Man jailed for 18 months over New Year's Eve hold-up

After finding the man guilty on account of his admission, the court said that his crime was serious enough to merit jail time

Wayne Caruana filed an admission to the charges
Wayne Caruana filed an admission to the charges

A man who admitted to holding up a shop on New Year's Eve has been jailed for 18 months.

Wayne Caruana, 34, was charged with robbing a convenience store in Zejtun at around 8:30pm on 31 December, stealing €350. The crime was aggravated by violence and Caruana was also accused of illegally detaining four women in the shop against their will.

In a sitting before magistrate Joe Mifsud this morning, Caruana filed an admission to the charges. The guilty plea was confirmed after the man was given time to reconsider.

Caruana had personally apologised to his victims, who had been present in court and had returned the stolen money.

The court noted that the man had recognised that his actions were unjustifiable and had shown remorse. Caruana had declared to the court that he wanted to return to society as a deserving citizen, a new man, free of his vices.

Passing a sentence after finding the man guilty on account of his admission, the court said the crime was sufficiently serious to merit incarceration. Quoting British judge Lord Justice Lawton, the court also stressed that it would not be led by public outcry - to the contrary, it should “lead public opinion.”

In its considerations on punishment, the court observed that Caruana had a relatively clean criminal record, had faced his victims and asked for forgiveness. Magistrate Mifsud handed Caruana an 18 month prison sentence.

Caruana was also placed under a probation order for three years and ordered that he be given the necessary psychiatric treatment.

Inspector Fabian Fleri and Johann J. Fenech prosecuted. Lawyer Yanika Bugeja was defence counsel.