This Wednesday, five men were tried at the Nîmes criminal court for aggravated violence with a weapon and in a meeting. The victim received seven stab wounds, close to the heart.
On September 14, 2024 at 1 a.m., a group of six young people aged 20 to 26 arrived at the Bridge Pub in Sommières. The evening is festive and alcoholic. A well-known bar patron, named Richard*, goes home to get a knife and then returns to the party. The bottles of vodka keep coming and the young people are having fun. Then, around 2:30 a.m., Richard will take out the knife in front of the group of friends. They will then start hitting him. The waiter will try to calm the fight, and will ask everyone to leave. Alone against everyone, Richard will take punches, kicks and chairs.
The victim takes the bridge on foot to escape, but one of the young people will knock him to the ground. Another will ask him to give the knife he has on him. “If I give it to you, will you leave me alone?” Richard asks fearfully. They respond “oui”. However, one of them took the knife and stabbed it seven times in his left side, close to his heart. Then, another went to threaten the boss to demand that he delete all the images from the video surveillance, before stealing his phone. “I was so scared,” the bar manager explained to investigators.
Evacuated and hospitalized, the victim received 15 days of ITT. These injuries were extremely serious. During the investigation, six men were identified, one of the protagonists was convicted in the CRPC and the five others were remanded in custody pending their trial. Investigators were able to access video surveillance and analyze the facts. At the first hearing, on October 11, the case was postponed. The prosecution had opted for placement under judicial supervision for the five defendants.
This Wednesday, November 27, the group of young people was tried at the Nîmes criminal court. Lorenzo is the one who stabbed you seven times. He has a clean criminal record. “The day after the fight, I woke up with a black hole from the alcohol. I don't remember anything. When I watched the videos, I was shocked,” he explains to the court. The latter was hit by a car in 2018. Seriously injured, he suffered head trauma. Since then, he has been disabled. At the time of the events, he was no longer taking treatment. His brother, Marvin, punched him in front of the bar and threatened the bar manager. Last January, he was convicted of similar charges and received a four-month suspended sentence. Then the other three participated in the beating.
The public prosecutor gives these requisitions: “The facts are very serious. We could speak of attempted murder when a group of people attack a person. If he is not dead, it is not thanks to you. Why did you massacred? It's too easy to say that you don't remember I ask for four years in prison and a committal warrant for Lorenzo, 4 years in prison and a committal warrant with the revocation of 4 months of suspended sentence. against Marvin and two years including one reprieve for the others.
The Nîmes court sentenced Lorenzo, author of the stabbings, to four years in prison, including one year with a probationary suspension with a warrant for deposition at the hearing and a ban on possessing a weapon for five years. His brother, Marvin, received two years plus four months in prison with a committal warrant and the three other defendants received two years in prison, one year of which was suspended with the possibility of being placed on an electronic bracelet.
* Name has been changed
