The Dunkirk criminal court on Wednesday acquitted four people accused of having robbed an 85-year-old resident of Loon-Plage more than 500,000 euros, reports the Voice of the North. The beginning of the story dates back to July 2022, when individuals presented themselves as roofers at the home of an octogenarian, assuring her that her roof needed repairs. Confident, she accepts that they carry out the necessary work. The pseudo-roofers thus came three days in a row and were paid in cash. Liquid that the victim went to get in his kitchen, observed by the so-called workers.
The loot was stashed in an old gas cooker
The day after the end of the construction site, the octogenarian received a call from a person posing as a postal agent who asked him to come to the office to pick up a registered letter. The time to go get the imaginary mail, the savings of the old lady, stashed in a gas cooker, had flown away. In all, 400,000 euros in cash and more than 100,000 euros in gold and jewelry. The investigation opened after the victim’s complaint led to the arrest of four members of the Traveler community.
Tried before the Dunkirk Criminal Court on Wednesday, the defendants had a heavy case against them. Their presence at the victim’s home the days before the theft, their car fitted with false plates spotted by video surveillance on the day of the theft in front of the home and found in their camp, the staggering sums of money found by the investigators, either in cash in their caravans, either on their bank accounts… They denied their involvement, ensuring that the money had been honestly earned when most are at RSA and only the roofer declares income of around 1,000 euros monthly.
The court nevertheless considered that nothing proved with certainty the presence of the defendants on the scene on the day of the burglary, according to our colleagues. A decision to release was therefore pronounced and all came out free. The case is not over yet since the prosecution has decided to appeal.