Special envoy to Amiens (Somme).
"This is a case of gratuitous violence." After four hours of very laborious exchanges with the three defendants dismissed for violence in assembly, the criminal court of Amiens sentenced them to one year in prison for Yoann L., 15 months in prison for Florian C. while Adrien F. was acquitted with the benefit of the doubt. Two outsiders were found guilty of beating Jean-Baptiste Trogneux, owner of the eponymous chocolate factory, on May 15.
Injured in the ribs, fingers and head, the thirty-year-old, absent at the hearing, was prescribed a total interruption of work of four days. "I was very afraid for my neighbor," whispers to the bar a witness of the scene. "From my window, I saw three individuals hitting him while he was in a ball on the ground. I thought, 'They're slaughtering him,'" he said.
"I touched it but not damaged"
Among the suspects, Yoann L., 35, "multi-recidivist, homeless", is presented by the public prosecutor as "the main protagonist" of this brutal attack. In the box, the defendant expresses himself with difficulty, struggles to find his words. Provocative, he admits to having gone to the Trogneux chocolate factory with garbage cans. "But for what?" the President asked. "To collect," retorts the thirty-year-old with a laugh. He claims that when Jean-Baptiste Trogneux arrived to defend his window, the latter "jostled" him and made him "fall to the ground. The moment I wanted to fight back, I missed my shot. I did a hand-to-hand combat, I touched it but not damaged. It stops there, but I could have done more damage on Trogneux, "says this man already convicted of violence against a minor, spouse and death threats.
Adrien F., 23, who shares the box with him, delivers a completely different version. "Yoann L. was upset, and I saw a punch or a slap leave. He touched the face well," says the 23-year-old, clearing himself of any violence. He too was however "formally recognized as part of the aggressors, by witnesses and by the victim, just like the third accused, Florian C.", notes the prosecutor of the Republic of Amiens, Jean-Philippe Vicentini. Already convicted of rape and sexual assault on a minor, Florian C., 20, admits to having slapped the victim "because he pushed one of our friends when we put the garbage in front of his window," he justifies. "We can understand that he did not appreciate your gesture," tries the president in a remark that does not seem to reach the defendants, remained silent.
'Cowards', 'without remorse or guilt'
"In this box, I see cowards trying to escape their responsibilities. I did not see remorse or guilt, says the public prosecutor. Their motive is abhorrent. It is the gratuitous aggression of an establishment that they consider too expensive and its entrepreneur. " The defense fumes: "They do not have the intellectual capacity to build a political motive for this aggression." The lawyer tries to sow doubt about the identification of the aggressors by the victim: "When you are alone in front of a group of individuals, are you sure you can identify who does what? No. There is no way to establish precisely what happened."
Not enough to destabilize the lawyer of the civil party, Me Franck Delahousse: "The witnesses, and even the defendants, clearly identified Yoann L. in the violence". As for the other two: "We would have liked you to recognize that your behavior was unacceptable. It's a hearing of frustration, "says the lawyer who does not seek damages for Jean-Baptiste Trogneux. "My client simply aspires to live serenely, again."
