The technique was well established. Climb buildings in the wealthy suburbs of western Paris, a favorite target for thieves, to reach a balcony and force the French window. Once inside the apartment, all you have to do is help yourself. This is the operating method chosen by two men aged 21 and 23 who have just been sentenced in immediate appearance to, respectively, 10 and 18 months of suspended imprisonment.
A theft of this nature, known as “escalation”, committed in March 2023 in Chatou (Yvelines) was a turning point for the investigations of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye police officers. That day, the duo had pushed the patio door hard enough to make it give way. Numerous pieces of jewelry were stolen, causing damage estimated at 50,000 euros.
Chatou, Le Pecq, Marly-le-Roi and Montesson in the viewfinder
On site, investigators took samples, notably from a safe, which made it possible to identify the DNA of the younger of the two men. He is already known to the police for thefts. His telephone line is studied, which reveals his involvement, his motive but also the mention of four other burglaries in Chatou, Le Pecq, Marly-le-Roi and Montesson, between December 2022 and March 2023. Same scenario, same type of loot.
Among these thefts, the biological analyzes carried out made it possible to identify the DNA of the 23-year-old accomplice. It is also confirmed that the two men had telephone contact and that their cell phones were limited to where the burglaries were committed. The 23-year-old man was arrested at his home in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) while the 21-year-old was taken from a semi-release center in Gagny (Seine-Saint-Denis). ), on June 13. The searches yielded nothing.
