After two and a half months of deliberation and a hearing behind closed doors on June 24, the investigating chamber of the Pau Court of Appeal rendered its decision this Friday, September 16, 2022, in the ultra-sensitive file of the case of the Bayonne tram-bus driver Philippe Monguillot. The 58-year-old man was the victim of a fatal attack on July 5, 2020 at the “Balishon” tram-bus stop.
The drama, which took place while the driver was in the exercise of his work, had moved the whole of France. The magistrates decided to refer the two main alleged attackers to the Assize Court and not to the criminal court as concluded by the Bayonne investigating judge.. On the other hand, the Court of Appeal also dismisses the qualification of murder and decided to prosecute for facts “willful violence having caused death without intention to give it”, as envisaged by the examining magistrate.
In recidivism
For the two main defendants, both 24 years old, the court accepted the fact that they were in a state of recidivism after criminal convictions handed down in 2016 and 2017. It was this situation that tipped the balance in the direction of the Assize Court. A 3rd suspect will be prosecuted for having provided assistance while for the fourth man, the dismissal is confirmed by the court.