Two charged over Birkirkara arson attack that destroyed two cars

A minibus driver from Marsaskala has been remanded in custody and a second man was released on bail pending a pre-sentencing report, after admitting to charges relating to an arson attack on a car in Birkirkara, which had also damaged a nearby vehicle.

48-year-old Colin Pavia was first to be arraigned before magistrate Leonard Caruana on Thursday afternoon, charged with complicity in arson, complicity in causing voluntary damage to private property and recidivism.

Pavia pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Mario Xiberras, prosecuting together with lawyer Joseph Camilleri Azarov from the Office of the Attorney General, explained what had led to the man’s arrest.

A Mazda Demio had been set alight in Birkirkara on 19 December, Inspector Scicluna said.

Investigations revealed that a blue van had arrived at the scene, a person had emerged from the back of the van and set the car on fire.

The van, which was used as a taxi, was subsequently traced to Pavia, who told the police that the passenger had told him that he was going to set fire to a car. At that stage, Pavia had been cautioned but not arrested.

The court was told that Seyble Grech, who was also arraigned today, had told the police that Pavia’s involvement was greater and that he had in fact, commissioned the arson. Pavia was then arrested.

The prosecution requested a protection order be issued in favour of the owners of the two cars destroyed in the fire. Spiteri objected with respect to two of them, arguing that there was no connection between the defendant and those victims. 

The court upheld the prosecution’s request and issued the protection order over all three victims.

Bail was requested. Prosecution objected due to the reasonable fear of the defendant committing another offence, in view of his criminal record and the gravity of the offences he is charged with, in addition to the risk of tampering with evidence and subornation of witnesses.

Spiteri, after looking at the defendant’s criminal record, said the man’s previous convictions related to non-payment of alimony and smoking in a prohibited area.

The offence had taken place two and a half weeks ago. The victims were not on the scene and could only testify about their relationship with the defendant. “God forbid we get to the stage where people who are presumed innocent are denied bail due to the possibility of evidence emerging.”

Pavia had gone to the police HQ voluntarily, the lawyer added.

The court, after hearing the parties’ submissions on bail, ruled that it should deny bail at this stage, primarily due to the serious nature of the charges and the fact that civilian witnesses had not yet testified. The prosecution was urged to present these witnesses in the shortest time possible.

Spiteri asked that the court order the defendant’s medical needs be catered for at Corradino prison. The court issued an order to that effect.

Lawyer Roberto Spiteri represented Pavia as defence counsel.

The court, after hearing the parties’ submissions on bail, ruled that it should deny bail at this stage, primarily due to the serious nature of the charges and the fact that civilian witnesses had not yet testified. The prosecution was urged to present these witnesses in the shortest time possible.

Spiteri asked that the court order the defendant’s medical needs be catered for at Corradino prison. The court duly issued an order to that effect.

Second man admits to setting car on fire

18-year-old Seybel Grech was also arraigned in connection with the arson, in a separate arraignment on Thursday afternoon.

The defendant, who the court was told, resided in an unnumbered boathouse at the limits of Zejtun, was charged with intentionally setting the Mazda Demio on fire and damaging a Toyota Vitz that had been parked nearby.

Inspector Sciberras explained that Grech had been recorded on CCTV footage as arriving in the back of Pavia’s blue Ford Transit van. The inspector told the court that coincidentally, he had encountered Grech in a separate case only recently and had recognised him from the CCTV footage.

Charges of recidivism against Grech were withdrawn during the sitting, after defence lawyer Jason Grima pointed out that the defendant’s previous convictions were currently the subject of ongoing appeal proceedings.

The parties’ lawyers approached the magistrate’s bench where the case was discussed out of earshot of the public.

Grech, who told the court that he was unemployed, admitted to the charges, confirming his guilty plea after the court granted him a period of time to reflect and reconsider his plea.

The defence requested the court order a pre-sentencing report be drawn up, which was upheld after the prosecution stated that it had no objection to the request.

A protection order was also issued in favour of the victim, at the prosecution’s request.

The prosecution objected to the defence’s request for bail, arguing that Grech was the subject of other ongoing criminal proceedings and had already been granted probation previously. “Here we have a person, who for an 18-year-old, has a refrattarja crimainl record.” Furthermore, he is neither employed, nor in school,” said Camilleri Azarov, asking how he could support himself.

Grima told the court that Grech lived with his parents. Bail would give the defendant a chance to demonstrate his trustworthiness to the court, in the period while the pre-sentencing report is drawn up.

The court upheld the bail request, releasing Grech from arrest against a €1,000 deposit and €9,000 personal guarantee.