PETIT-RAFFRAY: Two young people receive two months in prison after whiskey thefts

An investigation carried out by the Goodlands Criminal Investigation Division (CID) helped to elucidate two cases of theft committed in Petit-Raffray. The investigations led to the arrest of two young men, aged 24 and 25, who were both sentenced to two months' imprisonment by the Rivière-du-Rempart court on Wednesday.

The first case dates back to July 8. The owner (62 years old) of a mini-market in Petit-Raffray noticed, during an inventory, the disappearance of two bottles of whiskey. The next morning, while he was behind the counter of his business, he saw a regular customer (25 years old) enter whose behavior seemed suspicious to him. By asking him to open his jacket to check if he was not hiding any items, the latter fled.

Thanks to the intervention of another customer present on the scene, the fugitive was caught and then brought back inside the business. It was then that the situation deteriorated. The young man grabbed a glass bottle, tried to hit the shopkeeper, who managed to dodge the blow, before smashing the bottle against the counter to make it a sharp weapon. He then attacked the client who had restrained him, seriously injuring him in the right ear and right arm. The victim was transported to SSRN Hospital, where a deep laceration required several stitches.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the attacker got back on his motorcycle parked in front of the business and fled. After his departure, the merchant also noticed the theft of an additional bottle of whiskey.

Arrested on Wednesday by the Goodlands CID, the main suspect confessed. He admitted to having stolen the first two bottles of whiskey on July 8, then a third the next day, which he had hidden under his jacket before being intercepted. He also admitted to injuring the man who tried to stop him from fleeing. The suspect was formally identified by the trader as well as by the injured witness. The three bottles of alcohol were recovered, allowing the return of all the stolen property. Brought before the Rivière-du-Rempart court on a charge of Larceny with Wounding, he was sentenced to two months of imprisonment.

During the same day, the police also solved a second theft case targeting a supermarket in Petit-Raffray. The business manager (26 years old) had reported the disappearance of a bottle of rum and a bottle of whiskey, with a total value of Rs 1,618, stolen between July 1 and 15.

The two suspects, including the 25-year-old, arrested in the other theft case, admitted to having agreed on July 10 to commit this theft and share the profits. They entered the supermarket in the middle of the afternoon, took