BOBIGNY, France (AP) — Lawyers for a suspect in the Louvre jewels heist said Wednesday they expect his trial in a separate case to be postponed because his transfer to the courthouse would be too complex.
The 39-year-old man, suspected of breaking into the Louvre and stealing the $102-million worth Crown Jewels, was initially set to go on trial Wednesday on charges of damaging public property in a different case. His lawyers, Florian Godest Le Gall and Maxime Cavaillé, said he would not attend the trial in the Bobigny courthouse, north of Paris, because his transfer was deemed too complex. They did not elaborate.
The suspect was arrested six days after the Oct. 19 Louvre robbery at his home in Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris where he was born. He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. In total, four suspects are in custody as part of the Louvre 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 in the heist.
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 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.
