Two friends targeted small businesses around Caen for their burglaries
By Writing Caen
Published on
Tuesday, November 15, 2022, two men were tried at the criminal court of Caen (Calvados). They were accused of numerous thefts and attempted break-ins, in several municipalities from the Caen region. They failed in May 2021 at Mondeville, as well as from December 8 to 16, 2021 at Fontaine-Etoupefourthem Monts d’Aunay, Amayé sur Orne and May-sur-Orne.
Interested in cash drawers
Constantin *, a 40-year-old Romanian national, was tried by videoconference from the Metz remand center where he has been serving an 18-month sentence since last June. Another procedure concerning him is scheduled for Thursday, November 17 for similar facts. Adrian*, a 32-year-old compatriot of the Prime Minister, disappeared into the wild and was tried in his absence. The latter is also detained for contraband tobacco in May 2021 in Mondeville.
The two men were mainly kept by the cash drawers of small businesses, such as pharmacies and hair salons. They penetrated there by breaking a door or a window, and stole as a bonus some objects that tempted them. Apart from traces of shoe soles, no fingerprints were found at the scene. Just one video shows an unidentifiable individual crawling to avoid an alarm.
As is often the case, it was the geolocation of mobile phones that advanced the investigation. A line that bounds the scene of two burglaries is located in Mondeville. Approaching it, the investigators find an Opel vehicle registered in Romania.
Arrested in flagrante delicto
Monitoring pays off. On December 16, 2021, the car is parked near a pharmacy, in May-surOrne. The two defendants as well as a sidekick are caught in the act. During searches, 800 € in cash were found at Adrian’s as well as 83 cartons of cigarettes and 5 packets of tobacco which he declared to have purchased on the internet for his personal consumption. At Constantin’s, the gendarmes discover an object from a burglary. If the first recognized certain thefts during the interrogations, the second began by contesting any participation.
What comes out of Adrian’s criminal record is a note for carrying a knife. On the other hand, that of Constantin mentions firm sentences for theft, mainly in the east of France: in Metz, Strasbourg, Nancy, again Metz…
“Organized crime”
Prosecutor Pierre Vrinat cites a book published in 1949, professional thief. “He meets all of those criteria. And of course, his comparison being in nature, he is obliged to be the main author”. The magistrate said he was still satisfied with the offenses that the defendant ended up recognizing. “We saved a little time…”, he sighs, disillusioned. According to him, it is organized crime.
Constantin receives 3 years in prison. Adrian, meanwhile, is sentenced to 18 months in prison. An arrest warrant has been issued to find him. They will also have to pay more than 700 € to the victims for their material damage, and more than 500 euros for their moral damage, as well as 900 € for legal costs.
* Assumed first names
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