- At around 8:50 p.m. on Saturday, a motorist tried to force two gendarmerie and police checkpoints, before violently striking a young 25-year-old gendarme who died from his injuries.
- The suspect, aged 26, was traveling between 130 and 160 km / h according to the prosecutor, and was carrying between 150 g and 165 g of a white powder, presumably cocaine.
- The victim, Mélanie Lemée, was a former judo champion.
A "fabulous state of mind", a "beautiful person" ... Tributes have been raining since Sunday, and the announcement of the death of Mélanie Lemée, young gendarme of 25 years old, killed Saturday evening by a motorist who wanted to force two roadblocks consecutively, until violently hitting the young woman.
Constable Mélanie Lemée, who died on Saturday while performing her duties, was a high-level judokate https://t.co/9bCcrW1p0Q pic.twitter.com/y6rqDZNZ4o
- THE TEAM (@lequipe) July 5, 2020Even the champion Teddy Riner hailed the memory of this high-level sportswoman, double French champion in military judo in 2017 and 2018.
Thoughts for Mélanie Lemée, her family and loved ones 🙏🏾🙏🏾
Young judokate and gendarme, she died yesterday in the exercise of her functions 😔 pic.twitter.com/3yF32VIh5I
20 Minutes takes stock of the investigation.
What happened on Saturday evening?
Saturday around 20:50, a vehicle refuses to stop at a control of the national gendarmerie in the town of Colayrac (Lot-et-Garonne), reports the Ministry of the Interior. The information is immediately shared between the police and gendarmerie services. The driver heading towards Agen then turns around in front of a roadblock maintained by the national police. An interception system is set up by the gendarmes at Port Sainte-Marie (Lot-et-Garonne). “When the fleeing vehicle arrived near the harrows, it suddenly moved to the left in order to avoid the interception device, in doing so it struck one of the two gendarmes who was on the lower side of the road. The shock was particularly severe. This gendarme died a few minutes later ", said Monday morning the prosecutor of the Republic of Agen, Manuella Garnier, during a press conference.
The magistrate added that "the observations made as well as the testimonies collected make it possible to estimate the speed of her vehicle when it struck the victim at around 130 to 160 km / h", with no trace of braking.
What is the profile of the suspect?
The arrested motorist, is 26 years old, and unfavorably known to the police and gendarmerie services. He has already been convicted three times, including for offenses against the drugs and traffic laws. Originally from the department, the man drove without a license, and "he was carrying 165 grams of a white powder which will have to be analyzed but which is probably cocaine", according to Manuella Garnier.
"After the impact, the vehicle fled (but) it had to stop 400 meters further due to the triggering of the airbags," said the prosecutor. He then tried to escape on foot before being arrested and placed in police custody.
Where is the investigation?
The public prosecutor indicated that a judicial information for “voluntary homicide on person depositary of the public authority, refusal to obey aggravated by the endangerment of the life of others, driving without license, detention and illicit transport of narcotic drugs in a state of legal recidivism ”will be opened this Monday against the driver.
In police custody, the young man explained that he refused to stop "by the fact that he drove without a license, under the influence of drugs, but also by the fact that he had just acquired 150 g of cocaine. He claimed that he did not see the victim and that he thought the shock was due to the interception device. " He disputes "any intention of homicide. "
The suspect faces life imprisonment. He should be indicted on Monday afternoon and placed in detention.
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