Woman hid in wardrobe as police searched her residence

A troubled 23-year-old woman from St. Paul's Bay has been remanded in custody after she was charged with committing a string of offences while out on bail.

Inspectors Trevor Micallef and Godwin Scerri arraigned Nikita Mc Anally before magistrate Monica Vella this afternoon, charging the woman with no less than 13 criminal offences.

The woman, who had been on the run for over a month, was found hiding in a wardrobe at her boyfriend's house by officers who had been tipped off to her whereabouts.

The court heard how Mc Anally had allegedly stolen a Peugeot from her hometown on May 13, before crashing it into another car in Birkirkara two days later, damaging both vehicles. She is also accused of stealing a Maruti Jeep from Swieqi on May 19.

Aside from the aggravated theft charges, the woman was accused of driving the Peugeot and the Maruti without a driving licence, insurance cover or road licence and dangerous driving, as well as failing to stop at the scene of a traffic accident.

She is further charged with making fraudulent gains, obtaining money by false pretences, misappropriating a mobile phone, breaching bail, relapsing and breaching the conditions of a probation order.

The prosecution objected to bail, explaining that the accused had returned to drug abuse and that problem was not being helped by the girl's association with certain friends.

She had shown progress in a previous drug rehabilitation programme, but had stopped attending. She had also stopped meeting her probation officer, the court was told.

Defence lawyer Leontine Calleja entered a plea of not guilty and requested bail, arguing that the woman was going through a very hard time in her life. She was ready to start treating her addiction, said the lawyer.

Mc Anally had a fixed address and no intention of approaching witnesses.

However, the court, after hearing the submissions on bail, denied the request in view of the accused's repeated breaches of bail and her breach of a probation order. The magistrate instructed the director of prisons to give Ms. McAnally all the assistance she required and place the woman in a drug rehabilitation programme.