Man avoids jail after a botched robbery in Tarxien

A 40-year-old man was handed a suspended sentence after being found guilty of attempted aggravated theft following a failed armed robbery at the “James and Bakes” establishment in Tarxien

The man, Antonio Mangion, was also found guilty of inflicting emotional bodily harm and for committing the offence while having on his person an imitation of a weapon.

Inspector Stephen Gulia testified that the Paola District Police received a report of an armed robbery taking place at the James and Bakes establishment in Tarxien. When district officers arrived, the assailant had already fled the scene.

One of the victims  recounted that  while she and her colleague were in the shop, a man entered wearing an all black outfit,  including a mask and sunglasses. He was carrying a pink bag in his left hand and what appeared to be a black pistol in his right hand.

During the robbery , the man threw the bag onto the cash register counter and demanded money.  One of the women pushed the bag back toward him, after which he began swearing and left the shop. The same woman was later certified to have suffered emotional shock. The other woman who was there during the ordeal confirmed her colleague’s version of events.

Nearby CCTV footage showed the suspect approaching the establishment holding the black pistol and pink bag. Shortly after, he was seen running toward a white Toyota Vitz, parked two corners away. The vehicle lacked front hubcaps, had a broken rear wiper, and displayed a ‘Baby on Board’ sticker.

The vehicle was registered in the name of a different woman, who had previously filed several police reports against the accused, who was her daughter’s former partner,  Surveillance outside Mangion’s residence later confirmed that the same vehicle was parked there. After Mangion was arrested, police seized two mobile phones, a green Redmi Xiaomi and a blue Xiaomi device.

A search of his residence yielded a black hoodie identical to that worn by the suspect as well as empty syringes. He later admitted to struggling with a drug addiction.

Further investigations found that, on the day of the attempted robbery, Mangion had not been at work. Location data from the blue Xiaomi phone confirmed he was in the area of the establishment during the relevant time of the attempted theft.

Mangion fully cooperated with the police, admitting that he had attempted the robbery using a toy air pistol, motivated by financial problems and the need to send money to his wife in Morocco.

He admitted that he ultimately did not take any money. “I felt sorry and walked out,” he told police. Mangion also confirmed he owned the two seized mobile phones and acknowledged that the gloves and zipper jacket collected by police were the ones he had worn during the incident. He expressed deep remorse for his actions.

The accused himself testified that has a family and four children, the youngest being a seven-month-old baby. Mangion said that on the day of the offence, he was still under the influence of drugs, from which he had been abusing day and night. He admitted to having painted the toy air gun black in order for it to look real but that he had no intention of hurting anyone. He told the court that he had learned from “that moment of madness”, which had been driven by his addiction.

The prosecution questioned whether Mangion had planned the robbery, but he insisted that it was a spontaneous act triggered by his drug use and financial desperation.

The court observed that there was nothing stopping the accused from proceeding with the theft had he truly intended to do so. The cash register at the shop contained between €2,500 and €3,000 in cash and several items were within his reach, yet the accused took nothing.

The evidence showed that there was no resistance or external factor compelling him to stop or escape the scene. In light of these findings, the court concluded that the offence was voluntarily abandoned before completion.

Mangion was found guilty and handed a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for four years. He was also ordered to pay the victim €1,000 within 10 months. A  three-year supervision order was also imposed. The court also ordered the confiscation of the weapon.

Police inspectors Lydon Zammit, Stephen Gulia and Sarah Zerafa prosecuted. Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided over the case.