Carcassonne. Fuel thieves were rampant to finance their purchase of crack

On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, it was in the premises of the Comelec company, located in the La Bouriette industrial zone in Carcassonne, that Benoît and Nicolas, aged 37 and 48 respectively, were caught in the act while They were trying to steal fuel. Flabio, aged 36, was outside, keeping watch in a car. A few days earlier, on November 1, it was within the confines of the Aude Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis 11) that the trio had already raided without being caught, thus taking away diesel and six truck batteries. For these facts, Benoît and Nicolas were then placed in pre-trial detention on November 7, before finally receiving judicial review five days later. Flabio, for his part, has always remained free.

This Monday, December 16, it is in this context that the trio was tried before the Carcassonne court, to answer for the thefts at Sdis 11 and the attempted theft at Comelec. But of the trio, only Benoît remained, returned to pre-trial detention on November 25 after another theft in Bricomarché, and Flabio. Nicolas was conspicuous by his absence… In front of President Anne Nappez, Benoît admitted his participation in the facts with which he is accused, explaining that he had committed all these thefts for the purchase of cocaine which he smoked as crack, after the having mixed with ammonia. Under guardianship, he receives the disabled adult allowance (AAH). Father of a little girl, whom he has not seen for six months, he does not have a job and is not registered with France Travail. His criminal record includes only one conviction.

Appearing free, Flabio indicated that his role was to wait in the car and that he served as driver. He too is addicted to crack, which he says he has been taking for four months. As a couple with two children, he receives the RSA just like his partner, with whom he is not declared. “I take between one and two grams of crack a day, which I finance by stealing!”he told the court. His criminal record includes four convictions. Nicolas, the main absentee from this trial, is the oldest of the group. He is married 2011, but has no job or income. Weaned from heroin, he uses cocaine and cannabis. Until he disappeared into the wild, he lived in a trailer. His criminal record shows nine convictions since 2000.

Present at the hearing, the CEO of Bricomarché claimed the 235 euros worth of stolen products. For Sdis 11, Me Julie Santin (Toulouse bar) requested the sum of €3,729 for the theft of the six batteries and €1,049 for the siphoned fuel. At the public prosecutor’s office, his representative spoke of “a team with a well-established operating procedure and the use of the same car”. For Benoît, who found a way to steal again even though he had been placed under judicial supervision, an eighteen-month prison sentence was required, with continued detention. For Nicholas, “who does not honor us with his presence even though he had also been placed under judicial supervision”twelve months were required with an arrest warrant. For the case of Flabio, “who is one of these similar people brought together by their addiction”the sentence of six months in prison was requested with a committal warrant.

In Benoît’s defense, Me Laurence Cormouls-Houlès pleaded for a mixed sentence with a probationary suspension, “because my client is a person who reflects on his journey. Addicted to crack, he entered a vicious circle. He regrets it today. He is himself a victim, because those who provide him with narcotics are the same ones who give him orders…”

At the end of its deliberations, the court finally sentenced Benoît to one year in prison with continued detention, and Flabio to 280 hours of community service to be served within eighteen months. He faces six months firm in the event of non-compliance. For his part, Nicolas was sentenced to one year in prison with an arrest warrant issued against him.