'Not a single piece of evidence': Man cleared of ice cream factory theft

Man cleared of any involvement in a robbery at a Zejtun ice cream factory seven years ago

File Photo
File Photo

A man has been cleared of any involvement in a robbery at a Zejtun ice cream factory seven years ago after a court ruled that there was not a single piece of evidence linking him to the crime.

Stephen Borg, 43, had been named by two men who had admitted to the robbery, telling the police that Borg had entered the factory premises on 8 September, 2014.

Around €12,100 worth of items and cash were stolen, with the police being told that between €4,000 and €5,000 in cash as well as CCTV equipment, were found to be missing after the burglary, in which the front door was forced open.

Forensics officers had recovered fingerprints found on aluminum surfaces at the garage where ice cream vans were parked for the night.

The owner of the factory later told the police that much of the stolen cash had been returned to him via a priest.

He identified a suspect who confessed to his involvement in the crime and named another man and Borg as accomplices, during interrogation.

Borg was subsequently charged with aggravated theft and breaching four bail decrees.

The court was told that localisation data from his mobile phone placed him at the crime scene just after midnight that night and that Borg had tested positive for drugs at the time.

But the court also saw that a fingerprint expert had confirmed that none of the three fingerprints found at the crime scene matched those of the accused.

The other two men convicted of the theft had never been summoned to testify in Borg’s case and his mobile phone number and localisation were never confirmed in court.

The prosecution had instead summoned witnesses who did not know and had never laid eyes on the accused, said the court.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit highlighted a “serious lack of evidence” in this case, observing that Borg had not been seen at the crime scene and there were no fingerprints or CCTV footage linking him to the place.

She went on to say that it was the duty of the prosecution to produce sufficient evidence in order to convince the courts.

In view of the fact that there was not a single piece of evidence supporting the charges, the court declared Borg not guilty of all charges.

Lawyer David Gatt appeared for Borg.