In 2019, this bloody episode was widely commented on. After a complicated investigation, the suspects will finally be tried for criminal association and no longer for murder.
The Figaro Nantes
The story goes back to the night of April 22-23, 2019. It was around 1:40 in the morning. On a busy street in Nantes, behind the cathedral, a commando had burst into Moonlight, a shisha bar on Rue du Maréchal-Joffre, firing bursts of automatic weapons. A young 24-year-old waiter was shot dead and six people were injured. This bloody episode, which occurred in the context of a turf war against a backdrop of drug trafficking, took place following other shootings in the previous days.
Five and a half years later, six individuals will be tried before the Rennes Criminal Court. Aged around thirty, two are detained, one is on the run, two are under judicial supervision (including a woman, the partner of the main protagonist), and the last is free due to a procedural error. As revealed by our colleagues at West France and confirmed by a source close to the case, this trial will be held from October 7 to 15. The defendants will be tried for “participation in a criminal association with a view to preparing a crime”, and “drug trafficking” for some. In other words, the real murderers of the young employee, a collateral victim, remain unclear.
Controversial investigation
The investigation took many twists and turns and was sharply criticized by the defense lawyers. Initially, attention was focused on Mohamed A., suspected of being the instigator and responsible for the murder in an organized gang in conjunction with four other perpetrators. From the beginning, he protested and maintained his innocence. The investigating judge of the Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Rennes referred the five accused to the Assize Court for “murder and attempted murder in an organized gang.” The latter also announced that she had received attempts at intimidation.
The lawyers for the accused had denounced the accusations, which they considered unfounded, even leading them to file a complaint for “forgery and use of forgery” after crude transcriptions of recordings. They had appealed the indictment order. After months of eventful investigation, in June 2023, the investigating chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeal finally reclassified the case as “criminal association”resulting in a criminal court judgment.
«Pression»
“It’s a case with a lot of pressure”reacted M.e Sami Khankan, Mohammed A.’s lawyer at the Figarosatisfied to see that the crime itself is no longer being charged. Three other individuals were tried in this case, including Mohamed A.’s two brothers for links to narcotics. They were finally sentenced to 6 months of reduced sentence for one, and 14 months of pre-trial detention for the other, while “The prosecution had requested 4 years and 5 years”underlines Mr. Khankan. Another was convicted for failure to report a crime. An aberration for the lawyer, “while today, this crime is no longer reproached”.
