A 44-year-old man serving life for the murder of a woman in Zejtun in 2005 was today jailed an additional six years for grievous bodily harm.

Both cases were related to a dispute over a Mercedes that used to belong to the defendant's brother, Jason Azzopardi, who was murdered in 2001.

In October 2003, a man named Kevin Attard, who had been in a relationship with the late Mr Azzopardi’s former partner, had filed a police report complaining that the defendant, Ronnie Azzopardi, had shot him as he was leaving a fitness centre in Cospicua. 

The victim’s car was shot at three times. In his report, he insisted that as soon as he started driving the accused emerged from behind the trees and started shooting in his direction.

He said that, at one point, he recognised the accused as he was very close to him. He then sped away as the accused attempted to reload his gun.

Mr Azzopardi, who was then out on bail in connection with a separate case, was arrested and interrogated later that night. He denied all charges saying that, at the time of the shooting, he was with his partner at a Żejtun shop.

According to court-appointed ballistic experts, the first shot was fired 20 meters away from the car, whereas the second one was fired from about 10 meters.

The court, presided by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, noted that this corroborated the victim's version of events.

Gunshot residue had also found on the accused’s body and clothes.

The accused had attributed this to hunting but failed to recall the names of some of his fellow hunters while testifying.

During proceedings it transpired that, two days before the shooting, a court decided that the Mercedes at the heart of the dispute should go to the former partner of the late Mr Azzopardi. 

The decision had irked the accused who had been insisting that this went against the agreement he had reached with his brother prior to the latter's death.

Meanwhile, Mr Attard was regularly using the Mercedes awarded to his partner, provoking the defendant's ire. 

The court concluded that the prosecution, led by police inspectors Anthony Cassar and Jeffrey Cilia, had produced sufficient evidence to prove the charges. Apart from the jail term, the man was also fined €1,548 in court expenses which will be converted to jail days if payment was not affected.

In 2012, Mr Azzopardi was jailed for 20 years for the attempted murder of Jonathan Spiteri in a revenge plot related to his brother murder.

A year later he was given a life sentence following the death of Angela Bondin from Zejtun.

Ms Bondin had succumbed to injuries caused by a bomb placed in a garbage bag in 2005. It later transpired that the woman had been killed by mistake, as the intended target was the former partner of the late Mr Azzopardi. The crime had also been motivated by the ongoing dispute over Mr Azzopardi's Mercedes.