Man on bail for arson admits to assaulting officers who caught him breaching curfew

A man already on bail for arson has been released from arrest again pending a pre-sentencing report, after allegedly resisting police who booked him for not wearing a mask in public.

Denilson Manicaro, 21, from Paola was meant to be at home under curfew two hours before he was stopped outside a Paceville nightclub without a mask on.

Police inspector Jonathan Cassar said Manicaro had tried to escape when he was asked for his details and had also injured police officers whilst resisting arrest in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Manicaro, who pleaded guilty to the charges, faces up to two years in prison. Manicaro was already on bail after being charged with setting a police officer’s car alight in January this year.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb requested a pre-sentencing report on the man and requested bail, arguing that the law on breaching bail had changed recently, giving the court discretion on the forfeiture of the bail bond and rearrest.

The court upheld the request. Bail was granted against an €800 deposit and a €4,000 personal guarantee. He was also ordered to observe a curfew.