What started as a mission to steal alcohol from the new Carrefour at the Monaco port took a sharp turn for one unlucky visitor from Nice. The man, initially enticed by friends who claimed the supermarket was an easy target, soon found the place more secure than expected and abandoned his plan. Instead, he turned his sights to a different prize just a few meters away: an unattended electric scooter worth 600 euros.
Claiming he only wanted the scooter’s wheel to fix his own, the defendant defended himself, saying, “I really have one of my own. It wasn’t to resell it.” However, his alibi didn’t hold up, especially after he was found intoxicated and asleep at the Monaco train station with a blood alcohol level of 0.9 g/l.
The prosecutor highlighted a growing trend of thieves from Nice sneaking into Monaco to steal electric scooters, urging for a tough sentence to send a clear message. The court agreed, sentencing the man to a five-year ban from Monaco and 15 days in prison. With a string of past convictions in France for theft and assault, the defendant is also set to face his French legal obligations in October, while tackling his alcohol problems and adjusting to life with an electronic bracelet at home.
