Montauban. Court: “I do not want to be incarcerated in France”

With his colorful tattoos encircling his face and his massive build, HG, a 36-year-old Spaniard, looks like a tough guy, but from his first speech with the help of a translator dispatched for the occasion, he cry bitterly. A spleen which will not leave him throughout his appearance before the criminal court where he was summoned for violence with the use of a weapon, a knife in this case. This homeless Spanish man, visiting his sister in Négrepelisse, has only one desire: to leave France and return to Spain and serve his sentence there, whatever it may be.

What happened to him on December 15 at his sister’s home? He himself is incapable of remembering. That day, he had drunk a lot and it was an altercation on the phone with who knows who that derailed him. For no apparent reason, he attacked his brother-in-law, scratching his face. The latter ended up locking himself in a room, while the attacker went downstairs to get a kitchen knife to threaten him. A stab in the door which will eventually come off its hinges bears witness to this. The brother-in-law escapes through a window and onto the neighbor’s roof where he takes refuge. This is where the police will intervene around 2 a.m.

61 mattresses on the floor in Beausoleil

He was apprehended without incident but denied any violence. Faced with his difficulties in explaining his actions, we discuss the testimonies of the sister, brother-in-law and nephew present at the time of the events before focusing on the personality of the accused. He has four children from two different partners in Spain, is unemployed and has a Spanish criminal record which includes 15 convictions, most of them for past acts of violence and theft. “I do not want to be incarcerated in France. I want to see my children and my wife again,” proclaims the defendant between sobs.

For Jeanne Regagnon, representative of the public prosecutor. “All the testimonies agree to determine the guilt of Mr. She is asking for 18 months in prison.”

This is a lot for Me Gaux, the defense lawyer. “He has his whole life in Spain and nothing in France, except imprisonment. This man has nothing to do in prison. In Beausoleil, the occupancy rate is 150% with 61 mattresses on the same the floor. My client is one of those people who sleeps on the floor.

The court handed down a 15-month sentence with continued detention, a 3-year residence ban and a 5-year ban on carrying a weapon. He can also begin the process of serving his sentence in his country.