Rouens. After an argument at the restaurant, he causes an accident and then hits a policeman
By Julien Bottler
Published on
A 29-year-old man was sentenced on Monday August 8, 2022 by the Criminal Court of Rouen for fleeing after an accident and carried a knee to a policeman.
An argument then an accident
On August 6, 2022, around 00:25 a.m., the police were called to rue des Augustins in Rouen near La Fée Torchette for an alcoholic individual who was violent towards his partner. Upon arrival, police said the man, Dylan*, left the scene in his vehicle. The police are then informed that the latter parked nearby and fled on foot.
Thanks to the description and registration of the vehicle, the police quickly manage to find the fugitive and arrest him. Another man then comes the informant that the suspect has just caused an accident with his car. A testimony corroborated by the findings of the police who are trying to trace the thread of the young man’s evening.
Heard, several witnesses confirm that the individual argued with a woman: “He was screaming, he was very angry and very drunk then he left with his car and a few minutes later we heard a big shock, we then seen returning on foot”.
On the accident, “the shock was so violent that it caused my vehicle to fall off the ground, he parked his vehicle a little further before fleeing on foot” testifies the victim.
He hits a policeman
Placed in custody, the man is subjected to the breathalyzer and has a rate of 0.83 mg / l of expired air (about 1.6 g in the blood). While he is on a chair, the suspect is threatening and insulting, “going so far as to shout the number of the police officer”, relates the court. Faced with this attitude, the deputy policeman in charge of his surveillance reframes him. “It was then that he leaned on the wall and brought a knee to the official’s chest”, thus aggravating the charges against him.
Asked about the facts with which he is accused, Dylan certainly recognizes the facts, minimizing his alcohol consumption and denying having fled. In the box, the defendant confirmed his statements: “I had only drunk a glass of rosé during the meal”.
But the court remains skeptical “in view of the elements, on the impression that very little time passes between the call to 17 and your arrest”. Faced with the arguments and elements presented by the court, he persists. As for the violence in police custody, he recognizes: “I was turbulent, I was drunk, I apologize”.
Head to jail
For the public prosecutor, “the litany of offenses with which the defendant is charged” is perfectly characterized by the numerous testimonies but also the photos in the file “which confirm a state of nervousness and drunkenness”. He recalls that the defendant was on probation at the time of the facts and is in recidivism: “four offenses committed in a very short time”, and considers that the defendant is “in denial of his addiction and endangers the lives of others “. He is asking for a six-month prison sentence with continued detention as well as the revocation of his probationary sentence of three months’ imprisonment with immediate incarceration.
Dylan’s defense is seeking a release for all traffic offences. The defendant’s lawyer believes that the file “is empty” and “that nothing formally contradicts” the statements of his client. Regarding the violence, if he agrees that his client “is in denial of his troubles”, he recalls that according to the law, “firm imprisonment must remain exceptional and be used as a last resort”. He is asking for a prison sentence that can be accommodated in a home under electronic surveillance.
The court acquits the defendant for endangering the lives of others but finds him guilty of the other offences. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and ordered his continued detention. The court or also gives the partial revocation of his probation for an additional three months in prison. Finally, the judge orders the cancellation of his driving license with a ban on driving any motor vehicle without a breathalyzer for one year.**
*Name has been changed.
**This sentence is subject to appeal. Everyone is presumed innocent until all legal remedies have been exhausted.
From our correspondent Frédéric Bernard
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