Farmer's attempted murder trial opens in Reims over 2020 shooting
Jean-Louis Leroux admits firing at suspected thieves, citing fear after repeated burglaries at his Ambrières farm.
KEY POINTS
- Farmer Jean-Louis Leroux, 53, on trial for attempted murder in Reims
- Shot suspected burglar Diego H., 26, at his Ambrières farm in February 2020
- Defense cites repeated thefts: five complaints in month before shooting
- Three alleged thieves also face gang theft charges in same trial
- Dispute over purpose of warning shots: prevent escape vs. scare off
The trial of Jean-Louis Leroux, a 53-year-old farmer from Ambrières, opened Monday at the Marne Assize Court in Reims. He faces attempted murder charges for shooting Diego H., then 26, during a suspected burglary on the night of January 31 to February 1, 2020.
Leroux and his brother had positioned themselves with hunting rifles after an intrusion alarm triggered around 1:40 a.m. Warning shots were fired before Leroux struck Diego H. in the left flank. The defense argues Leroux acted out of fear and exhaustion after years of thefts.
“I acknowledge having fired because of fear”
Between 2013 and 2020, Leroux filed five theft complaints in the month preceding the incident alone, losing thousands of liters of fuel. Defense lawyer Me Chemla cited this pattern to justify his client's state of mind.
Diego H. and two other men, aged 26 to 34, are simultaneously tried for gang theft. The court heard conflicting accounts on whether warning shots aimed to stop the suspects from fleeing or to scare them away.
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