Addict loses €21,500 bail bond, jailed for 25 months for construction site theft

A 31-year-old part-time refuse collector has forfeited his €21,500 bail bond and been jailed for over two years this morning after he pleaded guilty to stealing a drill bit from a JCB ground drill.

Before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, Inspector Kylie Borg charged Henry Grogan, from Zurrieq, with stealing the equipment from a construction site in Siggiewi. The theft, aggravated by the value and nature of the object stolen, occurred during the afternoon of 19 March this year.

Grogan was also charged with breaching bail conditions imposed by a previous court for a separate case.

Together with legal aid lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace, the prosecution approached the bench, discussing the case privately with the magistrate. A guilty plea was entered on the accused’s behalf.

The court was told that the accused had a serious drug problem, which had led to previous brushes with the law. Magistrate Scerri Herrera chastised the man, urging him to turn his life around, saying she didn’t want to see him “dead somewhere, in the course of an inquiry.”

In spite of his being a repeat offender, in view of his early admission, the court chose to exercise its discretion and not apply an increase in his punishment. 

Grogan was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment for the theft, together with an additional 12 months for breaching his bail conditions. Inspector Borg informed the court that €21,500 had been confiscated in favour of government.      

In view of the accused’s drug problems, the court requested the director of Corradino Correctional Facility give the accused the assistance he required in this regard.