A man who had sought to revenge his brother’s murder by shooting the killer's own brother has had his 20-year prison term confirmed on appeal.

Ronnie Azzopardi, 46 and of Cospicua, had been convicted over the attempted murder of then 19-year-old Jonathan Spiteri in a shooting incident one night back in January 2003.

Mr Spiteri is the brother of Melchior Spiteri, a serial criminal who in 2003 was found guilty of killing Mr Azzopardi's brother Jason. 

The victim had been driving his Toyota Corolla through St Anthony Street, Marsascala at around midnight when his aggressor, riding a scrambler, had leveled up to him and, taking aim, fired five shots in his direction.

Ducking to avoid the attack, the victim had crashed his car into a wall and feigned death until the aggressor drove off, leaving him with a gunshot wound to the shoulder which luckily did not prove fatal.

Speaking to the police, the victim had indicated Ronnie Azzopardi as the culprit, insisting that, in spite of the enveloping darkness and the helmet-covered face of the motorcyclist, he could identify the alleged aggressor’s bike.

The machine, bearing a blue sticker and a red-covered headlamp, had a distinctive noise, the victim had declared.

In the course of the trial by jury, a court-appointed expert had concluded that the scrambler could have been used in spite of a faulty clutch and a slightly rusty state.

Back in 2011, the jurors had declared Mr Azzopardi guilty with a verdict of 7 against 2, for attempted murder, unlicensed possession of a firearm and voluntary damage to third party property.

The accused was condemned to a 20-year jail term and ordered to pay court expert expenses amounting to €1439.79.

Mr Azzopardi appealed the sentence, claiming that there had been a miscarriage of justice in his regard since the jurors had been misdirected by the Judge presiding over the trial.

His lawyers argued that one witness had testified during the trial about an alleged car bomb attempt by the accused in her regard, a fact immediately pounced upon by the defence who had called for the annulment of the trial since such unrelated evidence could result in “irremediable prejudice” to the accused.

The court of appeal, presided over by Acting Chief Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon and Madam Justices Abigail Lofaro and Edwina Grima, however concluded that this was not admissible grounds to appeal.

Both the Judge presiding over the trial as well as the prosecutor had pointed out that the testimony of this particular witness amounted to hearsay evidence and thus was to be discarded.

On the basis of all evidence put forward, the conclusion of the jurors as judges of fact had indeed been correct, the Court of Appeal observed.

As for the punishment meted out, the court declared that this was not excessive considering the “cheap price tag placed upon human life” by the accused and the fact that innocent third parties might have also been injured.

The man had an unruly character with a criminal track record dating back to 1991, having been born and raised in a crime-riddled social background, where disputes were resolved through the use of violence, the Court remarked, pointing out that the courts had a duty to curb such anti-social behaviour.

For these reasons, the appeal was turned down and the sentence confirmed.