In the eyes of justice, this was not a petty theft.
A 27-year-old homeless man was sentenced to eight months in prison for stealing clothes in Narbonne (Aude).
Because of a previous suspended sentence for stealing a bottle of alcohol from a store, he will spend 14 months in prison, and will have to repay 300 euros, reports the Independent.
The man from Barcelona, who lives in a tent and feeds himself thanks to charitable associations, appeared on Thursday for acts dating back to January 14.
That day, he walks through town with his dog and discovers that the door of a house is unlocked.
He breaks into the house and steals a pair of shoes, a down jacket, a wallet and a branded cap.
AirPods and 200 euros in cash
To protect himself from the cold, he immediately puts on these new clothes.
The occupants of the house, who were watching television upstairs, did not notice anything.
Later that evening, they go downstairs to lock their door.
And the next day, they discover that a theft has been committed.
The victims then filed a complaint, adding that AirPods and 200 euros in cash were in the jacket pocket.
The surveillance cameras of the neighboring house, consulted by the investigators, made it possible to identify the culprit, who will be arrested and placed in police custody.
At the same time, a passerby reported the wallet found on the public highway to the police station.
At the hearing, the man admitted to stealing the clothes, but not the wallet.
“I needed warm clothes, it’s not my habit to fly,” he defends himself.
His lawyer, Me Lécéa, recalls the difficulty of living on the street.
“It’s not a break-in!”
It's survival!
He didn't know that the down jacket contained AirPods, he didn't even have shoes!
He's a young man whose parents died when he was a teenager, he was raised on the streets in Spain, it's really a situation of social poverty.
He saw the door open, he took his chance to put on clothes, he regrets it today,” she said, reports the Independent.