A man who had been targeted in a bomb attack on an Armier boathouse two years ago and who has pending criminal drug-related proceedings was back in court today after he was allegedly caught with half a kilogram of cannabis found in a bag on the passenger seat of his car.
Pierre Cremona, 42, from Qormi, was also charged with dangerous driving and with damaging an unmarked police car when he allegedly tried to escape arrest.
The incident happened in Gharghur on Wednesday afternoon when the police surrounded Mr Cremona following days of surveillance.
Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit heard how Mr Cremona tried to flee when he saw that he had been blocked, hitting an unmarked police Peugeot in the process.
When he was eventually apprehended, the Drug Squad police found a package allegedly containing more than 500 grams of cannabis in a bag on the passenger seat.
He pleaded not guilty to possession of cannabis found in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use, committing the crime within 100 metres from a venue frequented by youngsters, damaging the police car and driving his Mitsubishi negligently, dangerously and at excessive speed. He was also charged with driving the car that was licensed and neither covered by an insurance policy and further charged with breaching the bail conditions over a separate case and relapsing.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. Magistrate Stafrace Zammit turned down his request for bail as he was not trustworthy.
Police Inspector Gabriel Micallef prosecuted while lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared for the man.
In September 2013, Mr Cremona was lucky to escape injury when a bomb outside a boathouse went off. The device had been attached to a mobile phone.
Mr Cremona and another man who was accompanying him, William Farrugia, 31, from Qormi, escaped unhurt.
The two men reported that the blast occurred soon after they noticed a small box wired to a mobile phone in an unused oven on the terrace. They said they took action as soon as they spotted the device and drove away just in time.