euros and drive away.

Terrified by what has just happened to her, having no longer a phone or a car, the 78-year-old lady goes to the gendarmerie to file a complaint. The doctor establishes a 7-day ITT for the 70-year-old’s attention.

The next day, the little offenders intervene in Caylus, always at the home of an elderly person. One of them knew the place and they start over with the same mode of operation as the day before. The financial damage is estimated at over 5,000 euros. The owner is granted a 3 day ITT.

The services of the gendarmerie are on tiptoe; they are able to identify suspicious movements thanks to the SIM cards of stolen phones.

On June 29, the young people set their sights on a house in the town of Lalbenque. The owners are on vacation, they manage to steal the car. But they don’t suspect their comings and goings are being filmed by a surveillance camera. “We needed a car at that time” sighs one of the accused.

On 3 July in Souillac, the stolen car in Lalbenque was found with a stolen computer.

On July 4, a house was set on fire in Lhospitalet, the residence of a Franco-English couple, where young people had settled before trying to erase their traces … “We wanted to experiment ; after dumping alcohol on the sofa, we started a fire to see what it was doing, but we were soon caught up in the flames ! “ Jacques says, adding: “we didn’t come to burn the house down ! ” We are reassured!

” Of course ! replies the president, but you didn’t call the fire department ! ” And Pierre, who would have done better to keep quiet, to answer: “After all, we weren’t going to call the fire brigade when we just started the fire ! ” Seen from this angle, of course!

On July 5, in Cahors, a shop specializing in the sale of cash to private individuals, second-hand products, alerted the gendarmerie by receiving a PS4 game console, defined as “very rare” that two young people were trying to negotiate. .

On 6 July, the vehicle of the old lady from Castelnau-Montratier was found burnt in Fontanes.

During his arrest by the gendarmes, Paul denies having participated in this insane epic. He changes his mind, however, given the elements that confuse him. On the other hand, he assures that he has not committed “any violence”! As good as gold!

They are discarded on the miners …

The president of the court notes that the three defendants have an annoying tendency to report the two or three absent minors who allegedly participated in this series of thefts; “It is not us, it is they who came up with the idea ! ” they repeat, all the time. As if suddenly, the very people who wanted to be little bosses would have let themselves be guided by the noses of people younger than them … Moreover, the strategy soon finds its limits, as regards the statements recorded in the minutes of audience, to which the chairman does not fail to refer.

And Jacques, who would like to take refuge behind the screen of the “follower”, of the “influential man”, who “would not have understood everything”, indicates at first that after drinking more vodka than the others, he did not want to “follow them in their delirium”. However, his presence in the various places of intervention shows that in fact he has followed, to the point of becoming active, setting fire to a sofa, setting fire to the house …

The three defendants claim to have accidentally operated on houses that were on their way: “We knocked and went inside ! ” confirm. Quite simply … The investigators found an SMS that says it all: ” I wanted do damage ! “ A kind of pending confession! For the most delicate situations, the three subjects are unanimous: “He is one of the miners who had planned everything ! “

The president continues his interrogation. She cooks Jacques, who presumably “just followed”. From the end of the lips Jacques declares: “I had a bag and I put everything that others have collected in it …” Maybe a follower! but a “follower” who has no hands in his pockets …

As for Pierre, who drove the stolen vehicles without a license, with the car full, he said he had driven almost 10 km having lost a wheel … How a certain pride in his words!

Young people at liberty …

– Paul doesn’t have a permanent address. He is single and barely knows his he father. He has stopped his studies at the PAC level, but does not have a validated training. He says he would like to work in computer science, but he would suffer from psychiatric disorders. Paul smokes cannabis and medical experience recommends psychological monitoring.

– Pierre lives together and expects a child. He has interrupted school in the sixth grade and finds himself without resources. He has already been sentenced five times. A certain indifference to the acts committed emerges from the psychiatric report. Pierre shows immaturity and impulsiveness. His father would have been ready to offer him a job in his company.

– Jacques is with his mother. He interrupted his studies in the fifth grade. His criminal record is clean. He is presented as passive, dependent and easily influenced.

Me Luc Mazars, lawyer of the civil parties, describes the young people as “disconnected from reality”. On the other hand, he is outraged by the acts committed, especially with the elderly who were mistreated by these young men in balaclavas, in the middle of the night. “A traumatic situation! “ insists. She points out that the defendants wanted to seat one of the elderly people on the floor before pressing her against the refrigerator.

He asks for the postponement to December 14, 2022, the date on which all the damages will have been detected and the amount of the damage stopped.

Educational deficiencies, lack of benchmarks, a form of marginalization …

“Overwhelming, unbearable! “ exclaims the deputy prosecutor, unable to find words strong enough to describe the behavior of the accused, who were trying to blame the minors. In his eyes, it is Pierre who appears to be the leader of this delinquent race. He notices varying degrees of awareness among the three defendants, but regrets that no one has measured the seriousness of the facts. He denounces a spiral of delinquency and the multiplicity of acts. “They stole a car to go further, they steal again, then burn the car before stealing a new one …” summarizes the magistrate by recalling the aggravating circumstances: the hoods, the violence, the blows given to the elderly, the degradations, in meetings, the repetition of the facts, the driving of stolen vehicles, driving without a license, all in euphoria while smoking pipes … “In no time, there is no one who said” stop “we stop ! ” protests the deputy prosecutor. The magistrate indicates the implicit group effect; “a perverse effect”, he complains, without any awareness of reality. He insists on the educational deficiencies of these young people, now without reference points with a form of marginalization … He indicates the idleness of these young people who have remained without doing anything but smoking cannabis and their bad associations: “A disturbing picture”concludes, before proceeding with the requisitions:

– 4 years in prison against Pierre, continued detention,

– 3 years of imprisonment for Paolo, of which one year of imprisonment with suspension of probation, for a period of 2 years, with the obligation of care, work, compensation for the civil parties, continued detention.

– 4 years of imprisonment for Jacques, including one year of suspension of probation for a period of 2 years with the obligation of care, work, compensation of the civil parties, continued detention.

The court follows the requests

Me Anaïs Pronzac, Me Camille Mallemouche and Me Émilie Leibovitch of the Montauban bar, can evoke any type of extenuating circumstance, the court ruling is in line with the requests of the Public Prosecutor’s Office:

– 4 years of imprisonment for Pierre, with socio-judicial follow-up for 4 years and in the event of non-compliance an additional 2 years of imprisonment, plus the obligation to care, work and compensation for the victims,

– 3 years of imprisonment for Paolo, of which 2 years with suspension of probation, with the obligation of care, work and compensation for the victims,

– 3 years of imprisonment for Jacques, of which 2 years with suspension of probation, with the obligation of care, work and compensation for the victims.

The three defendants have 10 days to appeal. A hearing on civil interests is scheduled for December 14, which will set the amount of the sums to be paid to the victims.

* Theft of a car from the owner’s home, forced under threat to hand over the keys.

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