Homeless man denies driving without insurance, theft charges

A homeless drug addict and former prison inmate has been warned that he faces a long jail sentence if he continues to break the law to sustain his habit

The court granted bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000
The court granted bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000

A homeless drug addict and former prison inmate has been warned that he faces a long jail sentence if he continues to break the law to sustain his habit and encouraged to look into rehab.

Allan Grima, 34, was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Aaron Bugeja this morning, where he denied charges of having stolen items from inside a parked car in Marsa late on 6 January, as well as having handled stolen goods, driven a car without insurance or a road licence and of having carried a knife in public without police permission.

Grima was additionally accused of being in possession of burglary tools after having been convicted of theft, breaching a probation order and recidivism.

Grima is the same man who had been jailed for two years in 2014 for trying to run over two policemen in Cospicua after they recognised him as a wanted man. His driving licence had been revoked as a result.

Prosecuting Police Inspector Joseph Mercieca told magistrate Bugeja that Grima had been out on police bail since January but that his arrest had to be ordered after he had failed to turn up for a court sitting. The police had checked at this mother's house and had been told that he had last visited a week before.

When he was picked up, the accused had told police that he had been unable to comply with the police bail conditions due to a problem with his foot.

The court was told that the majority of the stolen items had been returned to their rightful owners.

Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia, defending Grima, entered a plea of not guilty. He requested bail.

Valenzia explained to the court that the accused was a drug addict and wanted to start treatment for his addiction. The Court pointed out that he was the last in a long waiting list for the rehabilitation programme, but encouraged him to explore the rehabilitation options with his lawyer nonetheless.

Inspector Mercieca said he would not object to the defence's request for bail if the man's adherence to the conditions of his release could be ensured. “I trusted this man and he betrayed me. If I can be assured that he will go and sign his bail book, I have no problem with his release.”

Efforts by the court and defence to decide on a third party guarantor proved futile and eventually, magistrate Bugeja decided that making it too expensive for the accused to abscond or hide was the most viable option. The court granted bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000, ordering Grima to deposit his ID and passport in court and report at a police station every day. He was also subjected to a curfew.

“You can fool me once,” said the magistrate dispassionately, “and I speak for the other judiciary here, but you won't do it again...I will grant you bail, but the next move is yours.” Berating the accused for causing his parents so much worry, he warned that any further criminality would land Grima a long stay in prison. “If you prove yourself unworthy, you can be sure that you will enter Corradino but you can't say when you'll leave.”

“If you don't follow these conditions to the letter, you will be picked up by the police and it will be costly for you.”