Baker cleared of stabbing charge

A baker has been cleared of seriously injuring a man with a knife after a magistrate heard two conflicting versions of the event.

Jason Vella, 35, of Qormi was cleared of seriously injuring Alfred Felice and the illegal possession of the knife on January 31, 2006.

Magistrate Anthony Vella heard Police Inspector Maria Stella Attard, prosecuting, explain how Mr Vella told her that Mr Felice had gone to his bakery in Qormi where an argument ensued over comments made during the TV programme Xarabank.

Mr Vella had told the police that later that morning, at about 5.15 a.m., Mr Felice went to his house and started ringing his doorbell frantically.

When he went downstairs, Mr Felice assaulted him and slammed him against the wall. Mr Vella tried to resist Mr Felice and, when his (Mr Vella's) wife went outside to see what was going on, Mr Felice let him go and he ran away.

That was when Mr Felice produced a knife and assaulted him again, Mr Vella said. He said he grabbed Mr Felice's arm to try and stop him from hitting him with the knife and then managed to get away.

Mr Vella said he suffered injuries in the neck and thigh and explained that he must have injured Mr Felice when he tried to push the knife away from him.

Inspector Attard said she had also spoken to Mr Felice who gave a completely different version of events leading up to the incident.

Mr Felice claimed he was driving behind Mr Vella when the latter stopped, got out of the car and brandished a knife.

He could not carry on driving as Mr Vella was blocking the road so he too alighted and tried to take the knife from his attacker's hands but Mr Vella stabbed him in the belly.

After evaluating the evidence the magistrate cleared Mr Vella of the charges.

In a judgment handed down last October, Mr Felice had been given an eight-month jail term suspended for three years after being found guilty of stabbing and slightly injuring Mr Vella during the same incident.

Lawyer Joseph Giglio appeared for Mr Vella.