He was driving under the influence of drugs with his 3-year-old son in the back: the father claims to have since stopped taking drugs

Un odeur de cannabis se dégageait de l’habitacle lorsque les gendarmes ont procédé au contrôle. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

Cet homme de 39 ans était jugé dernièrement pour des faits commis en mai 2022 à La Grande-Motte. Entre-temps, il a été condamné pour trafic de stupéfiants. Sorti de prison depuis peu, il affirme avoir arrêté la drogue.

When the police stopped the driver of this Audi A5, with his 3-year-old son in the back, on May 19, 2022 in La Grande-Motte, they discovered that he was driving without a license and that the smell of cannabis was coming from the passenger compartment. They also found a capsule of white powder near the handbrake. The 39-year-old man tested positive for narcotics.

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“I was going to a festival. I was going to drop my son off at my parents' house in Pérols”, he explained at the criminal court on January 30, where he was tried for driving despite the judicial cancellation of his driving license and under the influence of narcotics, and illegal use of narcotics. The prosecution for possession of narcotics was not brought against him, despite the investigation opened for this reason at the time of the events. “A chance”, prosecutor Nemanja Despotovic pointed out to him, given the prison sentence he could have faced.

Released from prison with an electronic tag

In any case, in the meantime, the thirty-year-old was convicted of drug trafficking and served a prison sentence. He has been out for two weeks, with an electronic tag, under the supervision of the sentencing judge. Today, this father of two children claims to have completely stopped taking drugs.

The president, Gilles Maschio, questions him about the resources he had at the time of this check in May 2022. In addition to the fact that he had a large engine, the police had seized €1,315 in cash, €1,100 worth of sports betting tickets and €1,200 worth of cocaine in the car. The defendant explains that he was unemployed at the time, with plans to become self-employed.

The defense argues that the defendant has changed since the events

The prosecutor maintains that the father is a repeat offender for driving under the influence of drugs and therefore requests that the facts be reclassified. He is requesting 50 day fines of €20, the cancellation of his driving licence with a ban on retaking it for six months, and the completion of a road safety course.

The defence, for its part, is arguing for a confusion of sentence, given that the facts concern the same period as those for which his client served a prison sentence. He also highlights his progress over the last two years. But the court rejects this request. It handed down a sentence of 80 day fines of €10, the cancellation of his licence and a ban on retaking it for five months. Another decision: the restitution to the defendant of the €1,315 in cash seized from the car.

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