A young man yesterday admitted to 14 counts of theft only for his lawyer to retract the guilty plea when he realised the jail term he was trying to bargain for was simply too low for the magistrate to accept.

Oivend Xuereb, 26, of Floriana, formed part of a larger circle of theft, over which four men were arraigned last week, Police Inspector Chris Pullicino told Magistrate Miriam Hayman.

Last week Kevin Chircop, 19, also of Floriana, admitted to 24 counts of theft from hotels as well as to muggings and snatching handbags between July and August. His friend, Cyrus Dunlop, also 19, of San Ġwann admitted to taking part in four of the thefts.

Two teenagers, Braden Grixti, 19, of Valletta and his 16-year-old friend, of Gżira, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to buying some of the stolen items from Mr Chircop and Mr Dunlop.

During Mr Xuereb’s arraignment yesterday, Inspector Pullicino said the accused had the beginnings of a drug problem and was already in prison for stealing a car.

As defence lawyer Kris Busietta argued for a modest jail term, the magistrate said she calculated it would “exceed four years”. At this point, Dr Busietta said he would prefer to retract the guilty plea.