The correctional court of Melun sentenced Monday, December 6 to ten months in prison a truck driver who sowed psychosis on the National 4, his degradations making believe in a "
gunman
" raging on the road axis.
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At the end of October, the windshields of several heavy goods vehicles traveling between Nancy and Paris were the target of unknown projectiles while they were driving at night on the Nationale 4. Noting the impressive size of the impacts, their drivers immediately thought of gunfire. firearm.
Once this information has been posted on the Facebook group “
The Routers of the Nationale 4
”, several drivers in turn report having suffered similar events since the summer on this road, of still mysterious origins.
The rumor of a gunman targeting truck drivers then spread in the community.
Panic mounting, carriers are setting up detour routes for their trucks to bypass the section at risk.
The gendarmerie launches major investigations to find the "
shooter
".
"They weren't looking for marbles"
Geolocation and telephone records lead investigators to a 54-year-old man, himself a truck driver working on the National 4. He is arrested in the early morning, with great means, at his home in Meurthe-et-Moselle . But its arsenal is surprising. By way of "
balls
" are discovered ... large balls (caps). "
When the GIGN arrested me, they thought I had weapons, they were not looking for balls
", confirms in court the defendant, dismissed for serious misconduct following this case.
"
Angry
" at the incivility on the road, the driver threw glass balls at vehicles crossed at night on the National 4 and whose driving displeased him (full headlights, zigzag trajectory ...). The fear thus caused was supposed to encourage them to respect the Highway Code. Having started by punishing recalcitrant vehicles by throwing leftover food at them, the truck driver had shifted into high gear at the start of the summer by buying a bag of marbles at the supermarket; he always kept 2-3 available on his dashboard.
The balls not being enough to make reign the good conduct on the National 4, the man then considered to buy a paintball gun.
"
There is a kind of runaway, of crescendo, to arrive at the fatal accident
", notes the president.
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The court sentenced him to 24 months in prison, 14 of which were accompanied by a probationary suspension, and ordered that the firm sentence be converted into house arrest with electronic bracelet.
He was also banned from practicing for five years as a truck driver.