Man denied bail following alleged theft of designer fashion accessories

A 57-year-old Żebbuġ resident has been remanded in custody after being charged with the theft of designer fashion accessories from shops in Valletta.

Stephen Chircop was arraigned before magistrate Ian Farrugia on Thursday by Police Inspector Daryl Borg, accused of stealing three sets of designer glasses and a pair of shoes from shops in Valletta. 

The thefts had allegedly taken place over the past three weeks, the court was told.

Besides the theft charges, Chircop was also accused of breaching a probation order and a suspended sentence, as well as recidivism.

Inspector Borg told the court that a police foot patrol in the capital on Wednesday had noticed a man who appeared to be hiding something under his top, acting suspiciously inside a shop.

Officers had approached the man to ask him about his behaviour and discovered that he had been trying to conceal a pair of designer shoes. Further investigations into Chircop revealed that he had also allegedly stolen expensive designer sunglasses from another Valletta shop on the 7th and the 16th of March. Three pairs of the sunglasses had been stolen in all, the court was told.

Chircop pleaded not guilty to the charges, with lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young, assisting the defendant as legal counsel, requesting bail on the grounds that he was his family’s sole provider and could lose his job if remanded in custody.

The request for bail met stiff resistance from the prosecution however, which argued that Chircop was not a trustworthy candidate for bail, being a repeat offender with a colourful criminal record. 

Magistrate Farrugia denied bail on the grounds of the defendant’s untrustworthiness and the risk that he would have further run-ins with the law if released from arrest.