The robbery of the tobacco shop in Mirande on February 1, 2024, led to three young people from Gers facing justice. The accused cited a drug debt to justify the armed robbery and left the court free at the end of the hearing. Here is the story.
“I had the scare of my life.” At the Auch judicial court, the main accused struggles to explain how, within a few hours, he went from being a victim to the perpetrator of an armed robbery.
On February 1, 2024, at 7 am, the “Le Fabuleux Bazar” tobacco shop in Mirande was targeted in a lightning attack by three young men barely 19 to 20 years old at the time.
That morning, the tobacconist, a man in his thirties who had bought the shop with his mother less than a year ago, was about to open when two hooded, gloved, and black-clad individuals burst in. One of them brandished a knife and directly threatened him.
While one of them kept the pressure up, the other went behind the counter, emptied the cash register, and filled a bag with cigarette cartons. In just a few minutes, nearly €3,000 in cash and €5,000 worth of goods were stolen.
Outside, a third accomplice awaited in a car stolen the day before. Security cameras would later trace their presence. They arrived around 5:20 am, waiting for a long time before acting, then fled at 7:05 am. The vehicle was found burnt eight days later in a parking lot in Auch. A year of silence followed before the case resurfaced.
The case was not easy to unravel, but in February 2025, investigators finally arrested the one who held the knife. Quickly, he confessed everything and implicated his two friends.
At the root of this crime was a drug debt. The day before the robbery, three individuals had allegedly forced their way into his home, putting a knife to his throat to demand €1,200. “I didn’t know what to do. I had the scare of my life,” he recalls. “We found this solution, even though I know today that it was the worst.”
Context: The article describes a robbery at a tobacco shop in Mirande where three young perpetrators justified their actions by citing a drug debt.
Fact Check: The defendants faced the possibility of up to 30 years in prison for the armed robbery, which was reclassified as aggravated theft.
In court, the main accused read a letter of apology. “I have no valid excuse. I deeply regret it,” he said, referring to an “electroshock.” Now in a permanent job, he claims to want to “rebuild” himself, a gesture praised but not diminishing the seriousness of the crimes.
The procurator highlighted the drug trafficking context, emphasizing the responsibility of the accused, who put himself in this situation by incurring a debt. She referred to the seriousness of the offenses and sought sentences of three years in prison with 24 months suspended for the three accused.
The defense argued for the youth and immaturity of the defendants. The tribunal ultimately followed the prosecutor’s recommendations, sentencing the three young men to three years in prison with 24 months suspended and ordering them to pay €3,000 to the tobacconist for moral damages.
