British man shot defending car from burglars in Dordogne, court told

The night of terror of a British man hauled from his bed by armed burglars demanding the keys to his Aston Martin sports car before he was shot multiple times with a shotgun was heard in a Perigueux court today (September 26).

David Dunsby, 63, needed an emergency operation to remove pellets from his leg, chest and face.

After two days in hospital he was allowed home to the peaceful village of Javerlhac (Dordogne, Nouvelle Aquitaine) but later needed treatment from a psychiatrist for post traumatic stress disorder.

Appearing in court were Karol Ciezynski, 32, of Angoulême, and Toby Powell, 19, of Nontron, Dordogne, who both admitted they were the burglars.

They said stealing the car was decided on “the spur of the moment,” during a party in an Angoulême squat during which they drank alcohol, smoked cannabis and snorted cocaine in March 2021.

“Toby is English and it is an English car,” Ciezynski told the court, while Powell said he “went along with it”.

“I was not sober,” he added.

He said he was with Ciezynski when he stopped to get the gun from a hide in the woods near his parents’ house, and when they put on masks and gloves, but had second thoughts when the gun accidentally went off twice on the way to Javerlhac.

The burglars said they were surprised when Mr Dunsby tried to rush outside, something he told the police he did because he did not believe they would shoot and wake the village.

Ciezynski – holding the gun – tackled him from behind and called for help from Powell, who punched Mr Dunsby on the jaw before returning to the house to find the car keys on the kitchen counter.

Powell opened the car door, something which requires special clicks for an Aston Martin, and jumped in the passenger side because he did not have a driving licence, he told the gendarmes.

Ciezynski ran to the car and said he shot “into the ground” because Mr Dunsby “still came after me.”

He said he had no idea Mr Dunsby was hit and said if he had he would have helped him.

“I do not want to kill anyone,” he said.

The Aston Martin was later flashed doing 190km/h on the Angoulême bypass.

It was only later that it was found parked in a street that the gendarmes were able to use DNA traces to unravel the burglary, as well as a later incident where a Corvette was stolen by Ciezynski and another burglar from a second home in La Chapelle-Montmoreau near Nontron owned by a British couple.

He said they had gone to steal a Ferrari but found it on a trailer and instead took the Corvette.

They broke into the house by kicking a door down and stole silver bars, wine and other goods worth €62,000.

Powell appeared in court after being on bail while Ciezynski had been held in detention along with a Kosovan, Sokol Hoti, 38, from Angoulême, accused of receiving stolen goods.

The Périgueux court heard investigators stating they believed Hoti had a hold on the others because he supplied them with cocaine, but he and the others denied this in court, saying they were friends.

The case continues with verdicts and sentences expected later today.

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