Friday November 23, a resident from the hamlet of Saint-Claude, in Bury (Oise)invites two couples of friends to spend the evening at his place. The evening was going well, until one of the guests, Jocelyn Clain, 33 years oldgets angry. He wanted to punch a friend who said bad things about his children. Having left to calm down in the car, he is joined by one of the guests. A few minutes later, the latter leaves, believing the thirty-year-old to have calmed down.
But when he wasn’t expecting it, he was attacked from behind. He turns around and responds with two punches that send the attacker to the ground. Jocelyn picks up a knife who must have been on the floor of the car or in the storage compartment, and tries to hit the other man who, at that moment, has the upper hand. He avoids the first blow by grabbing the blade of the knife, but Jocelyn manages to hit him three more shots who will hit him in the arm.
Wounds six centimeters deep
The scene happened so quickly that none of the witnesses had time to intervene. The victim lost a lot of blood, a witness applied a tourniquet to him using his t-shirt while waiting for the firefighters who would arrive as well as the police. The injured person was evacuated to Creil hospital where a surgical procedure with total anesthesia was performed to suture the wounds which reached six centimeters deep. As for the perpetrator of the attack, he fled. He will be located by his phone. He is being tried immediately on December 2 at the Beauvais court.
Jocelyn Clain has a very vague memory of the evening. He remembers that the victim pushed him away, that she tried to push him away by punching him. He remains very discreet, even silent about his motivation. He admits that he had been drinking that evening, but does not consider himself to be an alcoholic. Yet he says he is unable to stop drinking when he starts. “What meets the definition of alcoholism», Cuts the president of the court.
“We came close to tragedy”
The lawyer for the civil party, Marine Salmon, discusses the consequences: “we came close to tragedy. The ingredients are there: an irritation channeled by the absorption of alcohol, misinterpreted remarks leading to this unexplained violence of blows which could have reached the carotid artery. My client, faced with a knife, defended himself by throwing two punches.» On a physical level, he has not eaten since leaving the hospital and he has made an appointment with a psychologist. As her client’s life is altered, she requests expertise.
The deputy prosecutor also remains unsatisfied: “no apparent reasons, no justification, he fled after causing certain harm. His criminal record shows his aggressiveness and virulence. He was convicted of rebellion, carrying and possession of a weapon, and three times for driving under the influence of alcohol. He is not aware of the danger he represents for society.» Jocelyn Clain has never been to prison. The deputy requests a sentence of twenty-four months in prison, including six months under probation, with a committal warrant for the eighteen months in prison.
For his lawyer, he needs follow-up
Christelle Vast defends the defendant who disputes nothing. “He is impulsive, violent, his record confirms itshe concedes. His concern is alcohol, his descent into hell. Its violence is alcohol’s mode of communication.» She returns to the past of her client who did not want to speak on this subject after losing his house, due to the loss of his license, himself lost for drink driving.
“He also lost his masonry companyadds his lawyer. He became homeless. He heard about an opportunity in Belgium. He went there and worked until, due to embezzlement, his boss went bankrupt. Homeless again, he returned to France and found, without qualifications, work as a gardener. He signs a fixed-term contract with accommodation. He is on his way back up. Detaining him is sending him back to square one. Until now, he has only had simple reprieves, even though he needs follow-up. He wants to get out of it. The problem is not stopping drinking but understanding why he drinks.» To save her client’s employment, his housing and his start of reintegration, she requests a constructive sentence, a mixed sentence with a part under suspended probation and a firm part without a committal warrant and adjustable by the judge applying the sentences.
Jocelyn Clain will not go to prison
The court followed the defense lawyer’s requests. Jocelyn Clain gets two years in prison half of which are under probationary suspension with an obligation to work, to receive alcohol treatment, to pay the sums owed to the public treasury and to compensate the victim. And prohibitions: from meeting the victim and from possessing a weapon for five years. The farm part will be developed. The victim will see an expert and the case is postponed on civil interest to May 31, 2025.
