On Wednesday, November 13, the center of Gouarec was cordoned off by large gendarmerie forces to arrest two suspects in the murder of a septuagenarian, all against a backdrop of drug trafficking.
It was undoubtedly a stroke of madness that pushed Alvin S., 30 years old, to kill Antoine Garnier, almost 70 years old and retired from the merchant navy in Gouarec. But, not only that, as this case illustrates the development of hard drug consumption in rural areas, which thrives on the closure of places of sociability and the disappearance of local social structures.
This November 13, the gendarmerie therefore carried out an operation which paralyzed the town of Gouarec in central Brittany, with in particular the intervention of the GIGN to arrest two individuals, Alvin S. and a local beekeeper, both of whom were involved in the trafficking of narcotics in the sector, mainly cocaine. Heavily armed, the gendarmes impressed the residents.
“Two weeks since Antoine had coquards”
A neighbor of Antoine testifies: “We had been seeing Antoine for two weeks with bruises and bruises. He didn't even dare come and order pizza anymore. Obviously, for the first time, he had not been able to pay his rent. We could see that he had stepped up his coke consumption a little… He had been diagnosed with cancer, which perhaps explains his headlong rush. »
To obtain cocaine, Antoine obtained his supplies from Alvin with whom he maintained almost filial relations. Another person from the neighborhood said: “We learned that Alvin already had a fairly long record and that he had committed barbaric acts. I don't know if that's true. It was said that he had cut off a guy's fingers to torture him…”
“We didn’t know a psychopath lived there”
Indeed, Alvin S., originally from Saint-Brieuc, had 24 convictions since 2011, including several for violence. He had also been under an anti-reconciliation bracelet since 2022. Alvin also explained that he settled in the area because there were family ties, but also because state services would have encouraged him to move to the countryside. … A neighbor notes: “Between the marks of beatings and the unpaid rent, we could have talked to each other and better protected Antoine, but it happened very quickly and we did not know that a psychopath lived there…”
The toxic relationship between Alvin and Antoine seems in any case to have degenerated tragically. A neighbor assures us that “we heard screams in the building”. The autopsy revealed “several fractures and injuries to the face and thorax as well as wounds to the upper limbs, particularly the hands, made by a sharp object”. Was it a quarrel over drug debts? The investigation should make it possible to see things more clearly.
The body of Antoine Garnier would then have been moved to the town's mini golf course. He remained there for several hours Denounced by the beekeeper-dealer, Alvin S. is today imprisoned and indicted for murder.
The beekeeper-dealer who allegedly denounced Alvin S was also incarcerated. At his home, the gendarmes found nearly 24 kg of cannabis, 137 grams of cocaine and 13 ecstasy pills. In rapid appearance, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Traffic that is growing
One of the neighbors testifies: “I asked Alvin if his customers came from far away. He replied: “No, it's more local people who take cocaine. They live in pavilions, don’t leave their homes…”
This sordid murder of Gouarec therefore illustrates a rapid change in health issues in central Brittany, as well as in security policies. “Today,” confides a police officer who wishes to remain anonymous, “hard” drugs affect all walks of life and all age groups. We are no longer in the category of people who grow a little cannabis or who smoke a joint every day. Cocaine is very cheap and accessible, not counting synthetic drugs. We have traffic that will become problematic, with, perhaps, phenomena of corruption among elected officials and civil servants that we had never known before. »
In Gouarec, it's always a shock. “Antoine, even if he was messing around lately, he was really a good guy. He didn’t deserve that,” summarizes a neighbor.
