Bail refused for man caught breaking court imposed curfew

A kickboxer who was out on bail pending an appeal against his two-year prison sentence for harassing and assaulting his ex-girlfriend is back in preventive custody after police found him out in Marsa, three hours past his bail curfew.

Police Inspector Omar Zammit arraigned 30-year-old Keith Azzopardi from Bormla before magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace on Tuesday, on charges of breaching bail conditions and recidivism.

Earlier this year Azzopardi had been conditionally discharged for 24 months, in connection with a violent attack targeting a man, his mother and infant son at their home, committed by Azzopardi and his brothers Burton, Zven, and Ryan, four years prior.

Around the same time, in May 2023, Keith Azzopardi had been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to harassing and intimidating the mother of his child, as well as assaulting her father and two police officers, slightly injuring the older man. In handing down that judgement, Magistrate Victor Axiak noted that not long before, Azzopardi had already been convicted of assaulting a public officer and had several previous convictions for threatening and slightly injuring the mother of his children and her relatives, and had breached a suspended sentence.

Azzopardi had successfully posted bail after filing an appeal against that sentence and has now been accused of breaching one of its conditions - a 10:00pm curfew.

Police Inspector Omar Zammit, prosecuting, told the court that on Monday, at around 1:00am, two police officers on patrol in Marsa had spotted Azzopardi out with his girlfriend, three hours past the court-imposed curfew. 

Lawyer Francesca Zarb, assisting the defendant was allowed to approach the magistrate’s bench together with the prosecuting inspector where the case was discussed privately.

Azzopardi, a professional kickboxer and tattoo artist, sat in the dock with a pained expression on his face, while his case was discussed out of earshot of the rest of the courtroom.

After returning to her place, the lawyer informed the court that Azzopardi would be pleading not guilty and requested bail.

Inspector Zammit objected to his release, pointing out that the charges themselves dealt with a breach of bail. 

Zarb asked the court to “consider that it was a single isolated incident”  and argued that the legislator had recently given courts the discretion to order partial confiscation of bail deposits for minor breaches. 

The magistrate however turned down the bail request, adjourning the case for next week.