Judge calls for tough sentences in hold-up cases

The rise in hold-ups had to be dealt with severely by the courts in order to curb the violence that put innocent bystanders at risk, a judge said as he confirmed a jail term in an armed robbery case.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono confirmed jail terms handed down to Steve Spiteri and Clayton Cremona who had been convicted of a hold-up at the APG Discount Store in San Ġwann in 2006 when they were both aged 26. They were jailed for four-and-a-half years and three years and nine months respectively.

Mr Justice Galea Debono said the hold-ups were taking place with alarming frequency and were often the result of a craving for money by drug addicts.

He said that such crimes, apart from the actual value of the stolen items, also caused real and present danger for the victims and innocent bystanders, such as shoppers. Hold-ups could quickly escalate with innocent bystanders being injured or even killed, he pointed out, insisting that this sort of crime had to be repressed through tough sentencing giving a clear message to both society and criminals, the judge said. The two men had raided the supermarket using a plastic water pistol. They had tried to remove the cash register but as this was plugged in it could not be moved. They took some cigarettes and when the shop owner resisted they hit him over the head with a cigarette carton.

They were arrested after a number of police cars were deployed and the get-away car was spotted in Msida.

Police Superintendents Joseph Mercieca and Silvio Valletta prosecuted.