PARIS — The high-profile Paris trial of 10 defendants accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016 ended with 8 of the so-called 'grandpa robbers' found guilty, while 2 were acquitted.
The defendants' lawyers had urged the jury to spare their aging clients from prison, arguing that it would amount to a life sentence. 7 men and 1 woman were convicted on charges ranging from robbery to complicity in the crime.
But in the end the court handed down prison terms ranging from 3 to 8 years, significantly lighter than the prosecution's demands.
The ringleader of the veteran gang, who held Kim Kardashian at gunpoint and left her fearing for her life asked "a thousand pardons" in court Friday. Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, was sentenced to 8 years in prison, with a 5 years suspended sentence.
Khedache was one of 10 defendants on trial at Paris' Assises court for the 2016 robbery, facing charges including armed robbery and kidnapping by an organized gang.
Most of the group are now in their 60s and 70s and have been dubbed the "Grandpa robbers" by French media.
Khedache is now completely deaf and had to read the court's instructions on a screen during the trial.
On the night of the robbery, the gang—disguised as police officers—arrived on foot and by bicycle to deceive the doorman at the Kardashians' luxury Paris apartment during Fashion Week in October 2016
One of them, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, has already written a book about the heist. He had previously served 20 years for burglary. On Friday Abbas was sentenced to 7 years in prison, with most of that suspended.
"I told myself this was the last time," Abbas said in a TV interview before the trial. "But a 20-carat diamond with no protection? That was tempting." He admitted he didn't know who Kardashian was — only that she was "the wife of a rapper."
But the ring was famous: Kardashian had shown it off to her 300 million Instagram followers.
The job was sloppy. Abbas' getaway bike got a flat tire and his bag of jewels ripped open in the street. A $24,000 diamond cross necklace fell into a gutter and was found the next day by a passerby — who wore it for a while before turning it in.
The bungling gang left DNA all over the scene. They used tape and velcro to restrain Kardashian and were caught within four months.
"It might sound funny," said Mohand Ouidja, lawyer for the traumatized doorman, "but this was armed robbery, violence and bondage. It's serious — regardless of the robbers' age."
Kardashian called it the worst night of her life. Her $4 million diamond ring was never recovered.
The 4 week trial at a courthouse in Paris's historic Ile de la Cité area attracted huge media attention. Crowds flocked to the court during Kardashian's brief appearance in May, hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity. Kardashian was not in the courtroom for the verdict on Friday.
Though the incident changed her life, Kardashian says she has forgiven the thieves.
"I believe in second chances," she told her 300-plus million Instagram followers.
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