Two men from Mqabba accused of robbing a home in Qrendi seven years ago were today acquitted of the charges. 

Saviour Gaffarena, 24, and Christian Parnis, 32, stood accused of having broken into the house in August 2010 and stolen some €15,000 worth of electronic gadgets, firearms, gold jewellery and cash.

The men were also accused of having traded in stolen goods, while Mr Parnis alone was accused of having been found in possession of fake banknotes, with being a relapser and furthermore with having breached the conditions of a suspended sentence.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, observed that the alleged robbery had been carried out when the married couple, whose house it was, and their three children were out.

The two would-be thieves were arraigned five years later, following information received by the couple from a third party. The latter had told the owner of the house that he had bought items which were among the stolen possessions.

These items were eventually handed over to the police, who searched the informant's house and found further stolen objects. The informant explained how he had purchased the goods from an Englishman who had proposed the reasonably-priced deal over a drink.

The court heard how this third party had allegedly accepted the goods after having paid for them in the presence of the accused, who were known to be friends of the same Englishman.

It was observed that none of the fingerprints taken from the crime scene by the court-appointed expert had matched those of the two accused. Moreover, the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient evidence linking the men to the aggravated theft. The mere fact that they were friends of the man who had admitted his involvement and had been duly convicted, did not prove the accused's own involvement in the robbery.

Neither had the prosecution proved that the accused had kept the stolen goods in their possession. For these reasons, the court acquitted both men of the charges linking them to the theft. Mr Parnis alone was also acquitted of having possessed counterfeit money. The court pointed out that the police had found one forged €50 note in his possession, but had not proved that the man was aware that the money was fake.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were counsel to Christian Parnis.
Lawyers Mark Refalo and Manuel Galea were counsel to Saviour Gaffarena.