A restaurant in Cotentin ransacked, the owner accuses her neighbor

In the night of September 15 to 16, 2024individuals entered through a window left open in the restaurant, the outbreak, in Saussemesnil (Manche), for commit damage.

A gendarmerie investigation

All the crockery was broken, the shelves on which the overturned wine bottles were stored, the fridges containing the culinary preparations of this small country restaurant were emptied.

The contents of the dishes and terrines were scattered on the ground and the sauces flooded the kitchen. Never seen before in this small rural town otherwise calm. A gendarmerie investigation had then been opened.

“It was a rampage, my baby, my work tool”

Very quickly, the suspicions of the owner were focused on his neighbor who used to consume alcohol with his companion. It was even the latter who alerted the gendarmes after discovering the condition of the premises. The 46-year-old neighbor – off work with a child against him – was heard.

At the helm of judicial court of Cherbourg to respond to these acts of damage, the neighbor disputes the accusationsindicating that she never left her accommodation during the evening and implicating the owner herself with whom she has a personal dispute.

His companion suggested that I come and drink at the restaurant. I refused. He had some whiskey and rosé in the restaurant and came to my house. My partner was also there.

Everyone got drunk. There owner doubt that his companion took part in the damage like the defendant supports him.

“He got invested in the businessspecifies the restaurateur before counterattacking. She lies when she says she didn't leave the house. I saw her walk away. And when I told him you broke everything at the restaurant, she answered me so what?«

Case under advisement

A short sentence which was recorded during the call made to the gendarmerie operations and intelligence center.

You had reasons to harm the victim and you had the opportunity to take action. You knew the window was left open. It is hard to imagine the owners degrading the premises themselves.

The defendant sticks to her position. The owner of La Flambée civil party scope. She demands the sum of 5,500 euros to compensate for the operating loss (5 days), the purchase of dishes and of goods.

The Cherbourg public prosecutor's office requested a three-month suspended sentence against the neighbor whose criminal record makes mention of two old convictions. The case was put under advisement as of February 4, 2025.

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