Gozitan man receives suspended sentence for shooting son of father's former lover

Għarb resident Daniel Felice has been handed a suspended sentence for shooting and grievously injuring a British man, Sean Holmes, in 2007.

Police had found Holmes near a phone booth at Cirkewwa, bleeding heavily from three gunshot wounds. Although he survived the shooting, Holmes is believed to still be suffering health complications caused by his wounds.

Prosecutors claimed that Holmes had gone to speak to Daniel Felice's father, Silvio, over his alleged physical abuse of his ex-partner, the Briton's mother, as a result of which she had suffered leg fractures. The men had an argument which escalated into fisticuffs, and Holmes was shot in the back three times, with a pistol fired by Daniel Felice.

Although he suffered serious injuries, Holmes had made his way to the Gozo ferry via taxi. The police were called after he was spotted with heavily bloodstained clothes at Ċirkewwa.

Felice had originally been accused of attempted murder, but the charges were later downgraded to grievous bodily harm by the Attorney General’s office.

He was indicted and due to be tried by a jury for grievous bodily harm using arms proper, discharging a firearm in a populated area, committing a crime against the person whilst carrying a firearm and possession of a firearm without a police license.

Last week, the court was informed that Felice wished to file a guilty plea to avoid a trial by jury, as part of a plea bargain with the Attorney General’s Office.

In a sentence handed down earlier today, Judge Edwina Grima found him guilty as charged and condemned the man to two years imprisonment, suspended for four years, together with a €465.87 fine. The firearm was confiscated and Felice’s gun license was revoked for four years.