11 years after Paceville brawl, 69-year-old man is jailed for a year

A 69-year-old man who punched, kicked and repeatedly stabbed a youth 30 years his junior in a 2006 Paceville gang fight, has been jailed for a year after charges of attempted homicide against him were replaced by charges of attempted grievous bodily harm.

In February 2006, Grezzju Gauci, of Birkirkara, then 59 years old, had stabbed Gilbert Spiteri, who had been in Paceville with his girlfriend and a group of his friends.

A member of Spiteri's party, who had left early as he was drunk, had got into an argument with a group of around 20 taxi and bus drivers who had started beating him up. Spiteri had intervened, shouting at the men to stop and one of the assailants – Grezzju Gauci – told him to mind his own business, pushing Spiteri away.

Spiteri was stabbed three times whilst attempting to get his drunk friend back up on his feet. The group of men involved in the original beating immediately dispersed after the stabbing.

A doctor had certified the victim as having suffered grievous bodily harm due to the fact that one of the chest wounds had penetrated the skin, allowing muscle to protrude from the wound . The victim also complained of “mild sensory impairment” to the right hand.

The case had been delayed for several years after the magistrate originally presiding the case was appointed a judge of the superior courts in 2013. In the interim period, the charge of attempted homicide was effectively dropped and replaced by a charge of grievous bodily harm.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia jailed Gauci for one year, chastising the accused for acting the way he had at the age of 59 against man of 22, saying that he should have known better.

Inspector Chris Pullicino prosecuted.