According to La Nouvelle République, the young man dreamt of becoming a firefighter. A job that fascinates him, a profession that he “ idealises ", in his own words, as reported by the public prosecutor, Frédéric Chevallier.
Aged 24, this resident of Cormeray was a volunteer firefighter, though only for a short time. He was dismissed by the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service in 2012. Yet his boundless admiration for the service has never left him – to the point where he has committed offences.
In order to watch the fire brigade in action, he committed a whole series of offences (thirteen in total), the consequences of which could have been disastrous. On several occasions, he threw stones, rubble and burning rubbish bins from the bridge on the Cellettes bypass onto the road, the D956. Vehicles were struck by these projectiles. No one was injured, but material damage was reported.
Thirteen incidents between January 2018 and June 2019
The first incidents date back to January 2018. The most recent ones took place during the night of Wednesday 5th to Thursday 6th June. That evening, the young man was at home when, at around 10.30 pm, he decided to go and collect some stones behind his house. He loaded them all into his car, then drove to Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt to collect a small rubbish bin, which he placed in his boot. He then headed for the bridge on the D 956. There, he threw the stones and the bin, which he set alight by lighting some newspapers with a lighter. But the fire didn’t really catch.
So the young man went down to the road. Except that, in the meantime, someone had stopped, called the fire brigade and fetched a fire extinguisher. Frustrated, the young man then went to the village of Cellettes and set fire to a car parked there using a pizza box. He waited for the fire brigade to arrive so he could watch them. “ I was pleased to have them there ", he said during the hearings, as reported by the public prosecutor. Then he left.
The police carried out an investigation.
Drawing in particular on witness statements, telephone records and by cross-checking the facts, they were able to identify the young man from Cormeray. He was arrested at his home on Monday 17 June. He was taken into police custody and admitted to the offences. Photos of the fire brigade call-outs he had caused were found on his mobile phone.
Vehicle seized. He was brought before the court in Blois on Tuesday. Charged with assault with a weapon (objects thrown at cars), obstructing traffic, destruction of property by fire and theft (of Agglopolys containers), he appeared in court having previously admitted his guilt.
He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and placed on probation, which includes requirements to undergo psychological treatment and to undertake work or training. The vehicle he used to commit the offences was confiscated.