The epidemic threatened to postpone their trial for the second time. Ten suspected robbers were to appear from this Tuesday and for the next two weeks before the Assize Court in Paris. A “Structured team of criminals”, according to the order of indictment, whose members are suspected of having participated to varying degrees in two armed robberies committed in large jewelry stores in 2015 and 2016. But two of them, tested positive for Covid-19, could not attend. The trial, which opened for the first time in October 2020, was postponed a few days later after one of the defendants was infected with the virus. This time, there was no question of postponing the entire hearing: the court ordered “The severance of the procedure” concerning the two infected persons, who will thus be judged at a later date, independently of the others. In the paneled room of the courthouse on Île de la Cité, a few sighs of relief. The president begins to draw the six jurors and their six alternates, health situation requires, again. The trial can finally begin.
Childhood friend
Some are childhood friends, others are brothers, or even cousins. The ten accused, ten men, are now between 28 and 41 years old. The existence of their group takes shape after a first robbery, carried out on December 11, 2015, in a state of emergency, just a stone’s throw from the Elysee Palace. That day, around 11:30 a.m., a man in his fifties entered, alone, into the Chopard jewelry store in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. A latex mask disguises her face. Two employees are there, he belches, shows off the butt of his handgun which protrudes from his pants: “You don’t want to die. Give me everything, if you don’t want to get killed: don’t call the cops. ” One of the traders opens the windows. The perpetrator leaves on foot, with 87 pieces thrown into a sports bag, the selling price of which is close to one million euros, according to the indictment. A little further, he gets into one of the three cars parked by his accomplices, and flees.
A year later, the same sports bag appeared on CCTV footage after the robbery of a Chanel jewelry store on May 19, 2016, on the very posh avenue Montaigne in the Parisian golden triangle. This time they are “At least seven”, according to the arraignment order. The first appears in a wise gray suit, face uncovered, glasses on his nose. While the guards have just opened the door for him, he remains in the doorway for a few seconds to keep it open, and let three of his teammates enter, who have just emerged from a vehicle, armed and hooded. While the one who had just served as bait clasped his legs around his neck, his companions contained the guards.
The first succeeds in entering the interior of the shop, smashes the armored windows with a sledgehammer, begins to scavenge jewelry before being joined by two armed accomplices. At the same time, the driver of the team, whose face is only partially hidden, abandons the vehicle in full swing and also rushes into the jewelry store. He grabs a saleswoman on the ground, forces her to open a wall display case that has been robbed in her turn. The four friends left as dry with this time nearly 2 million euros of goods. Two other vehicles and their drivers would have allowed the criminals to come and leave from Avenue Montaigne.
Oil cans
Detentions of weapons, explosives, and other thefts – of cars this time – were uncovered by investigators during the investigation. At least three members of the team of suspected robbers are suspected of being involved in the thefts of five Range Rovers, committed between January and May 2016. Some of them would also have participated in the theft, in June 2016 in Noisy- le-Grand (Seine-Saint-Denis), a vehicle from a security company, specializing in the transport of funds. Inside, the criminals recovered a secure case full of cash, which they managed to open after spraying it with four cans of cooking oil. Some of the 20,500 euros contained inside were found during the search of the homes of two of the accused. However, jewelry and watches have never been recovered. The trial is scheduled to last until January 21.