Cleared of post office hold-up

Two men were yesterday cleared of carrying out a hold-up on a post office after the court ruled that the evidence produced by the prosecution did not prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that they were the perpetrators.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona ruled that although court experts testified about shoe marks found on the scene of the crime and those found at the residence of the mother of one of the accused, this evidence was not conclusive. Moreover, the photographs provided were not clear and did not point at the accused.

Paul Michael Kavanagh and Jeremy James Farrugia were originally charged with committing a hold-up at a Maltapost branch in Pietà, holding two Maltapost employees against their will, possessing a firearm without a licence, stealing a Chevrolet Matiz from Birkirkara and stealing a digital camera from Visual Electronics in Fgura.

Both men were also accused of relapsing and committing a crime during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

Magistrate Micallef Trigona said that although the clothes the accused were wearing some time before the hold-up, when they were at the Detox Centre at St Luke's Hospital, were similar to those that can be seen in a photograph, this was not enough to convict them. Even with regard to the mud found at the branch and that found in the stolen car, the court could not draw the conclusion that such evidence compromised the accused.

The magistrate said such evidence was not enough to convict them of the armed robbery.

With regard to the theft of the vehicle and the digital camera, the court said the evidence provided by the prosecution only established that they had been stolen but nothing concrete was presented as proof that the two men had been involved.

On the basis of the lack of sufficient evidence, the magistrate cleared the two men of all the charges brought against them.

Police Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Geoffrey Azzopardi prosecuted.

Chris Cardona was defence counsel.