Sentenced to nearly four years for failing to comply with police in Lyon, he fled before verdict
A man tried for hitting a police vehicle in Lyon escaped from the courthouse just before his sentence of three years and ten months' custodial imprisonment was announced.
Fugitive after conviction: man who failed to comply with police leaves Lyon courthouse
A search warrant was issued by the Lyon public prosecutor's office on Monday against a man sentenced to three years and ten months' custodial imprisonment for aggravated failure to comply with police, according to Google News FR — Crime (fr). The defendant, who appeared at the hearing at liberty, left the courthouse just before the sentence was pronounced, taking advantage of the adjournment preceding the deliberation.
The facts date back to last week, in the Gerland district of Lyon. Intoxicated and without a driving licence, the man was driving a stolen Clio when he struck an unmarked vehicle of the anti-crime squad, which was travelling with lights and sirens activated to provide backup to a police patrol. The collision occurred just before two in the morning on Avenue Tony Garnier, as officers attempted to stop the driver. The two police officers on board had to be hospitalised for back and cervical pain.
The driver was eventually arrested. He was wearing a balaclava and gloves, as were his passengers, according to the Alliance police nationale trade union. The latter also resisted during their arrest. Given the totality of the facts, the court pronounced a sentence of three years and four months' custodial imprisonment, to which was added the revocation of six months' suspended sentence from a previous conviction, bringing the total to three years and ten months, the public prosecutor's office clarified.
The decision to leave the defendant at liberty pending judgement, following his appearance before investigating magistrates at the end of last week, had already provoked anger from the Alliance trade union. "Had he been remanded in custody by the judge for liberty and detention, he would have been imprisoned", fumed Alain Barberis, departmental secretary of the Alliance police nationale trade union. "This is someone who is known to the authorities, a legal repeat offender who wanted to kill our police officers", he declared to Le Figaro.
The defendant remains at large. The sentence of three years and ten months' custodial imprisonment can only be carried out once the defendant is apprehended again.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)