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🇫🇷 France /Crime & Justice

Deadly Metz Armored Car Heist: Suspect Indicted Nearly 20 Years Later

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A suspect has been indicted nearly 20 years after a 2007 armored car robbery in Metz, France, that resulted in one death and two serious injuries.
  • The suspect, a 52-year-old man from northern France, was already in pretrial detention for similar offenses.
  • New evidence, uncovered through cross-referencing with other judicial proceedings, allowed investigators to reopen the case and identify the suspect.

Nearly two decades after a deadly armored car heist in Metz, France, a 52-year-old man has been indicted in connection with the 2007 crime. The robbery, which occurred on January 15, 2007, in a northern district of Metz, claimed the life of a 47-year-old security guard and left two others seriously injured.

The breakthrough in the investigation came about "through cross-referencing with other judicial proceedings," which yielded "new elements" that allowed the case to be reopened, according to the Nancy inter-regional specialized jurisdiction (Jirs) prosecutor's office. The suspect, described as being from northern France, was already in pretrial detention for unrelated offenses of a similar nature.

through cross-referencing with other judicial proceedings

— Jirs of Nancy prosecutor's officeExplaining how new evidence was uncovered to reopen the investigation.

At the time of the incident, the armored car, belonging to the Securitas company, was reportedly attacked with explosives by four or five individuals during a collection route. The investigation has been lengthy, spanning almost 20 years, before new evidence enabled prosecutors to bring charges against the suspect.

new elements

— Jirs of Nancy prosecutor's officeDescribing the nature of the evidence that led to the suspect's indictment.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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