Three young men have been remanded in custody after being accused in court of carrying out a string of hold-ups from convenience stores and a lotto booth between January and this month.
Kane Grima, 20, who works as butcher, Perrie Daniel Amarni Sciberras, 27, who is unemployed and Josef Galea, 19, who carries out gypsum works, stand accused of aggravated theft of €1,021 and 22 packets of cigarettes from Drinks and More in San Ġwann. All three live in Gżira.
The trio also stands charged with holding the shopkeeper under arrest and against her will and obtaining stolen goods in order to sell them.
Mr Sciberras and Mr Grima alone stand charged with the aggravated theft of €1,943 and of 600 euros worth of mobile phone top-up cards from The Convenience Store in Msida, with unlawfully keeping under arrest three people and conspiring with one or more persons to commit a crime.
Mr Grima and Mr Galea stand charged with the aggravated theft of €900 from The Convenience Shop in Gżira, of €2,868 from Tal-Kantuniera Convenience Store in Gżira and of €1,021 from a lotto booth in San Ġwann. They are also stand charged of keeping under arrest four people against their will and of stealing two number plates.
Mr Grima alone is accused of carrying a firearm.
Prosecuting officer Carlos Cordina told the court he had initially assumed the weapon that was aimed at shop owners and clients alike was an air gun replica but it turned out to be a proper weapon loaded with live ammunition.
Fortunately for society, they were caught red-handed- Inspector
“Fortunately for society, they were caught red-handed,” he told the court, explaining how Mr Sciberras and Mr Grima were spotted in a stolen vehicle as they were about to rob yet another convenience store. Upon realising they were being chased, they hastily threw away a bag with balaclavas and the weapon, which contained five bullets.
A search of Mr Grima’s safe at his house yielded a set of scales which had traces of white powder as well as a number of packages, suspected to be cocaine. Investigations were still ongoing.
Lawyer Franco Debono, appearing for Mr Grima, requested bail, emphasising that the accused were all “still children”.
The law was seeing a move towards toward reparation rather than retribution, with mechanisms such as parole being introduced for convicts, he said. The accused were as yet not convicts and were innocent until proven guilty.
Lawyer Kathleen Grima, appearing for Mr Galea, pointed out that the thefts had allegedly been taking place since January and argued that any concern regarding tampering with evidence was not a valid enough reason to turn down bail as the accused had plenty of time to interfere if they so wanted.
Sending them to jail was not the best solution as any bad habits they had would only thrive in the depressing environment of prison.
Lawyer Andrew Sciberras, appearing for Mr Sciberras, pointed out that his client suffered from severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis and relied on treatment.
Insp. Cordina objected, arguing that the court had the obligation to safeguard society.
“They might be young but Kane and Perrie were found close to a pistol, a bag with balaclavas – they also know how to use a weapon. It contained five bullets. I initially thought it was a toy one. They even pointed it at clients.
“Innocent employees were exposed to these three who robbed them at gun point.”
In view of the severity of the crimes and due to the fact that civilian witnesses were yet to testify, bail was turned down.
The three young men, all very slight in frame and looking younger than their years, shuffled their feet as one of them, not quite understanding the decision, turned towards his mother and asked her: “Am I going to prison, Ma?”
Inspectors Cordina and Jonathan Ransley prosecuted. Lawyer Dr Debono, Amadeus Cachia, Dr Grima and Dr Sciberras appeared for the accused.