Valletta men jailed for five years after grievously injuring elderly woman

Two men from Valletta have each been sentenced to five years imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to breaking the shoulder of a 63-year old woman as they attempted to steal her handbag.

Antoine Grima, aged 27, and 23-year-old Domenic Agius were accused of the violent attempted theft, which was committed in Old Theatre Street Valletta at around 8:40pm on 3 May 2012. The men were also charged with grievously injuring the victim and conspiracy to commit a crime. Agius, alone, was charged with breaching a probation order imposed on him by a previous sentence.

The pair had admitted to committing the crime upon their arraignment and had confirmed their guilt before judge Edwina Grima in the Criminal Court.

In sentencing the men, the judge took into consideration the fact that they were already being held at the Corradino prisons as well as the aggravating factor that the crime had been motivated by their drug addiction.

Noting that although the men had made progress in reforming their lives, there was “a long way for them to go”, the court said it could not ignore the fact that the crime had been committed against a vulnerable person who still suffers the physical consequences of the violence to this day.

“The fact that somone suffers from drug addiction does not mean that he is to be excused when he commits crimes to sustain that habit.”

Emphasising the role of punishment as both a reformative tool as well as a deterrent, the court said it wished to send a clear message that physical violence always carries an effective jail term, and when that violence is directed towards minors, the elderly or vulnerable persons, the punishment must be more severe.

Agius was also ordered to appear before a magistrate's court to answer for the breach of the probation order.