For a burst swimming pool, twenty men fall on him and lynch him on a busy road in the Gard

Son voisin a été condamné à 18 mois de prison pour violences en réunion et lui à 750 € d'amende. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Suite à cette agression, l’homme a fini avec plusieurs fractures et a dû être mis sous oxygène.

A beating for a leaky swimming pool. This is how we can sum up the case that appeared before the Nîmes criminal court this Friday, December 13. The attack dates back to June 26, 2022, on a large transit area in Marguerittes, intended for travelers where Claude and Angelo come from, both defendants and victims in this case. That day, very early in the morning, Claude noticed that his swimming pool had been pierced by, it seems, a knife blade. He immediately suspected his neighbor, Angelo. The tone rose between the two men and Angelo punched his neighbor. “He insulted my children. After a while, I got carried away and gave him a good big slap, but not a punch”, justifies the 42-year-old man, defended by Me Charlotte Usannaz-Joris, from the Montpellier bar. A “slap” which would have made his 60-year-old neighbor lose consciousness. “And with his friends, they blocked my exit from the transit area with a van. They also put a shotgun on the dashboard”, explains the latter.

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Twenty men armed with pistols, shotguns and tear gas

The story could have ended there. But instead, the violence reached its peak a few hours later, around 2 p.m., when a procession of cars arrived at the crossing point. “A punitive expedition”, underlines prosecutor Arnaud Massip. “I was taking out my trash and there I saw at least eight cars with about twenty men arrive”, describes Angelo this time. Some were even armed with rifles, tear gas and pistols. “It's simple, I got lynched. They beat me up. I said: “Stop, you're going to kill me”. And then, a guy comes and hits me in the face with a hammer”, he continues.

An assault that ended thanks to the intervention of his brother-in-law. The cars then fled, escorting Claude with his caravan. “I don't remember if he was there at the beginning. But on the other hand I remember very well that at the end, several guys lifted me up and told Claude: “Finish him”. He put on his ring and he finished me off”, assures the forty-year-old. A role that his neighbor denies having played, explaining that he did not witness this fight.

“We are going to charge the only one we have on hand, that is to say my client”

If the sequence of events of this attack remains unclear, for the prosecutor, there is no doubt:“We are dealing with a trivial case of neighborhood rivalry that has seriously degenerated. And while I am willing to admit that it is not pleasant to get slapped or punched, especially at 60 years old, the response is still extremely violent”. He recalls in particular that the medical-legal unit issued a certificate mentioning 30 days of ITT to Angelo. He is requesting a two-year prison sentence, one of which is suspended, for Claude and a fine of €1,000 for Angelo.

A disproportion of sentences pointed out by Claude's lawyer, Me Carmelo Vialette: “The facts are extremely violent, I agree. But in this case, a fuse was lit before the dynamite exploded. And it was Angelo who lit this fuse by hitting him at the start. So I am asking that there be a sharing of responsibilities. Especially since during the investigations, we are not going to try to find the drivers of the cars. So we are going to charge the only one we have on hand, that is to say my client”. The court sentences Claude to 18 months in prison, 9 of which are suspended, and Angelo to a €750 fine.

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