Nice: A Chadian, already convicted 22 times and recently released from prison, burglarizes a bar and trashes the place... The distraught managers try to get back on track, the migrant downplays his act.

The managers of “La Bagatelle” still can’t believe it. “He wrecked everything,” one of them summed up, emphasizing the hours spent clearing everything out. And four days after the incident, the bar still hasn’t reopened . It was around 4:20 a.m. on the night of Thursday to Friday last week when the 37-year-old defendant from Chad, homeless, unscrewed the bay window of the establishment on Rue Lépante. (…)

The thirty-year-old man in question is not a regular at the establishment. And yet, in just over half an hour, he emptied the cupboards, overturned the bins, tables and chairs, broke bottles, the oven, the audio system, and the video surveillance system. To steal, he deduces, because he says he no longer remembers anything, only “a few bottles of alcohol” . He left 35 minutes later with a plastic bag containing : bank card, checkbook, internet box and cash drawer. (…)

“I didn’t break it, I didn’t destroy that door, I’m not a thief, I must have taken advantage of the situation.” These statements made the manager jump up in the dock : “I was still able to recover the footage of his visit and it was indeed he who started this carnage.”

Released from prison just six months ago, Jean-Raymond G., whose record shows 22 convictions, will return to prison after his trial. The court, presided over by Isabelle Demarbaix, followed the prosecution's submissions and sentenced him to 12 months in prison, with the additional revocation of a four-month suspended sentence . (…)

Nice Morning

(Thanks to Julien.)