An owner of a house in Yvignac (Côtes-d'Armor) which he had trapped and who had been the target of a burglary, was sentenced to a suspended fine of 2000 euros for endangering the life of others, AFP learned on Friday from the Saint-Malo prosecutor's office.
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In 2018, the gendarmes are called for a burglary or an attempted burglary of a remote house in this small town of a thousand inhabitants, located near Dinan, with hooded men with handguns coming out of a sedan.
Firing device
Arrived on the spot, the gendarmes find no one but perceive an open window and discover " a firing device which engages ", forcing the police to back off, explains to AFP the prosecutor of Saint-Malo Christine Le Crom.
" The gendarmes then called on a demining team from Brest because the house was completely trapped, with stretched wires, devices made of cartridges, positioned in such a way that there was one who could shoot at the legs, thorax and head, "she added.
In the house, the investigators discover a “ real Ali Baba cave ”, including sperm whale bones, turtle shells, various stuffed objects or even African statues. The owner, a collector living between Santo Domingo and Miami, had nevertheless noted everywhere that the house was trapped. " There is probably nothing better to attract attention, " said Le Crom. " It could have been dramatic, " also noted the magistrate.
The court convicted the owner of " deliberately endangering the lives of others ", in particular because of the presence of category B weapons. The three burglars, three men in their twenties, were were sentenced to two to three months suspended prison sentence by the criminal court of Saint-Malo.