Community work, not jail, for hold-up getaway car driver

A man who had been involved in a hold-up on a Qormi confectionary will be doing 350 hours of community work rather than spend two years in jail as it transpired he only drove the getaway car.

The appeal court reduced the sentence after clearing George Degabriele of charges of being in possession of a revolver, using it during the hold-up on the Hudson Confectionery in Qormi on March 5, 2004 and firing the gun in a residential area.

The court ruled that Mr Degabriele had waited in the car as another man went into the shop with the gun.

The Magistrates’ Court had jailed Mr Degabriele, of Cos­picua, for two years, fined him €582 and banned him from driving for two years, when it found him guilty of all the charges brought against him.

The 31-year-old appealed, arguing he could not have been found guilty of the charges involving the revolver because it had been co-accused Martin Cassar who had carried and fired the weapon.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia heard evidence indicating that Mr Degabriele’s role in the hold-up was limited to driving the getaway car.

It was Mr Cassar who entered the confectionary and pointed the gun at a couple who worked there. Mr Cassar fired the gun in the air when inside the shop and also fired it later on after he left with the stolen goods – telephone cards and a mobile phone.

The judge noted that since the commission of the crime the accused had changed his ways.

The court ordered that Mr Degabriele pay the victims €1,165 in compensation.

The fine and driving ban still stood as Mr Degabriele was found guilty of driving illegally and without insurance cover.