More suspects charged in Kim Kardashian Paris robbery investigation
PARIS -- Hailing the “remarkable work” of French police, Paris prosecutors on Friday announced preliminary charges against six more suspects in the armed jewelry heist of Kim Kardashian West.
That brings the total number of people charged so far in the probe to 10. All but one of the suspects are men, including at least one previously known to police for robbery and money forgery. Seven of the 17 suspects initially brought in Monday have been released.
Robbers are believed to have forced their way into the apartment where Kardashian West was staying during Paris Fashion Week in October. They allegedly tied up the reality TV star and stole more than $10 million worth of jewelry. Authorities now looking at a possible inside job.
The preliminary charges filed Friday against six suspects ranging in age from 29 to 72 covered an array of alleged crimes, including armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping, criminal association, illegal possession of firearms -- including a Kalashnikov rifle -- and ammunition, use of forged papers and a fake identity and complicity.
Preliminary charges -- the first in the case -- were also filed against four other people on Thursday.
Paris prosecutors have identified the 10 suspects only by their first names and surname initials and their dates of birth. Those charged Friday were:
- Aomar A., 60, faces preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping, criminal association, illegal possession of ammunition, using a fake identify and false papers.
- Pierre B., 72, faces preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping and criminal association.
- Didier D., 61, faces preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping, criminal association and illegally possessing a Kalashnikov rifle.
- Francois D., 54, faces preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping, criminal association and possession of false papers.
- Harminy A., 29, faces preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping and criminal association.
- Christiane G., 70 -- the only woman among the 10 -- handed preliminary charges of complicity in armed robbery and kidnapping, criminal association and the illegal possession of ammunition.
Aomar A. is reported by French media as being the mastermind of the heist as well as the one whose DNA was found on the plastic tie used to restrain Kardashian West.
On Thursday, Kardashian West’s sister, Khloe Kardashian, welcomed the filing of charges as a “kind of closure” and denounced the robbery as “a disgusting act.”
Rich or poor, nobody deserves “anything to be taken from them,” she told The Associated Press.
