A woman held-up last November escaped as her aggressor was trying to put her mobile phone in his pocket, the Court heard today.
Testifying in the compilation of evidence against Oliviero Filisetti, 59, Mariella, also known as Michael Chircop St John, 41, and Matthew Joseph Sciberras, 29, police inspector Carmel Magri said that Joanna Beirne was driving her car in Naxxar when somebody smashed into her.
One of the two people in the car that hit her got out, jumped into her car, held her at gunpoint and told her to shut up and drive to a garage in Pembroke.
Ms Beirne managed to escape and ran into a shop where she asked for help. She did not have any idea of who the aggressors were but they took her mobile phone.
Inspector Magri said he went to all mobile service providers and asked them to run a check to see where her phone was being used.
The phone was being used by Ms Chircop. When the police went to arrest her and escort her to the police station, she threw away one of two sim cards she had used when she threatened Ms Beirne.
Mr Filisetti had commissioned Ms Chircop and Mr Sciberras to follow the victim and threaten her since he wanted to keep control over her. He wanted Ms Chircop to steal Ms Beirne's mobile phone so that he would know who she was speaking to and who was in her phonebook.
The original plan was to hit the car from the back and steal the phone, which she usually kept on the passenger seat, when she got out to check the damage. But things went wrong.
For although she did go to check the damage after the crash, traffic had piled up. Mr Sciberras got scared that if he did not get the phone Mr Filisetti or his people would come after him. So he jumped into Ms Beirne's car, held her at gunpoint and told her to shut up and drive.
Inspector Magri said that all the police found was an airgun. The gun as described by Ms Beirne was never found.
He said that in the car, Ms Beirne pleaded with her aggressor not to hurt her because she had children. She also asked who had sent him.
When Mr Sciberras grabbed her mobile phone and fumbled with it as he tried to put it in his pocket, she saw her chance to escape, got out of the car and ran into a shop.
The police said that at Mr Sciberras’ residence they found seven bullets which he claimed he bought to make a necklace.
Mrs Beirne used to rent out an apartment to Mr Filisetti but he was not sure whether they had a short-term relationship or a full-blown one, Inspector Magri said.