Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/827970
maltatoday, THURSDAY, 25 MAY 2017 MATTHEW AGIUS A man accused of stealing tools from a construction site has been denied bail, after a court noted that this was the third time he was being accused of the same crime. 29-year-old Roderick Grima of Marsascala appeared before magistrate Josette Demicoli yes- terday morning, charged with two counts of attempted theft, breaching two sets of bail condi- tions and relapsing. Inspector El- liot Magro accused Grima, who is understood to have a substance abuse problem, of attempting the crimes on 14 and 22 May, at con- struction sites in Santa Venera and Hamrun. Inspector Magro explained how the police had received a report of an intruder who was found inside an unfinished residence in Hamrun on 22 May. The caller, a workman who had been look- ing for a missing water pump, had found Grima next to the item, which had been moved to a different part of the site. He re- strained the man until the police arrived. The pump was worth around €300, the inspector said. "The owner said that the man had probably heard him coming in and had tried to hide under the stairwell." Grima was found on the floor, with the pump in his hands, said the inspector. He could not con- firm having been told that Grima had been asleep. The accused had told the police that he had asked a workman to let him use the toilet at the site a week before. On 14 May, the same accused had been caught by a construc- tion site manager, while trying to steal equipment, the inspector said. "Eight days later he is caught stealing from another construc- tion site." "I've been trying to help the ac- cused for 18 months, I went out of my way to help him," the inspec- tor told the court, adding that the man's claims of being home- less notwithstanding, he actually lived with his mother. "He had asked us to pick up some things from his mother's house and all his belongings were there, so he isn't homeless." Defence lawyer Leontine Calleja suggested that the man had been drunk and fell asleep at the scene. Cross-examined by defence, the inspector added that Grima had been thrown out of his parents' house after an argument with his father. Every time he is caught, he promises not to do it again, but doesn't keep his word, the inspec- tor said. Grima pleaded not guilty to the charges in a voice so hoarse that his words were barely under- standable. The Court refused the defence's request for bail, however, saying the man was untrustworthy and did not offer sufficient guaran- tees that he would appear for court sittings. The court made a recommendation to the direc- tor of Corradino Correctional Facility to provide the accused with the assistance he required to overcome his drug and alcohol addictions. News S E R V I N G F R E S H F I S H S T R A I G H T O U T O F T H E O C E A N FOR RESERVATIONS PLEASE CALL: 2346 2100 FORTINA SPA RESORT, TIGNÉ SEAFRONT SLIEMA SLM 3012, MALTA WWW.FORTINASPARESORT.COM Man charged with robbing two construction sites in eight days A woman was hospitalised yes- terday morning after the car she was in slid down the Wied Ghomor valley in St Julian's. The accident took place at 11:00am, when the car – Peugeot 2008 – hit the curb and fell into the valley, with the three French nationals still onboard. A 29-year-old woman was ferried away to Mater Dei hos- pital in order to receive treat- ment for her injuries, which were reported to be grievous. A man, 33, and a six-month- old child, who were also in the car at the time, were un- harmed Car slides down Wied Ghomor, infant among passengers A 29-year-old woman was ferried away to Mater Dei hospital in order to receive treatment for her injuries, which were reported to be grievous