Pace family seeks release as bail hearing continues

The bail proceedings involving members of the Pace family continued on Friday, with the court hearing further submissions on the pending bail requests.

The hearing resumed after yesterday’s sitting was unexpectedly interrupted when a court lift carrying several of the accused and Correctional officers became stuck.

At the start of Friday’s proceedings, one of the accused briefly recalled the incident, saying those trapped had been forced to leave through a narrow opening after it became the only available way out.

The defence first asked the court to reconsider the financial conditions imposed on Cleaven Pace noting that although he had been granted bail on 5 June, but he remained under arrest because he had been unable to raise the deposit required.

It argued the amount was beyond his financial means and suggested that, if the deposit were reduced, the court could instead increase the personal guarantee so that the accused would remain equally bound by the bail conditions.

The Attorney General opposed the request, arguing that both the cash deposit and personal guarantee were essential to ensure compliance with the bail conditions and should remain unchanged.

Turning to Carlos Pace, the defence argued that he had already spent a considerable period in detention and had produced evidence of prospective employment together with a third-party guarantee.

It submitted that continued detention would cause him to lose the job opportunity, while also noting that he is the father of three young children and that his alleged role in the case was less significant than that of the other accused.

The defence made similar submissions on behalf of Maria Pace, highlighting that she has an almost clean criminal record, with only very minor convictions dating back to 2001, 2004 and 2009, and that she is the mother of a three-and-a-half-year-old child.

Opposing both requests, the Attorney General argued that several prosecution witnesses have yet to testify and maintained that the evidence heard so far points to the active involvement of both Carlos and Maria Pace, including their alleged role in arranging payments.

With regard to Maria Pace, the prosecution also pointed out that she is currently unemployed, questioning how she would be able to support herself and her young child if released on bail. The defence replied that her lack of employment should not, on its own, justify refusing bail.

After hearing submissions from both sides, the court is now to decide on bail from its chambers.

The prosecution was led by Inspector Lianne Bonello, alongside Lawyers Neville Galea and Michael Muscat on behalf of the Attorney General.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, and Adreana Zammit appeared for the brothers and the father, while Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri represented the elderly co-accused.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco Presided over the case.