Aggressive bag snatcher ends up in jail

A US national, residing in Sliema, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for robbing a woman of her bag and assaulting two police officers last year.

Stephen Galli, 41, admitted to stealing the woman's bag, assaulting and slightly injuring a police sergeant and a constable, ignoring their orders and relapsing last October.

After hearing Mr Galli file a guilty plea, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard how a probation officer had been striving for three years to persuade him to attend a rehabilitation programme but to no avail.

She also noted that Mr Galli had eight previous convictions on his criminal record.

Police Inspector Stephen Gatt prosecuted.