A British conman that included in a Netflix docudrama has actually been punished to 6 years behind bars by a French court for intentionally ramming 2 law enforcement officers with his cars and truck as he tried an escape.
Robert Hendy-Freegard, 53, nicknamed the Puppet Master due to his job as a serial trickster, made his retreat after harming the gendarmes at his home in the Creuse in main France.
He was apprehended in Belgium and extradited to France, where he has actually remained in prison considering that 2022.
Hendy-Freegard was founded guilty and offered a life sentence in the UK in 2005 for kidnapping and scams, consisting of ripping off a variety of females out of greater than ₤ 1m.
He had actually persuaded his targets he was a scout for MI5 and got on the run from terrorist organisations. He was released in 2009 after his sentence for kidnapping was reversed by a charm court.
Some time around 2015 he relocated to a remote home in the town of Vidaillat, in the Creuse, and developed himself as a pet dog breeder with his British companion, Sandra Clifton.
When office and pet well-being examiners, come with by gendarmes, checked out the residential or commercial property on 25 August 2022 to evaluate the kennels after grievances from neighbors that he was running an unlawful organization, Hendy-Freegard apparently repelled in his Audi A3, striking the policemans at the same time.
A women policeman was supposedly lugged 100 backyards on the automobile’s hood, damaged her nose and was authorized off help 21 days, while her male coworker was authorized off for 6 days.
Hendy-Freegard was apprehended 2 weeks later on after his cars and truck was dropped in Belgian cops on the E40 freeway at Grand Bigard nearBrussels He was initially implicated of tried murder however this was later on altered to a fee of physical violence versus public authorities with intensifying situations.
Hendy-Freegard, that showed up in court in Gu éret under the name David Hendy, refuted intentionally striking both gendarmes.
The court listened to that while on the run he sent out a message to a French gendarme he recognized, stating: “I just wanted to say that I apologise to your colleagues who jumped in front of me. I’m horrified that they might have thought I wanted to murder them.”
He informed the court he had actually been disturbed that day since Clifton had actually introduced she was leaving him. “First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t stop. But I panicked … I didn’t stop because I’m a human being with emotions,” he stated.
He criticized the Netflix docudrama for triggering distress and emotional troubles. “There are always two sides to every story. I made mistakes that day, but you have no idea what I went through, even though I’m not a physical victim. But none of this would have happened if the Netflix documentary hadn’t been shown,” he stated.
He informed the hearing he and Clifton had actually relocated to France after she saw a promotion for the residential or commercial property in a remote area inVidaillat Asked what earnings he contended the moment, he responded: “I’d need to clarify that point.”
The court listened to that the residential or commercial property, where the pair ran an organization reproducing beagles, was worn out and Hendy-Freegard stated troubles triggered by Brexit had actually avoided them from refurbishing it.
While at the kennels, the policemans found Clifton living at the residential or commercial property. Neighbours had actually formerly notified the authorities concerning a female they believed was being kept in “awful conditions” at your home, however as the female informed cops there was no reason for worry, questions were gone down.
Clifton is thought to have actually considering that gone back to the UK and decreased to push fees.
Hendy-Freegard, birthed in 1971 in Worksop, was the main number in Netflix’s 2022 docudrama The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman and additionally motivated the movie Rogue Agent, an imaginary tale starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton.
The state district attorney, Alexandra Pethieu, had actually asked for a seven-year jail sentence, stating the retreat effort caused “an appalling scene worthy of Mad Max”.
During an earlier hearing, Hendy-Freegard’s attorney, Juliette Magne-Gandois, stated he had “always denied any intent to kill anyone”, a fee bring a sentence of approximately three decades. Agence France-Presse reported that Magne-Gandois had actually considering that quit representing him.
During his London test, the court was informed Hendy-Freegard obeyed the adage: “Lies have to be big to be convincing.” One of his targets remembered him taking her from an expected “safe house” with a pail over her head, needing to conceal in cabinets to stay clear of site visitors, and investing 3 weeks in a secured washroom with little to consume.
