Necklace snatcher jailed for four years

A court has jailed for four years a thief who committed 13 snatch-and-grab thefts from individual elderly women, on public roads, in less than a month.

25-year-old Keith Micallef from Cospicua was arrainged under arrest before magistrate Anthony Vella this morning, on 14 charges in all – the 14th being handling stolen goods.

Inspector Kurt Zahra told the court how Micallef had targeted victims in Valletta, Qormi, Birkirkara and Hamrun, carrying out a spate of thefts between 27 April and 25 May this year. He is thought to have followed his victims for some time before he struck.

Micallef, who is unemployed, pleaded guilty.

The court handed down a four-year prison sentence to which a previous three-month suspended sentence was rendered executive, bringing the total to four years and three months in jail. Micallef was ordered to follow a drug rehabilitation programme while in prison.

The circumstances leading to his arrest were not revealed in court, but other arraignments are expected.