The police are investigating why officers did not act on an assault report filed by a man shortly before he fired a shotgun hitting his alleged aggressors, a court heard yesterday.

The shooting, at Zonerz Pub, in St Joseph High Street, Ħamrun, two weeks ago, left 19-year-old Ryan Fleri with 17 lead pellets in his back and former bar manager Carmelo Vella with a pellet in his forehead.

According to witnesses, the accused, Jonathan Casha, a 31-year-old printer from Għaxaq, harassed and passed lewd remarks at two women before being told to leave the pub. He returned later and fired at the pub, smashing the front door and injuring Mr Fleri and Mr Vella.

Mr Casha denies attempting to murder the two men. His behaviour contrasted with his usual quiet and good-natured personality, the court heard. In fact, his nickname was il-Buona, the good guy.

Mr Vella testified that on the night of the shooting he was handing over the bar to new tenants Donna Pace and Carlos Borg. Mr Casha walked in with friends and ordered a bottle of vodka and six glasses. The witness said Mr Casha told Ms Pace she had a beautiful body and she told Mr Borg what had happened. Mr Borg then spoke to the accused outside in Mr Vella’s presence.

Mr Borg told Mr Casha that Ms Pace was his girlfriend, asking him not to cause any problems. Mr Casha replied he had only asked her to play some 1990s songs and Mr Borg told him to go back inside and not to cause trouble, the witness said. Later, a customer informed Mr Vella that Mr Casha was harassing his girlfriend.

Mr Borg added that the accused had also started harassing Ms Pace again. Mr Vella said he asked Mr Casha to go outside, where he asked him to leave the bar, which he did.

What happened next is not clear, with some witnesses saying Mr Casha smashed the window of his own car before driving off.

However, Mr Casha said he was assaulted, had the window of his car smashed and was followed as he drove away.

In a statement to the police, Mr Casha said he was too scared to drive to the Ħamrun police station in case he met his aggressors so he drove to Marsa to file a report.

According to Police Inspector Saviour Baldacchino, officers at Marsa, who said he seemed drunk, told him to obtain a medical certificate to prove he had sustained injuries and find someone to escort him home.

Mr Casha told the police he went home, felt confused, got hold of a shotgun and went back to the pub, where he fired shots at the pub from inside his car to scare his aggressors. He then returned home, put the gun back and went to sleep at his mother’s house.

Questioned by defence lawyers Franco Debono and Noel Bianco, Mr Baldacchino said an internal police investigation was in progress to establish why the officers at the Marsa police station did not act when the accused filed the report.

Magistrate Carol Peralta granted Mr Casha bail against a deposit of €500 and personal guarantee of €5,000.

Article de-indexed on October 7, 2023 following an IDPC decision. For more information, contact editor@timesofmalta.com