Since his road accident, the 54-year-old actor has been the subject of three separate investigations, for suspicion of serious offenses punishable by heavy penalties.
Will he go to jail? Comedian Pierre Palmade will know at 11:30 a.m., Monday, February 27, if he escapes pre-trial detention on appeal. comedian, victim of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) on Saturday evening, was transferred to the neurology department of a Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital and was operated on, franceinfo learned on Sunday. His electronic bracelet has been removed and he is now under police surveillance. He was until then assigned to residence in a hospital in Val-de-Marne, after his violent road accident which occurred on February 10 in Seine-et-Marne.
The public prosecutor’s office requested his placement in pre-trial detention, but if the Paris investigation chamber decides on Monday in favor of this requisition, the stroke suffered by Pierre Palmade risks delaying its application.
Suspected in particular of manslaughter, the 54-year-old comedian is also concerned by two other investigations: for “violation of the narcotics legislation” and for possession of child pornography images, after reports to the police in the days following his accident. Progress of investigations, court decisions, penalties incurred: franceinfo takes stock.
The comedian faces pre-trial detention after the accident he caused
On February 17, Pierre Palmade was indicted counts of “manslaughter and involuntary injury” with aggravating circumstances, after the accident he caused. This accident involving the actor, who tested positive for cocaine shortly after the incident, seriously injured a 27-year-old woman, who lost the child she was carrying, as well as a 38-year-old man and his son, aged 6 years. The vital prognosis of the passenger is no longer engaged.
As of last week, the man and his son were still hospitalized. the child “move his arms, his feet. He has a corset so as not to move too much (…) I was talking to him, he never answered my questions (…) He is concentrated on one point and does not move her head”, his uncle told BFMTV on Thursday, after visiting him in hospital on Tuesday. His father, still according to this testimony, has had six operations and suffers from numerous fractures, in particular in his left leg. The families of the victims continue to demand the temporary detention of the comedian.
Investigators are now trying to trace the events that led to the pileup. Two people in Pierre Palmade’s car at the time of the accident were arrested and placed under the status of assisted witness for failure to assist a person in danger. The two men, who had also used drugs, had fled just after the collision between the vehicles. One of the passengers said during his hearing that he had offered to drive Pierre Palmade’s car before the accident, franceinfo learned from a police source. He added that the comedian would have declined his proposal.
Pending the conclusions of this first investigation, the courts have placed Pierre Palmade under electronic surveillance in the addiction service of the Paul-Brousse hospital in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne). Friday, February 24, the comedian was not present at the bar of the Paris Court of Appeal for the hearing on his possible incarceration. The next day, he suffered a stroke and was transferred to the neurology department of a Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital for surgery. His electronic bracelet was removed and the actor was placed under police surveillance.
In this first case, Pierre Palmade faces a heavy sentence. As the service-public.fr site reminds us, “manslaughter committed by a driver is punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros”. In the case of an aggravating circumstance, this penalty can reach 7 years in prison and up to a fine of 100,000 euros. It amounts to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros in the event that several aggravating circumstances are found, as is the case for the actor.
An open investigation into the use of narcotics
After the accident, a second investigation for “violation of the narcotics legislation” was entrusted to the gendarmerie. A search took place on February 12 at the home of Pierre Palmade, but the Melun prosecution denied the seizure of narcotics in the home of the comedian in Seine-et-Marne. Since then, the judicial authorities have not communicated on this aspect of the case.
I’“Illicit use of one of the substances or plants classified as narcotics is punished by one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 3,750 euros”, exposes article L3421-1 of the public health code.
A man indicted in an investigation for possession of child pornography
The day after Pierre Palmade was indicted after the road accident, a man called the police claiming that the actor had child pornography images. The Paris prosecutor’s office was informed of this and opened an investigation on February 18, in order to verify the veracity of his accusations. The investigations were entrusted to the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM), which heard the man in question. Subsequently, the homes of Pierre Palmade located in Paris and Seine-et-Marne were searched on Sunday February 19 and Monday February 20.
Two people were taken into custody last week, and investigators have begun to exploit Pierre Palmade’s computer devices. One of the two people was indicted and placed under judicial control, Saturday, February 25, for “possession and dissemination of child pornography images”. The second person was released.
The actor has not yet been questioned by the investigators on this subject. In France, possession of pornographic images featuring minors is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros, according to the Penal Code. If the facts are committed in an organized gang, the penalty can be up to ten years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.