Scottish-born Stephen Smith told a court he feared for his life when a man threatened him with a gun after he accidentally hit a parked car in Gżira.
Mr Smith recognised the driver of former home affairs minister Emanuel Mallia, Paul Sheehan – who was sitting in the dock – to be the man who was holding the gun and acting aggressively when he collided with the car on November 19.
I just heard shouting and a lot of aggression
“I just heard shouting and a lot of aggression... As I was getting out of the car... there was a man in a fit of rage holding a gun in his right hand... it was at this point that I genuinely feared for my life and decided to leave the scene... I was convinced he was going to shoot at me,” Mr Smith said.
He was testifying, before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, in the compilation of evidence against Mr Sheehan, 40, who is pleading not guilty to Mr Smith’s attempted murder after he hit the minister’s car in Edgar Bernard Street on November 19.
Mr Smith, who was born in Glasgow and lives in Birkirkara, said that evening he was at the Black Gold bar in Sliema and left at about 8.30pm.
Before heading home he decided to stop by a confectioner, located in Nazju Ellul Street, to buy a pack of water. Since he did not find a parking spot he decided to buy water from a shop closer to home and took the second road on his right.
As he was driving, he hit the mirror and side of a parked car and stopped “to exchange details”. That was when he saw Mr Sheehan holding the gun.
He drove off in fear and heard two shots. He carried on driving towards the Regional Road and realised he was being followed by the Mercedes he had hit.
When he arrived at the Santa Venera tunnels his car malfunctioned and stopped. Within seconds he saw flashing blue lights and was relieved to see the police had arrived.
But, to his surprise, the police asked him to lie face down on the ground and handcuffed him, he said.
He was then taken to three different police stations and given a breathalyser test.
Witness accounts
Lidgia Farrugia Sammut was with her mother walking her dog at about 8.30pm in Edgar Bernard Street when she saw two cars and thought they had been involved in a traffic accident.
She recorded the incident with her phone but, since her dog was pulling at the leash, the footage did not show all the events.
The cars were stationary and parallel to each other. The car that was eventually shot at was slightly ahead and to the right. There was a man leaning on the top of his car. Both his hands were visible and he had nothing in them, she said.
The other man – whom she recognised as Mr Sheehan – was standing in the middle of the street holding a gun in his right hand and a phone in his left.
“He was on the phone, shouting,” she said, adding he was pointing the gun to the floor. “He was very aggressive,” she said. The other man got into his car and drove off.
“The other gentleman, literally, just took a step and he shot twice: one, two,” she said, adding that the shots were fired at the car in rapid succession.
Seconds later, another car stopped near her and a man asked what had happened. She told him she had recorded the incident and he wanted to see it. But she was afraid so she hid it from him and he drove off.
She later told a friend what had happened and that one of the cars had a GM 14 plate. He told her it was a government car and “this must be something nasty”, advising her to delete the recording. It was eventually retrieved by a court expert.
Claudia Nicastro was in the kitchen that looked on to Wied il-Kappara when she heard an argument and saw two cars and two men standing in the road.
“One of them told the other: why do you have a gun, can you remove it? The other man told him: because you tried to assault me,” she said.
The man with the gun was on the phone and she heard him tell the person on the other end to go near the national pool.
The other man ran to the car and drove off and out of her sight. The other man aimed straight ahead and fired two shots, got into the car and drove after him.
Conflicting versions
Superintendent Alexandra Mamo, prosecuting, said Mr Smith and Mr Sheehan gave conflicting versions of where the initial collision happened.
While Mr Smith said he hit the car after driving into Wied il-Kappara, she said, Mr Sheehan said the ministerial car was hit while parked outside the house of his mother in Nicholas Cotoner Street.
She said Mr Sheehan told investigators he heard a loud noise and ran outside.
A neighbour, Daniel Grech, pointed out that someone had rammed into the car.
The accused said he picked up his keys and gun, got into the car and drove in the direction indicated by Mr Grech, chasing the car through Sliema Road and Nazju Ellul Street.
I shot at his tyres because I felt he was a danger to himself and others
Mr Smith pressed him against the side of the road. Both cars stopped and Mr Smith got out of the car holding a bottle, Mr Sheehan told police.
He told Mr Smith he was a policeman, pointed the gun at him and called emergency number 112 for assistance from the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU).
Mr Sheehan said Mr Smith then drove off so he shot at his tyres because he felt he was of “danger to himself and others.” He continued to chase him until he stopped at the tunnels.
Mr Sheehan could not indicate exactly where the shots were fired, Ms Mamo said.
He said he fired two out of 17 bullets but the spent cartridges were not found.
She added that Mr Smith initially refused to have a breathalyser test but later did so in the presence of the magistrate at the Msida police station.
The test showed he was over the limit.
Calling 112
PC Eman Grima, based at the control room, said that just before 9pm he received a call on 112.
The man said he was the driver of a minister and someone had hit the car and was getting away. He asked him to send the RIU near the national pool.
Mr Grima told him this was a hit-and-run and did not merit the involvement of the RIU. The man told him the minister was with him. Mr Grima said he then heard two shots and the man told him: “I shot. You didn’t send the RIU. I will keep shooting.”
The man then told him he was a police officer. He said the car was heading towards the Santa Venera tunnels and Mr Grima sent the RIU.
Mr Sheehan’s lawyers Edward Gatt and Michael Sciriha then requested bail. The magistrate will hand down a ruling in chambers. The case continues on Friday. Lawyer Joseph Giglio is appearing for Mr Smith.