Overview
- The tribunal in Carpentras on Wednesday sentenced Soufiane Z., 23, to nine years in prison for aggravated repeat vehicular homicide after his SUV fled a police control and fatally struck a 21-year-old driver.
- Investigators found cocaine and cannabis in the SUV and the court also handed prison terms of eight months and three months to the two other occupants, plus bans on driving and entering the department for the main defendant.
- In Marseille, prosecutors have charged an 18- to 19-year-old driver with attempted murder of a police officer and placed him in pretrial detention after he drove a stolen car through a police checkpoint and violently injured an officer.
- Three minors who were passengers in the Marseille vehicle face charges for complicity, theft and receiving stolen goods, with two 16-year-olds held in custody and a 13-year-old placed under judicial supervision and sent to an educational center.
- Both cases link high-speed flight, stolen vehicles or drugs and prior records, and prosecutors say they will pursue tougher criminal labels when police are seriously hurt, a shift that could lead to more aggravated charges in similar incidents.