Crashed through a Parking Barrier with Police in Hot Pursuit
It didn’t stop when exiting the car park on Avenue Princesse-Grace, smashing the toll system and the barrier. The Police were fast into action and about to interview the driver when, suddenly, the man drives off full throttle. Then a police chase as if in a film with flashing lights and sirens blaring. Finally apprehended the driver refused to comply with a breath test; he was obviously drunk.
Alcohol turned this worker into a one-time offender as he had no criminal records in France or Monaco. The Prosecution wanted three months of suspended imprisonment, 45 euros for each traffic fine and a driving ban in Monaco for one year. The court decided on a two months suspended sentence and a total sum of 300 euros for the traffic fines. The Judge also approved the driving ban.
Luxury Watch Thief Flushed out of the Bushes on the Rock by Police
An aggressive attempt at the theft of a watch from a victim at the Port by a man in his late 20s led to an immediate police hunt and arrest of the Moroccan defendant hiding in the brush on the climb to the Rock.
The question the Court was wrestling with… was he part of an organized crime group and a professional thief or spontaneously trying in desperation to support his family.
His criminal record showed multiple thefts in Spain. On balance the evidence pointed to professional thievery and he copped a firm prison sentence of ten months.
Crocodile Bag Purloined Without Paying
Theft of a beautiful small crocodile bag by a customer in a luxury store in the Carré d’Or district triggered the silent alarm. The thief had hidden the bag under his coat and tried to exit unnoticed. He thought he had succeeded. But the anti-theft alarm enabled the store to detect the exit with the unpaid-for bag and they immediately alerted the police.
The store security cameras did the rest and having the man’s identity the police were able to apprehend him at the railway station. Professional thief or desperate opportunist trying to feed his family. This would decide the sentence.
He had a history of drug addiction and also a criminal record showing multiple convictions for theft, possession of false documents and concealment.
The court decided to send the accused to jail with a firm three-month sentence, as a message to those who offend on Monegasque territory. After a ninety-day stay at the prison on the Rock he will be forbidden to return to the Principality.
