The thefts were committed between August 2019 and July 2020 in several municipalities in the department.
Hydraulic drill, tiny house, Airstream caravan, fire truck, 4×4 type vehicle, electric bicycles and motorcycles, generator, tools… The list goes on. In total, nearly twenty thefts are included in this case judged by the Nîmes criminal court this Friday, November 15. Crimes committed by three young people, aged between 23 and 30, in different municipalities in Gard between August 2019 and June 2020.
Various thefts which question the court
A diversity of thefts which calls out to Jean-Michel Perez, the president of the court. “If we can say that bicycles, motorcycles or 4x4s can be stolen for resale, why have a hydraulic drill, a tow truck, a trailer been stolen?”he questions. “It’s because Guillaume* wanted to develop the land he had just purchased”explains Benjamin*, one of the three accused. Land located in Saint-Mamert-du-Gard, north of Nîmes. But to arrange the place, the three friends had their own method. For the Airstream caravan, an American-style caravan worth more than €100,000, two of the defendants first contacted the seller. “I could see that he was behaving strangely. That’s why I secretly took a photo of his license plates. And two weeks later, my caravan had disappeared”explains the owner of the vehicle during the hearing. A technique that they will also use for the tiny house, these small wooden houses. “It was to live there initially, and perhaps to resell them afterwards”recognizes Guillaume, the owner of the land.
“It was funny”
For the drill, again, they had their reasons according to them. “We passed the copper rods and saw that there was a water source. So we said to ourselves that we were going to dig a well. But when we wanted to use the drill, we decided realized that technical skills were needed”, continues Cédric, the last accused. On the other hand, for the fire truck, stolen from a warehouse, they admit to having done it “on a whim”. “We passed it. At first it wasn't our first choice, but it was the only vehicle that could start easily. And when we started driving with it, at first we wondered what we were going to do with it , but it was quite funny”he adds. A vehicle that they would ultimately use to commit some of the other thefts.
Sentences between ten and eighteen months in prison
So many justifications which seem “sensible” for them, even if they recognize that they were “youthful nonsense”but disconcerting for prosecutor Jean-Luc Vasserot. “We find ourselves faced with three individuals who come to this bar with a certain nonchalance, a carelessness, while forgetting the harm that these thefts have done to the civil parties. They tell us: I needed wood, I got it stole the generator, ultimately it was too important for my needs… But it was very useful for businesses.he emphasizes. It requires two years in prison, partially suspended with a security period of three years, the obligation to compensate the victims and a fine of 5,000 euros.
The court will ultimately pronounce a sentence of 18 months with a two-year probationary reprieve for Guillaume, twelve months with a simple suspended sentence for Cédric and ten months for Benjamin with a two-year probationary reprieve. With an obligation for all to compensate the victims. The fine was, however, not retained.
