A month after the blackout, the sub-prefect of Pointe-à-Pitre, the prosecutor, the municipality and the territorial director of the national police looked back on the events that took place in the city during that night. Looting, exchanges of fire with the police. Where are the investigations?
This meeting given to the press, this Tuesday, November 26, in Pointe-à-Pitre, was not chosen at random. The point made by the sub-prefect of Pointe-à-Pitre, the prosecutor, Caroline Calbo, the municipality and the territorial director of the national police, one month after the blackout, was the opportunity to make a return from the CLSPD , the local security and crime prevention council on the riots which took place in the city, a month after the blackout.
As a reminder, on the night of October 25 to 26, Pointe-à-Pitre was the target of looters. 11 businesses were vandalized and robbed in the evening, including a supermarket, a bank and three jewelry stores. A backhoe loader was even used to break the roller shutters of a store.
The police also came under fire.
Looters had been arrested at the scene of the abuses, recalled Caroline Calbo. One of them was tried on October 28 and sentenced to one year in prison. The police found items on him that had just been stolen from the vandalized telephone store.
The Banditry Suppression Brigade continued an in-depth investigation, using technical and scientific police elements found at the scene that evening, such as fingerprints, in order to identify the perpetrators.
Investigations which bore fruit since the prosecutor announced that 4 suspects were identified and arrested on November 13. “They were then referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office for immediate appearance. They asked for time to prepare their defense” she clarified.
This case will therefore be judged on December 13.
In the meantime, the 4 individuals were placed in pre-trial detention. “We discovered weapons and objects in some homes that were stolen that evening.”.
Caroline Calbo insisted on the work that was accomplished by investigators to find the perpetrators of this violence.
It was also important to say that it was not because we could not react at the time… As the traders expected, it was also to protect the lives around us. There was a huge amount of damage, estimated at between 300,000 and 400,000 euros, but it was material damage. There were no casualties, despite the shooting.
Caroline Calbo, public prosecutor of Pointe-à-Pitre
There are also ongoing investigations into the shootings that were carried out on the police by the rioters. There were three series of shots at the police to which they responded once.
What complicated things was this backhoe loader which could not be pulled on without the risk of injuring people.
This famous machine that we could see in images, breaking down the metal curtains, allowed a “plundering of opportunity which poses the most difficulties” Caroline Calbo conceded, “these rioters who all gathered around, protected by this backhoe loader to be able to carry out the looting. We will try to arrest as many people as possible with the evidence collected at the scene.” she concluded.
