By SYLVIE CORBET, Associated Press
BOBIGNY, France (AP) — A French court on Wednesday postponed the trial of a suspect in the Louvre jewels heist in a different case due to media attention and other issues that may impede the fairness of the proceedings.
A court in Bobigny, north of Paris, said the suspect’s trial on charges of damaging public property will take place in April.
His four lawyers said the highly publicized Louvre robbery did not allow them to properly prepare for the trial.
Maxime Cavaillé, one of the lawyers, told reporters: “We’ll be extremely vigilant about several points, first of all the respect of the presumption of innocence… and the respect of (judicial) proceedings.”
Cavaillé said the lawyers will make sure the “privacy” of their client is respected despite the “extraordinary nature” of the Louvre case. They declined to provide further details.
The prosecutor agreed the case must be judged in “serene conditions” that were not met Wednesday due to “mediatization and recent events.”
The 39-year-old man is suspected of breaking into the Louvre and stealing the $102-million worth Crown Jewels.
He was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris where he was born, six days after the Oct. 19 robbery. He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. In total, four suspects are in custody as part of the investigation, including three believed to be members of the team of four that was filmed using a freight lift to reach the museum’s window to gain access.
A judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly about the case, identified him as Abdoulaye N. Authorities did not disclose the identities of the other suspects nor their details, citing the secrecy of the investigation.
The suspect is believed to be one of the two thieves who broke into the Apollo Gallery with power tools, cutting into display cases to steal the jewels. His DNA was reportedly found on one of the cases and on items they left behind.
Le Parisien newspaper and BFM TV news broadcaster reported that the suspect was known on social media as “Doudou Cross Bitume” and has released videos since the end of the 2000s on Youtube and Dailymotion, and more recently on TikTok. They show him performing tricks on motocross in Paris and Aubervilliers.
The suspect had been initially scheduled to stand trial Wednesday on minor charges of breaking a mirror and damaging the door of the prison cell where he was detained in 2019 as part of a separate theft investigation, which later cleared him.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the man gave investigators “minimalist” statements and “partially admitted” his involvement in the Louvre heist. She said he was convicted in 2015 in Paris in the same theft case as another 37-year-old who was arrested last week, also in connection with the Louvre heist.
