A young man got more than he bargained for when a quarrel with his girlfriend on the streets of Paceville in the early hours of this morning landed him in court to face criminal charges for having allegedly assaulted a third party who intervened to break up the argument.
Italian national Alessio Minelli, 25, residing at St Julian's and employed as a chef, was arrested shortly before 4am in Dragonara Road following the brawl which allegedly stemmed from a lovers’ tiff but resulted in a violent brawl. The victim, a Maltese man who allegedly stepped in to defuse the couple's argument, ended up nursing broken teeth and other serious injuries.
The Roman-born man was arraigned, just hours after his arrest, facing charges of involuntary grievous bodily harm upon the victim and of having breached the peace by shouting and fighting in public.
Standing before duty magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, the man was assisted by an Italian interpreter.
Sporting a bandaged forefinger on the left hand, he pleaded not guilty and insisted that he too had been assaulted in the incident. For this reason, the court appointed a medical expert to photograph, examine and describe the injuries allegedly suffered by the accused himself.
The court, however, turned down a request by the accused to collect footage from the site of the incident after hearing the prosecution explain that an officer, who had accompanied the suspect to the scene, had reported that there were no CCTV cameras in the vicinity.
A request for bail was upheld under strict orders that the man was not to approach or communicate with his girlfriend who was to be the main witness. Until the woman was summoned to depose, the couple could not reside under one roof, the court pointed out.
The man was also ordered not to lay foot in Paceville throughout the duration of the proceedings, to sign the bail book twice weekly, to deposit €500 and to provide a personal guarantee of €2,500.
Inspector Trevor Micallef prosecuted. Legal Procurator Peter Paul Zammit was defence counsel.