On Wednesday June 19, a 25-year-old man, incarcerated at the Roanne detention center, was sentenced by the court to 18 months in prison. A few days earlier, he had looked beautiful during an activity at the SPA du Roannais.
“I didn’t think. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have escaped.” Presented before the Roanne court during an immediate appearance hearing, this Wednesday, June 19, the young 25-year-old defendant tried to make amends. Presented as an “unstable” inmate, he had nevertheless benefited from temporary absences from the Roannais SPA. And the first four had gone off without a hitch. What his lawyer, Me Henri Christophe, did not fail to point out.
I was careful to avoid the cyclists and cars I passed.
But on Friday June 14, the native of Auvergne, detained in Roanne prison since 2020 for various acts including serious abuse or acts of cruelty towards a domestic animal, took advantage of a “need to urinate” to escape the vigilance of activity supervisors. Without news of him for two days despite intense searches, the police ended up arresting him in Joux (Rhône), at the end of a crazy chase on the small roads, after he stole a Ford Fiesta in Pommiers-en-Forez.
Now available for release in September 2026
“I was at around 140 km/h,” admitted Johan Springard* in court. “But I was careful to avoid the cyclists and cars that I passed,” he said. Combined with his obvious lack of prudence and his unfailing determination to escape justice, the argument hardly convinced the deputy public prosecutor of Roanne, Marie Nicourt.
Nor the court judges, who sentenced him to 18 months in prison, with continued detention. The young man therefore returned to his prison cell at the end of the hearing, where he will not be able to leave until September 2026. In the meantime, it is not certain that he will be able to benefit from new furloughs…
Pauline Michaud
* In accordance with our charter, we cite the identity of a person sentenced to at least one year in prison with a committal warrant.
