"Sir, do you think it's really tenable for you to lie in court like this?"
“After an hour of correctional hearing, this Friday afternoon, in the court of Senlis (Oise), the prosecutor does not hold any more and attacks the defense of the defendant.
José H., 34, tried for a swan theft at the Domaine de Chantilly committed last September, does not budge: he is innocent despite the bundle of elements pointing to his guilt.
Even his lawyer seems desperate.
"I was going to ask the same question as the prosecutor," he breathes.
Faced with so much insistence, and with a version that does not hold water, José H. will finally admit part of the facts, with a story barely more convincing.
"I wanted to protect these swans to release them in the Oise," he mutters, barely audible, wrapped in a black parka, his eyes vague.
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A supposed love of wildlife hardly compatible with the large bags filled with white feathers and excrement, found in his car and having been used to transport several animals.
Not really excited about this new fable, the court sentenced him to six months in prison with an amended sentence, probably under an electronic bracelet, and a fine of 500 euros for entering the Estate.
Cameras installed to surprise the prowler
The facts took place on Saturday, September 19, exactly, around 7 p.m.
And if the vigilance of the members of the security of the Domaine de Chantilly is increased, it is not because of the Heritage Days, which take place that weekend.
More than the paintings and jewels of the Prince of Condé, it is rather the swans that are the subject of special surveillance.
A few days earlier, a local resident had indeed reported the presence of a prowler near the ponds.
Thanks to a video surveillance system installed with the gendarmerie, the head of security at the Estate, Philippe Monier, then notices that a man comes several times in a week, day or night.
Chantilly, September 19, 2020. On the day of the events, the Estate welcomed many visitors as part of the Heritage Days.
LP / JB
So, when he is alerted to the presence of an individual on site, on Saturday, he goes there directly.
From a distance, he says he sees a man crouching down, with a thread to try to catch a swan and food to bait it.
"I could barely pronounce
Ticket Control!"
that he scampered like a rabbit, a real sprinter, ”he recalls today.
The individual fled and returned to his car.
But he is followed by another employee who notes the license plate of his vehicle, a black Audi.
From there, the elements against José H. will accumulate.
A swan already discovered in its trunk in 2019
Because quickly, the gendarmes made the link with another case, which took place in May 2019 not far from the Domaine, in the parking lot of Afasec, the horse racing school of Chantilly.
That day, workers heard noise from the back of a utility vehicle, accompanied by a smell of "decomposition".
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No corpse in the trunk, but a living swan, swimming in its droppings.
His jailer nevertheless took care to leave him a bowl of water, another of food.
After research, it turns out that the vehicle belongs to José H. At the time, the investigation was stopped quickly.
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But there, before the reiteration of the facts ... On this first episode, the defendant sinks once again into a lie.
According to him, it was a tow truck that brought his utility to Afasec.
In any case, he did not drive, he says.
Although obliged, his criminal record mentioning 11 mentions for traffic offenses and his license having been canceled for two years.
But it is difficult to deny in the face of camera images having surprised him at the wheel of the vehicle.
“But I don't know who put a swan in the trunk.
In any case, the main thing is that the beast remains in good health, ”he dares before the judges.
The animal will be released in the ponds of Commelles, in Chantilly, where it had probably been stolen.
1000 euros each on the black market, more if it is a couple
If the police investigation did not look into this aspect for lack of material evidence, Philippe Monier is deeply convinced that the animals were intended to be resold illegally.
"A swan is 1000 euros each on the black market, and even more for a couple," he summarizes.
Justice nevertheless wanted to mark the occasion.
The Estate too: also victim of carp thefts in November, which sell for "up to 5,000 euros on the black market", the historic site has seen intrusions multiply during confinement.
While his financial situation is already delicate, "we had to buy new surveillance equipment, strengthen the day and night teams, it's not nothing", supports the head of security. And if the swan population was not the subject of special attention, it is now monitored and counted regularly. “Today we have around forty couples under surveillance, who are now living in peace. "