Two men cleared of Buġibba hotel hold-up

Two men who were arrested five years ago following a car chase were yesterday cleared of carrying out a hold-up on a Buġibba hotel on lack of evidence.

One of them received a suspended jail term for driving dangerously during the chase and the other was sent to jail for two-and-a-half years for handling a stolen shotgun and relapsing.

On April 22, 2006, the police gave chase to a car after they noticed suspicious movements by its occupants, Alistair Camilleri, 28, of Ħamrun and Matthew Vassallo, 22, of Cospicua.

When the driver, Mr Vassallo, realised the police were on their tail, he drove at speed as Mr Camilleri threw balaclavas and a shotgun out of the window, the court heard. Ironically, the items landed at the entrance of the juvenile court in Ħamrun. The officers managed to stop the car along the Mrieħel bypass where they also found a third man in the car, Darren Gilford.

Mr Gilford testified that Mr Vassallo and Mr Camilleri had asked if he wanted to carry out a job with them. Since he lived near Mr Camilleri, he had noticed that on the night of a hold-up at a Buġibba hotel, two nights before the car chase took place, Mr Camilleri had returned home at about 2 a.m. When he questioned him, Mr Camilleri told him he had been plastering a house.

Mr Camilleri and Mr Vassallo were subsequently charged with carrying out the hold-up and stealing about €1,600, stealing a gun from a shop and handling stolen property. Mr Vassallo was accused of driving dangerously.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani said the police had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the men actually carried out the hold-up. They had not produced evidence such as finger prints or DNA. Neither could staff at the hotel identify the men and both Mr Camilleri and Mr Vassallo had denied the charge.

The police also failed to produce evidence regarding the shotgun theft from the shop but did prove that Mr Camilleri was in possession of a firearm stolen from the shop.

Magistrate Padovani jailed Mr Camilleri, a relapser, for two-and-a-half years. Mr Vassallo, who during the course of proceedings had both legs amputated from just above the knee, was given a three-month jail term suspended for a year for dangerous driving.