A 31-year-old man from Zurrieq was today handed a 25-month jail term for stealing an earth driller and breaking previous bail conditions, earning himself a stern warning on changing his life around before he ended up dead.

Henry Grogan, who works as a part-time waste collector, was charged with stealing an earth driller from Siggiewi back in March, handling stolen goods, breaking previous bail conditions and being a repeat offender.

He is currently undergoing separate proceedings after being accused, with third parties, for trafficking five kilogrammes of cannabis.

In view of his early guilty plea, the court decided not to penalise him for being a repeat offender.

"I don't want to see you here anymore," Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera warned him.

"You must take control of your life or you're going to end up badly. I don't want to be the inquiring magistrate who sees you lying dead somewhere."

The court condemned him to 13 months in jail for stealing the earth driller and ordered the confiscation of his €21,500 bail bond for breaching bail conditions. Since the accused was unable to pay the amount, this was converted into a further one-year term. 

The court also requested the director of prisons to provide the accused with assistance to help him overcome his drug habit.

Inspector Kylie Borg prosecuted. Legal aid lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace appeared for the accused.