Car thief jailed for eight months

A Rabat man was yesterday jailed for eight months for breaking into a car by using a screwdriver and a Naxxar man who helped provide the tool was fined Lm250 and put on probation for three years.

Reginald Bugeja, 29, pleaded guilty to breaking into Deborah Debono's car and stealing a Pioneer car stereo worth over Lm50 on September 14, 2000, at about 4 p.m.

He also pleaded guilty to causing over Lm50 damage to the car and relapsing.

Joseph Zammit, 29, pleaded guilty to complicity in the theft.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard how Bugeja and Zammit admitted their involvement when they released a statement to the police a few days after the theft.

Zammit explained he provided Bugeja with the money to buy a screwdriver which he eventually used to break into Debono's car.

But the magistrate noted that Bugeja had only admitted his involvement because he had been caught red-handed. In fact, Debono had approached him while her stereo was still in his hands and he gave it back to her.

On handing down judgment, Magistrate Scerri Herrera took into consideration Bugeja and Zammit's criminal records and noted they differed substantially. This difference, together with the seriousness of the crime, had to be reflected in the judgment.

She noted that Bugeja had six convictions, including drug possession, had been released on conditional discharge three times and was also given a suspended sentence. Yet, he had not reformed.

The magistrate heard a probation officer say that Bugeja had drug problems but had made great progress. For these reasons the magistrate ruled that a jail term was appropriate but recommended to the director of prisons to help Bugeja overcome his drug problems.

In Zammit's case, Magistrate Scerri Herrera noted that he had been found guilty of heroin possession in 1996. Although he was not a first-time offender she noted that Zammit had fully cooperated with police.

She thus ruled that a jail term was not appropriate and that Zammit deserved a chance to change his ways. She put him on probation for three years.

Police Inspector David Saliba prosecuted.