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2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2015 News Shopkeeper tells jury what its like to be shot MATTHEW AGIUS A shopkeeper has described his memory of the sensation of be- ing hit by a bullet as "like being pinched" as he recalled the 2009 hold-up in which he was shot. Gunshot victim Charles Zam- mit was testif ying in the eighth day of the trial by jury of 29 year-old Matthew Mizzi, who is facing charges of complicity in armed robbery, unlicensed possession of a firearm, driving without a license and filing a false police report. Mizzi is ac- cused of being the getaway driv- er for convicted robber Jonathan Coleiro, who had pleaded guilty to avoid a trial by jury. Zammit, who owned the mo- bile phone shop called Seven Mobiles recounted the series of events of the 13th April 2009. "At around 6pm or 6:15pm, I had been closing the shop when a masked man appeared from behind the door jamb and or- dered me in to the back room," said the witness. From the back room, Zammit could hear the robber rummag- ing around the shop. He emerged when the noise stopped. "I heard the door open and I went outside. I saw him walking so I shouted at him to stop, and he fired in my direction. I didn't stop followed him and he fired at me again, this time hitting me in the left arm. He dodged into a side street and fired again.... Another shot was fired but it was a misfire. He then got into a waiting car and sped off. I shouted out the number plate, although I was feeling weak," he recalled. The aggressor was wearing a tracksuit and the balaclava was a modified, striped wool- len beanie said the witness, who recognised the firearm to be a small pistol from its rotary chamber ("romblu"). The shot had been fired from around 3 m away, he said. Zammit said he knew that he had been hit by the third bullet fired because it felt "like being pinched". He felt no pain im- mediately after the bullet hit, he added. He couldn't explain what had made him chase after armed robber. Asked what injuries he had suffered, the shopkeeper said that the bullet had entered his left arm from one side, exited the arm from the other side and pierced his side. He had spent three days in hospital and the bullet was still lodged inside him, he said. Zammit had been shown mug- shots of the suspects, whom he recognised as having visited the shop "a maximum of a week before" when they had come to sign two mobile phone con- tracts. "The two men had come to- gether and there was a girl with them. She had said that she wanted this mobile and this laptop." Earlier yesterday morning, fo- rensic expert Dr. Mario Scerri also testified, showing the jury pictures of the actual wounds suffered. Scerri described the gunshot wounds suffered by a Birkirkara shopkeeper in a 2009 hold-up as "minor." Scerri showed the jury a slide- show of the victim's wounds, which he ascribed to a projec- tile - one entry wound on the outside of the arm and one en- try wound to the inside of the man's left armpit. The bullet had lodged itself in the muscu- lar layer, he reported. No bones, major blood vessels or nerves were damaged, nor was there a penetration of the thoracic cav- ity – "this qualifies as a minor injury", concluded the expert. Scerri had also examined the robber, Jonathan Coleiro, find- ing a bruise on his left eye and marks on his wrist from hand- cuffs. The bruise was compat- ible with blunt trauma, said the pathologist. When he tendered his evidence yesterday, Coleiro had claimed to have been pistol- whipped during his arrest. Scer- ri did not say whether the bruise tallied with such a blow. At the end of yesterday's sit- ting, the prosecution declared that it had no further evidence to present. Judge Antonio Mizzi asked the defence whether the accused was going to testif y in his defence, Sciriha replied with an emphatic "definitely yes". Accused Matthew Mizzi (right) seen with his defence team (from left) Lucio Sciriha, Christopher Chircop and Michael Sciriha during last week's site inspection PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CHRIS MANGION Man accused of injuring estranged wife released on bail The court heard of the couple's unusual living arrangement, wherein they continued living and working together after their separation in 2008 MATTHEW AGIUS A court released a 33-year-old Fgura man on bail after he plead- ed not guilty to threatening, pro- voking and slightly injuring his estranged wife during an argu- ment on Monday. At the end of the sitting, the woman protested loudly when it was explained to her that the man was still permitted to con- tact her and their children, telling the court that she did not want to have further contact with her es- tranged husband. As the sitting descended into a shouting match, Magistrate Ian Farrugia first ordered the wom- an to be quiet and subsequently ejected her from the courtroom. The court heard police Inspec- tor Chris Frendo explain that the Valletta police had been called to an argument, which had been reported by their son. Officers re- sponding to the call arrested the man after the argument contin- ued even after the arrival of the police. The man did not appear to be mentally stable, said the in- spector. The couple had an unusual re- lationship, living and working to- gether at the husband's snack bar in Gudja, in spite of having been legally separated in 2008. The sitting was a rowdy one, with the couple trading shouted accusations in court. Police had received five previous reports of domestic disputes, said Frendo. "The situation between you two is not right," commented the Magistrate. The wife replied that her "entire life" had been spent being threat- ened by the husband, adding that he did not pay her any mainte- nance or wages for her work at the bar – an assertion defence lawyer Joe Giglio noted with circum- spection. Giglio requested bail, which the court granted against a personal guarantee of €2,000 and ordering the accused sign a bail book twice a week. A protection order was issued in favour of the wife and their two children, but the accused was not ordered to avoid contacting them. Nobody injured after two San Gwann factories catch fire THERE were no injuries reported after two factories caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday morn- ing. At about 5am, police were in- formed that a factory in San Gwann had caught fire and a neighbouring building soon fol- lowed suit. The buildings were both empty at the time. Members of the Civil Protection department put the fire out and police investigations are ongoing. 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