A man with a voluminous criminal record will be serving two years behind bars after admitting on Wednesday to three thefts over the span of one month.

The 33-year old, currently unemployed and homeless, was described by his legal aid counsel, Victor Bugeja, as a “social case,” during the arraignment wherein the man admitted to having stolen two laptops and a handbag.

The first theft took place on July 27 when the accused had snatched an Apple laptop from an outlet in Valletta in broad daylight.

On August 10, a second laptop was stolen from the office of an estate agency in Fgura, while a few days later a customer inside a fine tailoring store in Valletta was targeted. The woman’s handbag, containing an unspecified sum of money, went missing.

Following police investigations, the suspect was arrested and charged, registering an admission upon his arraignment.

Upon this admission and in view of the charges, besides the fact that the accused had cooperated with the police, the court, presided over by magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, declared the man guilty and handed down a 2-year effective jail term.

Upholding suggestions made by the prosecution, the court recommended that the Director of Prisons should assist the accused in taking up a drug rehabilitation programme and also to provide him with every opportunity to perform productive work within the prison facility.

“Your conviction sheet is as thick as a bible,” the magistrate commented as she addressed the man standing before her. “You will either get on the right path, or else you’ll end up ruining your life.”

Inspectors Daryl Borg and Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted.