A man currently serving 15 years in jail over his involvement in a 2009 armed robbery at a mobile phone shop in Birkirkara said in court today that his accomplice knew where they were going and had even provided the weapon.
Jonathan Coleiro, 31, from Cospicua, spoke about Matthew Mizzi's involvement in the robbery and how Mr Mizzi had driven him to the scene of the crime because he did not know how to drive.
He was testifying in Mr Mizzi's trial by jury. Mr Mizzi is pleading not guilty to complicity in the armed robbery which saw the shop-owner being shot twice, in the arm and chest.
Mr Coleiro told the jurors that he never meant to kill or hurt shop owner Charles Zammit and had only fired the shots out of fear when Mr Zammit chased him out of the mobile phone shop.
Shots were fired out of fear
He said he fired the last shot when he saw Mr Zammit looking at the registration plates of the getaway car being driven by Mr Mizzi.
Mr Coleiro said that the weapon used during the robbery was provided by Mr Mizzi who had told him he had borrowed it from his brother.
Mr Mizzi is insisting that he simply dropped Mr Coleiro off in Birkirkara and knew nothing about the hold up.
Asked by defence counsel Michael Sciriha why he did not rebut Mr Mizzi's claims, Mr Coleiro said he failed to do so because Mr Mizzi was a "good friend". He also said he was left "shocked and breathless" by his denial.
During his day-long testimony, Mr Coleiro claimed that the police hit him in the face with a weapon during his arrest. He also said that an officer had spat at him.
"I was scared that day. I started shouting so that people would hear me. I cried out and told them I was not armed. They would have killed me if I tried to resist them," Mr Coleiro said.
But during a confrontation, the police officer who had arrested him, Anthony Borg, denied hitting Mr Coleiro in the face. He explained that he could have hit him by mistake during a scuffle as Mr Coleiro was resisting arrest and was also trying to escape.
Mr Coleiro said that he had decided to target the mobile phone shop when he visited the shop two days prior to the robbery to purchase a mobile phone contract. "I went there two days before and thought that the shop was worth it," he said.
Mr Coleiro said he and Mr Mizzi carried out the hold-up as they needed the money to fund their drug addiction. He said he had stolen three mobile phones and a laptop. None of the stolen items were given to Mr Mizzi.
Lawyers Elaine Mercieca and Ann Marie Cutajar from the Attorney General’s office are prosecuting while lawyers Lucio Schiriha and Christopher Chircop are also appearing for Mr Mizzi.