Would-be armed burglar handed suspended sentence

A man has been handed a 15 month prison sentence, suspended for three years, after pleading guilty to an attempted burglary that took place earlier this year.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera also charged the man – whose name and particulars cannot be published by court order – €50 for carrying a knife without police permission.

During today’s court sitting, police inspector Elton Taliana charged the man with attempted theft, aggravated by value and time, voluntarily damaging a family residence and carrying a knife without the required police permission.

Taliana, together with defence lawyer Alessandro Lia, explained to Scerri Herrera that the accused was assisting the police in the investigation of a second suspect, who is understood to have commissioned the crime.

The court ordered a ban on the publication of any the accused's particulars because the police investigation is still ongoing. The publication of the locality in which the incident occurred was also banned.