Serial thief jailed six years for 19 burglaries, three attempted thefts

28-year-old Zimbabwean man jailed for six years after admitting to carrying out 19 thefts during four-month spell in 2008.

A 28-year-old man who was found guilty of 19 thefts and three attempted thefts during a four-month spell in 2008 has been jailed for six years.

Stephen Priviledge Mipimhidzi, 28, born in Zimbabwe but who lives with his foster parents in Bugibba, admitted to committing the string of thefts from numerous hotel rooms at St Paul’s Hotel and Topaz Hotel in St Paul’s Bay.

The court heard that the between May and August 2008, the accused burgled hotel rooms at the St Paul’s Bay hotels and made off with several mobile phones, digitial cameras, cash, Ipods, an Iphone, a speaker and MP3 players.

He was also charged with three attempted thefts from the same hotels, with relapsing, with breaching bail conditions, and with committing the crime during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

The court noted that even though the accused admitted to the charges at an early stage and had done his best to return the stolen items, he nevertheless has a lengthy criminal record.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia noted that at such a young age, Mupimhidzi already has 10 convictions, six of which are related to thefts while others are related to inflicting slight injuries.

Moreover, the court heard that the accused has been trying to reform and that he successfully concluded a drug a rehabilitation programme. Nevertheless, the accused has since fallen back into bad habits, had left his foster parents’ home and had also lost contact with his probation officer.

Consequently, the court argued that the accused had not taken the opportunities to reform, and therefore handed him a six-year jail term.

Police Inspector Jesmond Micallef prosecuted.