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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2015 7 News False beating claim extends prison stay for 'il-Bomba' MAT THEW AGIUS A prison inmate has had his stay at Corradino extended by 18 months this afternoon after he admitted to falsely accusing a prison officer of assaulting him. Anthony James, known as 'il- Bomba' (not to be confused with his son, Sylvester, who is also known by that nickname), was arraigned before Magistrate Aar- on Bugeja by Inspector Hubert Cini after investigations into his claims of being beaten by prison warders turned up naught. James, who sports an outsize tattoo of his nickname across his forehead, appeared in court un- assisted and repeatedly turned down the court's offer of ap- pointing a legal aid law yer. It was not long before the ac- cused made his first unforced error, telling the court that he "wished to drop the case" by withdrawing his report. The magistrate patiently explained to James that that particular ship had sailed, that he was the accused in this case and that this withdrawal would not change anything. The accused then told the court that, in that case, he was pleading guilty and accepted the consequences. The court offered the accused a legal aid law yer, once again, pointing out that the charges were serious and carried a maxi- mum jail term of four years, but James steadfastly refused. "I want this to finish and will get what I deserve," he said. The court asked James if he was aware of the possible con- sequences of his admission. "Iwa irranġa," came the reply ("What- ever, do what you have to do"). "I asked you to give me what I deserve. Be quick about it." The magistrate heard a prison warder explain that when the ac- cused saw his son, Sylvester, who is facing separate proceedings for assaulting a prison warder, being led away, he had started shouting and behaving aggres- sively. The elder James was hauled into a holding cell to calm down. Whilst in there, the accused had taken off his watch and used the strap buckle to scratch his own arms, after which he had filed the report claiming to have suf- fered a beating at the hands of the correctional officers. Inspector Cini informed the court that subsequent investiga- tions found it to be false. James, who already has some nine previous convictions to his name, was handed an 18-month top-up to his sentence. Jury starts for Bormla man accused of hold-up MATTHEW AGIUS THE first day of the trial by jury of a 29-year-old man from Cospicua, accused of complicity in the armed robbery of a mobile phone shop, in which a shopkeeper was shot in the arm and chest, ended with the court warning the defence that it was "already stretching the elastic to the maximum" after it strongly objected to the prosecution making reference to the accused's previous convictions. The accused, Matthew Mizzi, is indicted on four charges relating to the hold-up, which took place at Seven Mobile in Psaila Street, Birkirkara on 13 April, 2009. The actual robber, Jonathan Co- leiro, now 32, had previously been sentenced to 15 years' imprison- ment for his part in the hold-up, af- ter pleading guilty at a late stage in compilation proceedings in order to avoid a trial by jury. In 2009, Coleiro, face obscured with a hood and armed with a re- volver, had held up shop-owner Charles Zammit, firing shots to in- timidate him. Zammit was hit in the left arm whilst giving chase to the fleeing robber, who fired five shots in his direction. Zammit received treatment and has since recovered from his wounds. The first and most serious of the accusations faced by Mizzi is complicity in theft aggravated by violence, attempted murder and the illegal arrest of a person. The other charges Mizzi faces are of being in possession of a firearm without the necessary licence, driving a vehicle without a licence and making a false report to police. The police's investigations led them to trace the getaway car, which was owned by a certain Konrad Mizzi from Cospicua – Matthew Mizzi's brother. Both Matthew Mizzi and Jonathan Coleiro were then arrested. Today, Judge Antonio Mizzi heard lawyer Elaine Mercieca from the of- fice of the Attorney General tell the jury that the victim still carries the bullet which struck him, as it is em- bedded close to a vital organ. Mercieca insisted that Konrad Mizzi was an accomplice as, not only had he provided the hand- gun and ammunition, but had also been driving the getaway car for his brother, who was unwell at the time. Mizzi had gone to great lengths to cover his tracks, the lawyer said, explaining to the jury that the ac- cused had allegedly concocted a story about his car being stolen by the robbers, whilst he had been waiting for his girlfriend outside the shop. He then told this story to po- lice whilst making a false report at the Msida police station. However, defence lawyer Michael Sciriha was forced to object when the prosecutor made a reference to Coleiro's sentence, saying it was ir- relevant to the case at hand. Mer- cieca, however, argued that it was relevant because it was a fact and "the jury is the judge of the facts." Judge Mizzi was prompted to in- tervene when Sciriha appeared to imply that this could lead the ac- cused to suffer a "mistrial", with the judge pointing out that this fact would have emerged at some point in the trial and that "fortunately, these people [the jury] are not gul- lible." Lawyers Elaine Mercieca and Ann Marie Cutajar from the office of the Attorney General are prosecuting, whilst lawyers Michael Sciriha, Lu- cio Sciriha and Christopher Chir- cop are defence counsel. Serbian to be deported for fake passport stamps "I am guilty. I am very sorry," was the plea entered by a so-called 'student' from Serbia, charged with having forged a study visa on his passport and making a false declaration to the authorities. Inspector Victor Aquilina told Magistrate Gabriella Vella that the Police had been informed that the accused, 26-year-old Alexan- der Pivac, was in Malta illegally, having been granted a study visa but was neither attending nor en- rolled in any educational institu- tion. Pivac was found and arrested in Paceville on Monday. He ad- mitted to the police that he had forged documents to obtain a residence permit and that he had made false stamps on his pass- port. A suspended sentence was sug- gested by both defence and pros- ecution. Defence Lawyer Stefano Filletti told Magistrate Vella that the ac- cused wished to plead guilty. "The accused is admitting the charges. He apologised because only now has he realised the serious nature of the offences." The accused would also be cov- ering the expense of his deporta- tion, said the lawyer. In view of the youth's admis- sion of guilt, the court found him guilty of the charges and handed down a six-month prison sen- tence, suspended for a year. The accused will be deported with immediate effect. Court tells young thief to turn his life around or face prison A court has placed a 16-year old boy from Birkirkara on probation after he pleaded guilty to complic- ity in a burglary from a factory in Qormi four days ago, warning him that he could end up in prison if convicted again. Inspector John Spiteri told Mag- istrate Gabriella Vella how the boy, who is not being named on account of his age, was arrested at his moth- er's home in Birkirkara. The boy, who told the court that he was due to start school next Monday, admitted to the charges of complicity to aggravated theft. The defence was allowed to ap- proach the bench during submis- sions on punishment – a well-in- tentioned, but wholly unnecessary request, in view of the fact that the court had already ordered a ban on the publication of the accused's name. The court handed the youth a two-year probation order, warn- ing him that a breach could mean up to four years' imprisonment. "The offence carries a sentence of eight months to four years – don't end up in prison," said the magis- trate. Inspector John Spiteri prosecuted and lawyer Martha Mifsud ap- peared for the boy. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt