A father who was accused of attempting to injure the man who allegedly furnished his son with drugs has been cleared by a court for lack of evidence.
The incident happened in Cospicua in April last year when Joseph Ellul spotted his son’s suspected drug supplier seated inside a BMW 530 Sport, and allegedly rammed his VW Polo at him. The crash was followed by a heated argument.
The BMW driver, Joseph Brignione, filed a police report saying he had been chatting on his mobile phone when Mr Ellul drove past and suddenly reversed “gas down” into his car. He claimed that Mr Ellul had then approached him wielding “a green metal bar”.
Mr Ellul gave a conflicting version, claiming that he had drawn up alongside Mr Brignione’s car and had angrily told him, “Stop selling synthetic [drugs] to my son!”
As he was about to get out of his car, the other man had sped off, the BMW scraping against his VW Polo.
The following day, the police received a report of another incident claiming that Mr Ellul had driven his Polo at Mr Brignione’s father who had been riding a Kymco Agility scooter in Vittoriosa.
The alleged victim had claimed that while driving towards Kalkara, he had sighted Mr Ellul in his Polo. A while later he heard loud screeching brakes and swerved suddenly, narrowly avoiding being hit by the accused’s car.
Mr Ellul was ultimately charged with attempting to kill Mr Brignione’s father, as well as attempting to injure the younger man, in addition to a number of other charges stemming from the two incidents.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech observed that while the case pivoted upon conflicting versions, those given by the two alleged victims were not corroborated by the evidence put forward.
The elder of the victims had spoken of “loud screeching brakes,” and yet police had found no brake marks on site.
The court concluded that Mr Brignione’s father was not credible and his version was not “safe and satisfactory.”
The same applied to Mr Brignione who first said that he had been on the passenger seat and later said he had been on the driver’s side when the accused slammed his car into the BMW.
He had also claimed that Mr Ellul had been armed with a metal bar, a fact denied by the accused. Moreover, the police had never traced the weapon.
The alleged victim had also failed to reply to questions about his relationship with Mr Ellul's son. “His silence and reluctance impinged upon his credibility,” the court remarked, expressing doubt as to the veracity of information given to the police.
Whilst concluding that the more serious charges had not been proved, the court found Mr Ellul guilty of causing voluntary damage to third party property and of breaching the peace, placing him under a two-year probation period.
The accused, concerned for the well-being of his son, had likely let paternal instinct and love get the better of him, the court observed when meting out punishment, also noting the man’s clean criminal record.
The court ordered the Police Commissioner to investigate Joseph Brignione, his sister and her boyfriend, registered owner of the BMW, who appeared to have lied in their testimony to hide the fact that the alleged victim had been driving without a licence and insurance cover.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Rene’ Darmanin were defence counsel.