Paris court finds eight people guilty over 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian

By Associated Press Reporter

A Paris court has found the ringleader and seven other people guilty over the robbery of Kim Kardashian nearly a decade ago.

The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants.

The sentences being read out by the court president range from prison terms to fines.

Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, the ringleader, got the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment – but five of those are suspended.

Three others who were accused on the most serious charges got seven years, five of them suspended.

Khedache arrived at court walking with a stick, his face hidden from cameras. His DNA, found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a key breakthrough that helped crack open the case.

Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium.

A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece of jewellery ever recovered.

The crime took place on the night of October 2nd 2016 during Paris Fashion Week.

The robbers, dressed as police, forced their way into the glamorous Hotel de Pourtales, bound Kardashian with zip ties and escaped with her jewellery — a theft that would force celebrities to rethink how they live and protect themselves.

The accused became known in France as “les papys braqueurs”, or the grandpa robbers.

Some arrived in court in orthopaedic shoes and one leaned on a cane. But prosecutors warned observers not to be fooled.

The defendants faced charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association.