A stop to thefts in car parks in Élancourt and Montigny-le-Bretonneux (Yvelines)? Two men aged 34 and 32 have just been convicted by the courts in Versailles for their involvement in several incidents involving cars and two-wheelers. Tried in immediate appearance, they received one prison term for the first and eight months for the second, with a committal warrant.
The first facts attributed to them date back to the beginning of the year. An underground car park in Élancourt was visited on January 17. Two motorcycles are stolen and the interiors of several cars are robbed. Police officers from the property crime group at the Élancourt police station noticed, on the video surveillance images, the presence of a suspicious van. The Renault Trafic was quickly found and a GPS tracker was installed on the vehicle.
The spy made it possible to confirm the presence of the utility vehicle during another theft of two-wheelers and other thefts from cars, a few days later in Montigny-le-Bretonneux. After research, a telephone line was identified. The phone belongs to a 34-year-old man living in Maurepas, known to the police. The video surveillance images leave little room for doubt: this suspect appears to be the driver of the van.
Mobile phones very useful to police officers
It is the research linked to the telephone which makes it possible to trace his accomplice, who is also known to the police. One of the thefts is mentioned in conversation. The individual being homeless and in constant movement, he was found with the help of the police surveillance and arrest group, who geolocated his cell phone.
The two men were arrested simultaneously on March 26, at his home in Maurepas for the first and in Seine-Saint-Denis for the second. The searches notably allowed them to get their hands on two weapons, a motorcycle ramp and a tow bar.
While in police custody, the two thirty-year-olds denied the facts. The cell phone of one of the two men, containing compromising videos and messages, finally spoke for them.