A man is to spend 30 months behind bars after he was declared guilty of a string of thefts committed over the span of a few hours early one April morning in 2014 in St Julian's.

Libyan national Hamza Kamel El Bakoush, stood accused of voluntarily damaging third party property when he broke into three cars parked in different parts of St Julian's. The man also faced two separate counts of aggravated theft and a further accusation of receiving stolen goods.

The court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, heard one woman testify how that night, upon returning to her car close to 4am she was shocked to find the rear window smashed. She then discovered an unfamiliar jumper on the driver's seat which, later at the police station, had been handed to the accused in her presence.

Another witness, whose Pajero had also been targeted, testified that the police had informed him that a man, namely the accused, had been spotted inside the vehicle and arrested.

A stone, possibly used to commit the break-in was also discovered inside the car. Besides incurring some €837 in damages, the owner explained in court that several credit notes and some loose cash had also gone missing.

The court heard how bouncers on duty at a nightclub had alerted the police about a man who was seen smashing a parked vehicle. After being rounded up and arrested, the accused was found in possession of various items which had been reported stolen.

Among these were a pair of designer sunglasses worth some €300, a Samsung S4 mobile phone, a purse containing cash and a Fuji camera which did not display a single photo featuring the accused.

In his first comments to the police, the accused had said that after a lovers' tiff he had decided to wait for his girlfriend inside the car, smashing its window to gain access since he did not have the key.

Later, when releasing a statement under police custody, the man explained how he had decided to take a nap inside his friend's car and had only realised that he had got into the wrong vehicle when he glanced at the number plates after waking up.

However, the court concluded that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the accusations beyond all reasonable doubt. Bearing in mind the formerly clean criminal record sheet of the accused, the court condemned him to an effective jail term of 30 months.

Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted.

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