The court wanted to hit hard. Between 12 months and 5 years in prison were pronounced this Tuesday by the criminal court of Mont-de-Marsan for violence in meetings.
Six members of the community of Travelers, aged 24 to 31, were indeed sentenced, because on September 25, they unleashed an outburst of violence, and beat a security guard in Patxio de l’Osasuna. , a Mons nightclub. This one ends up with serious injuries: four fractures in the face, another in the ankle, and multiple bruises. Five other people were injured by punches or throwing bottles.
The quantum of their penalties varies according to their degree of involvement in the violence, which the court was able to assess following the three videos broadcast, including two surveillance camera videos, and a third filmed by a client.
Very busy criminal records
The six defendants are regulars of the courts. They all have extremely heavy criminal records: thefts, insults, rebellions, aggravated violence, kidnappings … One also has a conviction for attempted murder, the other is on the blacklist of all night establishments in Mont -de-Marsan. This explains the severity of the sentences handed down, which also correspond to what the prosecution requested.
“All, with the exception of one, were in a state of recidivism, even in a state of recurrence of recurrence of violence”, explains the deputy prosecutor of the parquet floor of Mont-de-Marsan. “These people will stay several months, several years in prison, and will no longer be able to disturb the streets of Mont-de-Marsan”, she adds. Behind the scenes, members of the police say: to have these behind bars for a while, it will clean the streets of Mont-de-Marsan.
“I don’t know if this decision will pacify the streets of Mont-de-Marsan”, answers Me Frédéric Dutin, “but I know that in judicial matters, there is a negative aspect, it is to want to play the example”. His client is the author of the beatings on the vigil and therefore the one who was the most severely punished, with five years of imprisonment. “When you want to send messages, there may be other ways to do it”, he adds. “Today, we have the repressive in play, but perhaps another aspect of understanding could have led to different sanctions, with medical support and follow-ups after the sentences have been carried out”, regrets the lawyer, who is considering appealing.
Young fathers
They are all father of a family, one of them even had a 5 day old baby at the time of the incident. So the president tries to understand: “Why do you start over every time? Do you want to stay in jail? Do you think about your children?” One of the defendants, with a big black beard and clear eyes, even seems moved, for a moment, at this evocation. But none succeeds in answering these questions. Why ? “I don’t know, I think it’s because of the alcohol that it got out of hand”one of them mumbles.
The prison sentences are accompanied by a ban on carrying weapons, ineligibility, and for two of them stay bans: ban on coming to Mont-de-Marsan for two years for one, ban on staying in the Landes for three years for the other. In all, they will also have to pay a fine of 10,500 euros to the victims who have joined as a civil party.