Ex-fugitive charged with breaching bail conditions

Former fugitive Fabio Psaila was arraigned yesterday, for the second time in 24 hours, for breaching bail conditions during his three weeks of hiding from the police.

Mr Psaila, 36, pleaded not guilty to breaching bail conditions that had been imposed in an arraignment in September 2006.

On Tuesday, Mr Psaila was arraigned under arrest and pleaded not guilty to 27 charges, including the attempted hold-up on the HSBC Qormi headquarters and the attempted murder of two police constables who disrupted the heist in June.

He had been on the run for three weeks – since December 3 when three men, armed with a sawn-off shotgun, tried to rob jeweller Michael Mizzi and his son Silvio outside their Attard residence.

Mr Psaila pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted robbery and holding the Mizzis against their will.

Mr Psaila was charged yesterday with breaching bail conditions when he failed to sign in once a week, as established by a magistrate’s court, at the Ħamrun police station this month.

Wearing a grey tracksuit, Mr Psaila’s looks changed yesterday compared to the day before when he wore a thick black beard and long hair matted against his head.

Standing before Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna, his hair was shorter and his face clean-shaven.

Prosecuting Inspector Mario Haber explained that in September 2008, Mr Psaila was granted bail after being arraigned over charges which included holding a person against his will and driving dangerously.

However, Mr Psaila did not sign his bail book over the last month and a police constable confirmed in court that his last signature was on November 22.

He was remanded in custody and the case will continue today when defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi will present Mr Psaila’s mother as a witness.

Mr Psaila turned himself in to the police on Boxing Day at around 7 p.m. He was allegedly wounded in the foiled Attard hold-up after Mr Mizzi’s son Silvio grabbed a sawn-off shotgun from one of the robbers and fired it at them. In the incident, Darren Debono, known as Il-Topo¸ was badly injured in the leg and is still in hospital.

However, Mr Psaila never went to hospital and it was only on Sunday that he was escorted for an X-Ray where it was confirmed that a number of shotgun pellets were lodged inside his body.

His name emerged in the testimony of Police Constable Mario Portelli during the compilation of evidence of former police inspector and lawyer David Gatt, who is charged with masterminding at least three hold-ups and advising criminals on a fourth.

PC Portelli said Mr Psaila was implicated in the alleged criminal gang of Dr Gatt, who considered him as “the general” in his criminal organisation.