It only took a few hours for the Montbéliard police services to resolve the investigation into the fire, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, of 52 new vehicles parked in a Stellantis parking lot in Sochaux. The alleged perpetrator is a 22-year-old interim who acknowledges the facts but does not explain his action.
The case was sensitive, because the colossal damage. Because in the end, 52 new vehicles of type 3008 and 5008 were destroyed by the flames. Estimated value of the loss? More than 6 million euros, counting, in addition to the cars, the photovoltaic panels of the Stellantis storage park, badly damaged by the flames.
This type of case is, after all, quite rare. But the Montbéliard investigators, supported by the car manufacturer’s security services, quickly tracked down the trail leading to this interim.
It is already rather inappropriate to enter the site of his employer by badgering his professional card, just before a fire. But add to that the analysis of the surveillance cameras of Stellantis as well as those of the City of Montbéliard and you obtain a rapid arrest of the individual.
I commend the work of all the teams involved in this case. We wanted to identify the perpetrator as quickly as possible.
Captain Mickaël Fournier, Montbéliard Police Station
The arrest took place on Monday at 12:15 p.m. at his place of work. The interim admitted in police custody part of the facts but not the reasons. Known to the police for theft and damage, investigators found 106 g of cannabis resin in his home.
The temporary worker said he had been drinking and consuming alcohol that night, when he arrived around 2 a.m. at the storage yard, badged to return, before starting to move new vehicles.
After an accident in the heart of the parking lot, he would have set fire to the vehicle to erase his traces, the flames spreading to other cars.
It will be presented this Wednesday at 12 p.m. at the Montbéliard parquet floor.