Attempted Robbery Aggravated by Kicking the Victim leads Straight to Jail
A young man in his late twenties was already hardened by several years in prison for a rape he had committed in the South of France. Once released, temptation to commit crime overtook him within months. Unfortunately, it was in Monaco, near Larvotto, that he grabbed a luxury shoulder bag from a young woman. It is not advisable to confront potentially violent robbers. Showing excessive courage, the young lady chased him. She did manage to get her bag back. He threw the bag away when she continued the chase. But he kicked her viciously when she caught up with him. In rapid response to a distress call, the police intercepted the youth at the station as he tried to make his getaway by train. Hand-cuffed before the court, the video-surveillance evidence was conclusive. Even the efforts by the young man to disguise himself by a change of clothes were caught on camera. The prior conviction and the violent scene during the robbery sealed his fate with a prison sentence of six months.
Robbery and a Cunning Store Swindle Meets Swift Justice
With amazing ease, a West African couple had returned almost 6.000 euros of merchandise to a luxury store in Monaco. But the clothes with the labels intact had actually been bought in Italy in the same store chain. The receipt which was made out to a Russian was all the store required to issue merchandise and a credit note for the balance owing of more than 1.500 euros. In reality, the clothes had been stolen from a car outside a five-star hotel in Nice.
Two facts led to the arrest of the couple. The Russian victims had filed a complaint with the police in Nice with a description of the merchandise. The police tipped off the store-chain. And the nail in the coffin for the swindlers – they had the nerve to go back to the store in Monaco a second time to “spend” the credit note of more than 1500 euros. The store having already been alerted about the stolen clothes made a rapid call to the police who arrested the couple. Unconvincing denials and a history of four counts of similar swindles in France made up the Judge’s mind to sentence the man to eight months in jail with a short suspended sentence of one month for his female accomplice.
Drunken Duel with a Concrete Post Costs Motorist Thousands
Three glasses of wine followed by three or four glasses of vodka is certainly the requisite prescription for disaster when driving a luxury performance car worth well over 100.000 euros. A race-circuit entrepreneur, proudly driving his new expensive sedan after drinking heavily in a bar in Monaco, bent it around a concrete post near the port at three in the morning. Not surprisingly the air bag exploded which meant he got away with just an injured wrist and a visit to emergency at Princess Grace hospital. The police were less than amused when he refused to take a breathalyzer test – and to say his behaviour was impolite is an understatement. That landed him in court. North American, in his thirties and resident of Monaco he was polite and managed to keep his composure in front of the judge which probably kept him out of jail. However, a strong signal was sent that drunken driving in Monaco will not be tolerated and a hefty fine of 3.000 euros was levied. It was an expensive night out – a heavily damaged car and thousands of euros of fines. The moral of the story – don’t drink excessively and then drive in Monaco.
