Marseilles Man Sentenced to Three Months in Monaco for Scooter Theft

A 49-year-old man from Marseille has been sentenced to three months in prison by a Monaco court for failing to return a borrowed scooter. The individual, employed as a chef at a retirement home, took a Yamaha TMAX from a La Condamine dealership for a test ride in June 2023 with a promise of returning it within fifteen minutes. However, he instead traveled to Nice, later justifying his actions by claiming a loss of track of time, with intentions to return the vehicle the following Monday.

During the legal proceedings, the man recounted that he had entrusted the scooter to two young footballers he was coaching to refuel it, but it was eventually seized by police and returned to the dealership. Despite his unfamiliarity with the initial conviction, as he expressed surprise upon his arrest at a Larvotto restaurant in late October, the court was unpersuaded by his explanations or his financial hardships cited from 2020 to 2023.

The presiding judge dismissed the defendant's claim of a previously clean record and commendable character references from a cousin and a retirement home director. The deputy prosecutor had advocated for a two-month sentence and emphasized the severity of the breach of trust, but the court confirmed the three-month imprisonment. Adding to the irony, the man will serve his sentence at the Monaco remand center, where he had previously worked as a cook from 2015 to 2020.