Miscellaneous – Justice | Avignon: a man controlled without a license and armed receives a 6-month suspended prison sentence
On March 18, 2020, shortly after midnight, a police officer carrying out a check in Avignon noticed a handgun in a vehicle – loaded with three blank cartridges – and a cannabis pellet. The driver, Mouad, aged 23, who had not insured the vehicle – bought two days before – was tried yesterday for these facts before the Avignon Criminal Court.
Heard by videoconference from Saint-Étienne prison, Mouad assumes possession of a pistol, explaining that it is a weapon to protect himself: “a blank weapon which does not hurt, does not kill but which is scary and which you can buy like me in an armory”. He says he was “victim of people with real weapons” and “This alarm gun to protect me is the minimum. Since this story I need it to go and buy a baguette quietly”.
He also accused him of having driven a vehicle on January 27, 2021 despite a driver’s license suspension measure. A measure that would not have been notified to him, assures the defendant. It is requested in repression two sentences of 4 months in prison and a fine of 500 euros. Assisted by Me Neveu Sanchez, for the acts of transporting weapons and the use of narcotics, he receives a sentence of 200 hours of community service with, in the event of non-execution, a sentence of four months. For driving despite a license suspension, he was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probationary suspension.