Man who raided ex-partner’s home and stole bag from ambulance handed suspended sentence

Jason Joseph Vince Schembri, 39, was handed a suspended sentence after being found guilty of two aggravated thefts, involuntarily damaging a vehicle, and unlawfully entering a residence.

One of the aggravated thefts occurred at the residence of his ex-partner, in Marsalforn, Gozo, and the other took place from an ambulance at Mater Dei Hospital.

On 22 June 2024, the woman reported that someone had entered her residence, saying that €325 was missing. She explained that she had a surveillance system installed, which provided footage showing a man entering her property.

The woman identified the man as Jason Schembri, who had previously visited her residence due to their prior intimate relationship.

The woman also submitted a written complaint from her lawyer, stating that she had lent her car to Schembri under the agreement that he would purchase it for €5,000. Schembri delayed payment and later informed her he was no longer interested.

Despite promising to return the car within two days, he failed to do so. When the car was eventually returned during the proceedings, it had sustained multiple damages, including missing registration plates, hubcaps, and a front bumper held together with black tape, none of which the victim had applied. Personal belongings, including a drum worth €100, clothes, and shoes, were also missing.

After the vehicle was returned, the woman withdrew the fourth charge of misappropriation against Schembri.

She further explained that she had previously noticed small amounts of money missing from her residence. Upon suspicion, she activated a security camera inside the residence.

Footage showed Schembri entering her apartment using a key, which she confirmed he had never been given. The video showed Schembri going directly to a drawer where she kept money, demonstrating knowledge of its location. The court noted that their prior intimate relationship had created a degree of trust, which Schembri abused for personal gain.

Regarding the second theft, a week later, a male victim reported that a grey bag was stolen from an ambulance parked in front of the Outpatients Department at Mater Dei Hospital.

The victim, who works as an ambulance porter, testified the bag contained personal items, including keys, a wallet, credit cards, a charger, a jacket, sunscreen, nail clippers, and an umbrella.

Workers of the hospital identified Schembri as the perpetrator since he had previously worked at the hospital. Schembri admitted it was him in the footage but claimed he went to collect his own belongings. The court rejected this claim, noting that he was suspended from work at the time and could not have had personal items in the ambulance.

The unlawful entry charge was confirmed as Schembri entered his ex-partner residence using a key he was never given, as shown in the footage. Evidence demonstrated that the key was in his possession and perfectly matched the lock.

Schembri was also found guilty of involuntarily damaging the woman’s car due to neglect while it was in his possession. Regarding the recidivism charge, the prosecution had only presented Schembri’s criminal record without official copies of prior convictions.

Jurisprudence requires official copies to establish recidivism, so the charge was dropped.

The defence argued the video did not directly show the theft but the court held that circumstantial evidence strongly indicated Schembri as the perpetrator. The court was satisfied that he, and no one else, stole the money from the apartment.

Considering that recidivism was not established and Schembri’s last conviction dated back to 2011, the court imposed a suspended prison sentence of 19 months, suspended for four years. The court also imposed this sentence to ensure that the man would be able to compensate the victims, which he would not have been able to do if he were in prison.

Schembri was also ordered to pay the woman €2,050.61, covering the stolen €325 and €1,725.61 for vehicle damages and €200 to the ambulance victim as fair compensation for the stolen items.

The case was presided over by Magistrate Jean Paul Grech.