2023-11-02 20:06:00
In five minutes flat, the criminals, who were probably three, had stolen watches on March 25, 2021 for a total amount estimated at 645,000 euros by the jeweler. The loot was never found, nor were all the perpetrators. On Thursday, there was only one man to answer for these facts before the criminal court.
Zoran, born in Yugoslavia 58 years ago, denies having taken part in this heist. But different elements point in his direction, even if, as the prosecutor notes, Zoran was probably not the mastermind behind this burglary. Insufficient, according to his defense, represented by Me Fabrice Vinclaire who pleaded for acquittal.
Both the civil party and the public prosecutor noted the professionalism of the authors. It was through patient work of telephone analysis and images from ANPR cameras, which film in real time and take a photo of each license plate while being able to establish matches, that the investigators traced Zoran.
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Careful preparation
The move was obviously very well planned. The previous evening around 7:00 p.m., the thugs had stolen a Clark from a nearby construction site. Around 8:40 p.m., they brought a van, stolen a few days earlier, to the area. They had installed signs suggesting that work was in progress. Around 1:40 a.m., they began to attack the gallery shutter.
At 5:27 a.m., as the images showed, they had smashed the window of the jewelry store with the Clark. Five minutes later, they left with their loot, abandoning the stolen van and the Clark there.
One of the criminals had borrowed the “neighbor’s Twingo” to cover their tracks.
Examination of ANPR camera footage revealed that the VW Transporter van, whose journey was traced, had been preceded by a Renault Twingo. Its owner has been identified. She explained that she regularly lent it to her neighbor and her partner. It’s Zoran. The couple also regularly used their wifi. And, upon review of internet searches, it appeared that Zoran’s phone had been searching for expensive watches.
A love of beautiful things
“It’s because I like beautiful things,” Zoran explained in court on Thursday. As for the fact that the Twingo accompanied the van, he repeated what he said during the investigation, several months following the events. When asked for directions, he offers to take the route to be followed. He would also have already had arguments with motorists who would have followed him to intimidate him.
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The representative of the public prosecutor does not believe a word of it, given the organized and perfectly planned nature of the burglary. She also notes that a hood, wave jammers and a headlamp – as the criminals used – were found during a search at Zoran’s house.
”I don’t think Zoran is the mastermind. But he played an important role in the logistics,” concluded the magistrate, before requesting three years in prison.
For the defense, the elements that would point to Zoran are very weak. The Twingo, he said, was seen once more in the neighborhood over the following days. The headlamp? It’s for jogging and the burglar who wore it was much taller than Zoran. Wave jammers? Junk. The black hood? Different from that of the authors. Research on watches? Zoran made some before the burglary and the models don’t match.
Me Vinclaire concludes that there is reasonable doubt and that Zoran must therefore be acquitted. Judgment on December 6.
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