Man to serve nine years for armed robbery

A 38-year-old man was yesterday jailed for nine years after he admitted to stealing over Lm7,000 worth of gold from a Valletta jewellery during a hold-up over five years ago.

Mario Buhagiar, of Valletta, known as Il-Hassu, filed a guilty plea before Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono during what was to be the beginning of his trial by jury yesterday morning.

He admitted to stealing jewellery from Classic Jewellers in Valletta during an armed hold-up on November 11, 2000 at about 3.45 p.m.

He also admitted to stealing a Ford Anglia earlier that day from outside the hospital in Guardamangia for the purpose of carrying out the hold-up, to driving the stolen car without insurance cover and to the illegal possession of a fire arm.

The bill of indictment, which Mr Buhagiar admitted to, claimed that in the early afternoon of that day, Joseph Desira and his girlfriend Fiona Cassar went to visit a friend at St Luke's Hospital.

When the couple went back to the car, which they had parked close to the hospital, they did not find it. They filed a police report claiming that the car, a Ford Anglia, had been stolen.

Later that day, at about 3.45 p.m., Mr Buhagiar pulled up in front of Classic Jewellers in Merchants Street, Valletta in the Anglia he had just stolen.

Carrying a fire arm and wearing a baseball cap, Mr Buhagiar entered the shop, pointed the gun at the two salespeople - Alan Bajada and Claudia Borg - and, threatening to kill them, ordered them to fill his pockets with gold.

They followed his orders and filled his pockets with about 40 solid gold necklaces and a bracelet worth well over Lm1,000, this to the detriment of the shop owner Paul Fenech.

Mr Buhagiar then left the shop but little did he know that a close circuit television had filmed the hold-up. Besides, the two salespeople and a passer-by had taken a good look at his face and were able to identify him to the police.

When the police arrested him and searched his car, a Fiat Punto, they found the holster of a fire arm under a towel on the passenger's seat and, the following day, they found some of the stolen jewellery in his possession.

After hearing Mr Buhagiar admit to the charges Mr Justice Galea Debono moved on to hear submissions on punishment.

Lawyer Martin Fenech, for Mr Buhagiar, said his client had filed an early guilty plea. His criminal record showed that in the 90s he had a drug problem which he had paid for as he had spent time in jail.

But since 2000 he only had minor contraventions on his record and one conviction for the simple possession of cannabis.

It seemed that, apart from this trial, Mr Buhagiar was on the right track and had since become the father of two, the lawyer said.

Finally, he added, the car had been stolen as a means to carry out the hold-up and this ought to be reflected in the punishment which was to be towards the minimum possible. Senior Counsel to the Republic Mark Said, prosecuting, conceded that the theft of the car served as a means to commit the crime.

However, he could not agree that this was an early guilty plea. He added that this was not a normal theft but the court had to take into consideration the "panic and terror caused" in this premeditated hold-up aimed at stealing objects that were more valuable and negotiable than cash. He asked the judge to hand down a punishment that would broadcast a message that such hold-ups, which have increased in number through the years, cannot be tolerated.

Mr Justice Galea Debono noted that Mr Buhagiar had 16 convictions on his criminal record and had been jailed on five occasions.

Quoting case law, he also noted that a guilty plea did not always translate into a discounted punishment. In this case, although Mr Buhagiar had not been caught red handed, he had been filmed on the CCTV and identified by three witnesses - which hardly left any way out for him.

As for the fact that he had since fathered two children, the judge ruled that one had to take responsibility for his actions and God forbid children were evoked as a reason to mitigate punishment.

He jailed Mr Buhagiar for nine years and banned him from driving for a year.