'Cowboy' jailed for injuring woman

A St Julians man was yesterday jailed for two-and-a-half years after a magistrate found him guilty of seriously injuring a woman when he threw a bottle during an argument over a parking space.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera found Trevor Spiteri, 29, guilty of assaulting and seriously injuring Anna Camilleri and slightly injuring her husband Franco and her brother-in-law John Azzopardi in Gzira on July 9, 2000.

The magistrate heard how on the day of the incident the Camilleris were looking for a place to park in Gzira, where a feast was being celebrated. They saw a space near a kiosk but this space was obstructed by soft drink crates. Following a brief argument between Franco Camilleri and Spiteri's father Emanuel, Camilleri decided to drive on. But when he failed to find another parking space Camilleri asked a policeman nearby if he could park in the space where the crates were and the officer said he could.

Some time later, while he was at the traffic lights Spiteri hurled a bottle at Franco Camilleri but hit his wife in the face, seriously injuring her.

On handing down judgement the magistrate noted that although Spiteri had a clean criminal record, the court could not allow people to think they could act like cowboys and assault people who are minding their own business.

Police Inspector Stephen Gatt prosecuted.