On Tuesday, September 14, Guadeloupean artist was sentenced to 9-month suspended prison for setting fire to a speed camera last August.
Never before has an urban singer had such a good name : Keros-N (meaning “Kerosene”, the product used, among other things, to make planes fly). Until now, Guadeloupean artist had accustomed us to beautiful texts or poems in Creole that he declaimed with talent. Keros-N sets fire to the microphone at each of his performances, especially when he performs “Fanm Gwadloup” or “Black”, tracks on his album Bipolaire, released in 2017.
However, this Tuesday, September 14 at 8:00 am Sébastien Lurel alias Keros-N (34 years old) was expected with his partner (nurse and singer) on a different stage, the correctional court of Pointe-à-Pitre, for a special performance. Indeed, the artist who is famous among young people had to explain on the fire of the radar located in Dalciat in the town of Baie-Mahault.
During the night of 21 to 22 August, around 1:00 am, fearing that he had been flashed by the radar, Keros-N did not hesitate to return to the scene with all the necessary equipment to set it on fire, such as used tyres and another type of petroleum product, i.e. gasoline in a jerrycan. But gendarmes on patrol in the area saw this radar burning and chased down two individuals who were nearby : the artist and his partner. The first was found in possession of a lighter and a can, among other things, while the second had to come out of the bush where she had been hiding…
Under police custody, her partner first tried to accuse imaginary individuals and then both admitted to being the perpetrators of the destruction to this public property. To explain this act, Keros-N gave the lack of water in the taps, the problems of the University Hospital of Pointe-à-Pitre & Abymes. But the prosecution replied by pointing out the high number of deaths on the roads in the archipelago each year (+15% since 2020) and castigated the behaviour of the artist who is very much listened to by the youth.
Three years in prison, two of them suspended, and compensation were demanded against the singer and one year suspended against his partner.
Finally, in the afternoon, the court’s deliberation came : Keros-N was sentenced to 9 months in prison with a suspended sentence, a fine of 1,500 euros and a fine of 200 euros for breaching the curfew, as well as an obligation to attend a citizenship course. Regarding his partner, she was sentenced to 3 months suspended imprisonment, a fine of 1,500 euros and a fine of 200 for breaching the curfew, curfew and an obligation to attend a citizenship course. The amount of damages will be determined at another hearing.
