Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 A young Iranian man has escaped prosecution for theft after a court observed that he had voluntarily de- sisted and returned the items he was going to steal. Mohammad Kaveh Tah- masebi Ghareh Shiran, 24, from Iran was charged with attempted theft from a su- permarket in Sliema after being caught on CCTV taking some bottles from a shelf and placing them in his bag, but he did not leave the shop with them. Lawyer Joe Brincat, le- gal aid to the accused, ex- plained that "the facts are that he went into the su- permarket and took some bottles from the shelf, but he returned and replaced them… This is voluntary desistance," said the law- yer. The prosecution argued that it wasn't the accused putting the items – three bottles of alcohol worth €3 each - in a shopping bag and suddenly remembering that he had left his wallet at home. "He put them in his personal bag and then went back and hid them." Brincat contested the va- lidity of the arrest. At law, attempts are crimes which did not take place due to an accidental cause independent of the will of the offender, he said. He summoned the inspec- tor to the witness stand, asking him to tell the court what the accidental cause independent of the offend- er's will was. "If there is no offence then he was not right in arrest- ing him," said the lawyer. The prosecutor replied that the accused took the three bottles of alcohol and placed them in his ruck-sack, approached the cashier and tried to jump the queue. Then he turned back and hid the bag at the back of the supermarket and left the premises. "I cannot see what the ac- cidental cause independent of his will which rendered it an attempted theft is. There is the intention but this is not enough. We have not seen any acts which are criminal," said the lawyer. "There is no actus reus." After consulting with a colleague, the inspector acknowledged the mistake and withdrew the charge. Brincat thanked the in- spector for his loyalty to the court and the defence. "This reflects well on the officer that he doesn't de- mand a conviction at all costs despite having inves- tigated." Shiran was released with- out charge. Shoplifter who changed his mind escapes attempted theft charges A young French student who raid- ed an expensive wine cellar whilst roaring drunk has admitted to re- lated charges. Sacha Illia Loan Miric-Bardelli, 18, from Paris was charged with aggravated theft from a com- mercial wine cellar. He was also charged with causing damage to the shop window and being drunk in public. Inspector Bernardette Valletta explained to Magistrate Gabri- ella Vella that the youth and a friend had got drunk in Paceville and then used a stone to break the shop's window. "They drank everything," said the inspector, adding that the youths had been so drunk that they had also taken dummy bottles of alcohol from the shop's display case. Miric-Bardelli's friend left Malta the next day, the court was told, but police succeeded in identifying the accused from CCTV footage. He was found to be living in the same street as the shop he robbed. The youth pleaded guilty to the charges. Lawyer Joe Brincat, ap- pearing as legal aid to the accused, did not contest the valuations, both of the damage and of the items stolen. The youth apologised for his ac- tions and was ready to repay the value of the alcohol stolen, said the lawyer, blaming the incident on "youthful folly." The court, after seeing the charges and guilty plea, found him guilty and sentenced the youth to one year in prison, suspended for two years. It also ordered him to pay €535 for the damages he had caused. The magistrate warned him that failure to pay within six months would result in his re-arrest, even if he was back in France. Expensive night out for drunk French student