Updated: Vella jailed 7 years for complicity in 2005 police shootout

Mario Vella, 28, of Sta Venera was this evening jailed for seven years after jurors found him guilty with seven votes against two of being an accomplice in the shootout with policemen from a house in Mill street, Qormi, in the night of February 15-16,...

Mario Vella, 28, of Sta Venera was this evening jailed for seven years after jurors found him guilty with seven votes against two of being an accomplice in the shootout with policemen from a house in Mill street, Qormi, in the night of February 15-16, 2005.

The stand-off had ended after six hours, with the police having fired 34 teargas canisters into the house. No one was injured.

He was found guilty of threatening police officers with an unanimous vote.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia also ordered Mr Vella to pay the fees incurred by court experts, which amount to more than €3,300.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.