A young man caught drunk after trying to break into a parked car early on Monday morning was remanded in custody on Wednesday. 

Somali-born Ismail Ahmed Ali, 22, timid-looking and sober, appeared in court to face charges of having attempted to commit an aggravated theft, willfully damaged third party property, as well as with having been in possession of cannabis resin. He was also charged with having been found drunk in a public place.

It was early last Monday morning, at around 2.00am, when a Msida resident was allegedly woken up by loud noises coming from the street where his car was parked for the night.

Looking out, the car owner spotted a man who had apparently broken into his vehicle. Alarmed, the owner began shouting, causing the culprit to take to his heels and flee out of sight.

Police were called in and quickly gave chase, soon capturing the fugitive who did not succeed in going very far from Valley Road, where the attempted theft allegedly took place.

Not only was the young suspect under the influence of drink, but a personal search also revealed that he was in possession of some cannabis resin.

Pleading not guilty to the charges, the young unemployed man was remanded in custody after his defence counsel deemed it inopportune at this stage to request bail, in view of the fact that the man had no fixed address on the island.

Inspector Mark Mercieca prosecuted. Lawyer Joseph Ellis was legal aid lawyer.