One of the heroes of the Bastille Day atrocity in Nice has been sent to jail on a different matter. The Nice Criminal Court detained Gwenaël Leriche for continued violence committed against his ex-girlfriend and her employer.
On July 25, the 27-year-old received the Medal of the City of Nice for a courageous act committed during the July 14 attack in Nice on the Promenade des Anglais, but on Sunday, August 7, he went to the workplace of his ex-girlfriend and threatened her and the manager of the premises with a switchblade, the court was told.
He asked for time to prepare his defence, but the court remanded him in custody until September 12. He was convicted in 2014 for abusing his girlfriend, with whom he has a child.
In his defence this week, Leriche said he had not slept for fifteen days after the attack on July 14 and has been placed on sick leave. He said he had consulted a psychiatrist and has continuing problems with alcohol.
As he was taken from the court by police, Gweanël Leriche shouted to the judges that he needed “a shrink, not prison” before copiously insulting his ex-girlfriend, remarks that the court immediately recorded. Source: Nice-Matin