Rback to the prison box. The defendant, 21 years old, cannot escape the negative spiral that his life became when his parents kicked him out of their home, in Vendée, when he was only 16 years old. For having extorted money from a “friend” for a day, on November 12 in Royan, at knifepoint, he was sentenced to thirty months in prison, of which eighteen months were suspended, this Tuesday November 19 by the Saintes Criminal Court.
Fabien René acted as a legal recidivist, sentenced last time on January 18, 2023 in Poitiers to eight months in prison, including three months suspended for two years. For his new “lostness” on November 12, in Royan, he knew that he would return to prison. His lawyer was hoping for a final sign of leniency from the court for him, through a minimum sentence, with a new probationary stay. “So that this 21-year-old kid, because he’s still just a kid, proves to us that he can find training or a job, that he can find housing. »
Customary of threats
“We have already tried a lot of things for this gentleman,” prosecutor Anne Couplan anticipated in her indictment. “This has to stop!” » Because last November 12, in Royan, Fabien René once again let his temper take over. Since 2019, he has already been convicted four times, for extortion, for theft and receiving stolen property, and also for death threats. This November 12, embarked on a trip to the city with “friends”, the young man saw in one of them, brought by two other associates, “a source of quick and easy profit”, he admitted in front of the court.
“It’s not good, I know, but I had no choice, otherwise I had nothing to eat”
Fabien René makes his victim pay from noon to evening, for €518.24 in various expenses, including a bottle of bourbon, which does not help Fabien’s mood. He takes things to the next level when, in a roundabout, his cell phone slips from his grasp and falls out of the car. The fault lies with his sufferer of the day, at the wheel, from whom Fabien demands 200 euros “to repair (his) phone”, which the team immediately goes to collect from an ATM in the city center.
“Last chance”
In the evening, this time, Fabien René threatened his victim, armed with a knife. He asks for another 200 euros. The same gang returns to town. The gathering attracted the attention of a police patrol, who fortuitously put an end to the ordeal of the victim, a young man who was “influenceable”, according to those around him, suffering from attention disorders and Gilles de La Tourette syndrome.
Tuesday, in front of President Caroline Auge-Jambon and her assessors, the young man weakly apologized, finding extenuating circumstances. “It’s not good, I know, but I had no choice, otherwise I had nothing to eat. I just thought about having some money to last a bit. I have nothing. »
When associations reach out to him, Fabien René does not subscribe to all of his obligations. His lawyer’s plea not to push his client further was nevertheless heard. “It’s the last chance, this probationary reprieve. It’s up to you to seize it,” the president of the Saintes criminal court warned.
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