There were four kilograms of cannabis resin in the top case of his scooter and, in his apartment, a semi-automatic pistol, some 2,000 euros and seven telephones.
Mahdi A. was therefore placed in police custody, referred to the prosecution to be tried for immediate appearance.
But now, this 33-year-old man came out free, without there having been a trial: the Nanterre correctional court purely and simply canceled the procedure because of an email which seemed highly questionable. An email authorizing the police to enter the parking lot of the residence of Mahdi A., without an essential mention: the schedule to which it was sent. And that changes everything.
The facts took place on October 21.
At the beginning of the afternoon, a police crew headed towards a residence in the rue de Metz, in the Petit-Nanterre district, because they learned that there was "a potentially stolen scooter".
As this is not a flagrante delicto, they cannot enter the car park, which is private property like the residence, without the authorization of the trustee.
The police seek doc this one, which grants the entry in the places by return of mail.
The heady smell of cannabis
In the minutes of their intervention, the police indicate that, in this parking lot, their "attention is drawn by this heady smell of cannabis which seems to emanate from a large-capacity scooter". It is Mahdi A.'s two-wheeler. They call the anti-stupid dogs who, by marking in front of the scooter, confirm "the heady smell". The police then go up to his owner's house and handcuff him.
Four days later, before the chamber of immediate appearances which was to try Mahdi A. for drug trafficking and possession of a weapon, his lawyer, Me Fabien Arakelian, brandished the syndic's email, pointing out that his time stamp was a problem. "In the header of the email, only the mention October 21 appears," explains the criminal lawyer. There is no mention of time, except at the bottom right of the page but we can say that it is rather the time of printing. If it's the time to send the message, anyway, it's not okay because it says 5:18 pm and the police intervened before. "
Before the court, Me Arakelian therefore asks the judges to declare the procedure null and void.
And wins the case.
This Tuesday, the prosecution had not appealed.
Eight days after this hearing, the lawyer is considering filing a complaint for "forgery", as this missing mention of the schedule seems "dubious" to him, he said.
