Pregnant robbery accomplice and police informer jailed for 32 months

A pregnant drug addict fought back tears today as she was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment for stealing cash and jewellery during a burglary from a house belonging to a 92-year-old woman.

20 year-old Donna Sciberras, who is three months pregnant, had been arrested on the 30th July this year, following police investigations into a theft from a house in Sliema in June.

During questioning, Sciberras told investigators that she had nothing to do with the Sliema theft but admitted to stealing from a house in Birzebbuga on the 9th of June, also giving police the identities of her two accomplices – including her boyfriend, Andrea Busuttil.

Busuttil, 27, is currently being held in custody after he was charged with attempting to escape arrest by jumping into the sea on the 5th of August. He had been on the run since July 30th, after police searched his house in connection with his alleged involvement in the Birzebbuga robbery.

Busuttil had escaped while the officers were conducting the search, only to be spotted a week later, leading police on a chase culminating in his jumping into the sea near Manoel Island, where he was arrested by a police inspector who jumped in the water after him.

The elderly homeowner had told police how she had answered the door and was rushed by three masked robbers who stole cash from a drawer. During the theft, one of the thieves snatched a gold chain from around her neck before pushing her over onto the bed. She had given them cash, but they had been tipped off that there were five envelopes containing the money. Unfortunately, in the weeks since the incident, the victim’s health had deteriorated and she was unable to testify this morning.

 Police Inspector John Spiteri told magistrate Audrey Demicoli that the theft had taken place in the early hours of June 9th. From one of the accused’s police statements it emerged that the elderly victim was chosen because Sciberras’s mother, Josette Pisani, had been engaged as a domestic cleaner at the victim’s house. Pisani is also being investigated.

Sciberras was eventually traced by the police and arrested in Gzira and charged with the robbery, holding the woman against her will, threatening a police inspector, failing to abide by police bail conditions and with relapsing.

He told the court how, in a puzzling second statement, Sciberras had claimed to have taken €2000 adding that “the others had taken much more.”

Inspector Saviour Baldacchino told the court that Sciberras was granted police bail when it became apparent that she was pregnant. She had been ordered to attend the police station at a later date but did not show up.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli ruled there was sufficient grounds for a bill of indictment to be issued.

But an hour or so later, defence lawyer Leontine Calleja informed the court that the accused wished to plead guilty and asked for a punishment below the minimum, in view of her pregnancy. The woman was not directly involved in the physical violence against the victim pointed out the lawyer, an assertion confirmed by the prosecution, who said that the accused had cooperated with the police. Information she had provided led to the arrests of her accomplices, he added, suggesting a sentence of less than 2 years.

The court, however, noted that Sciberras had been given various opportunities to reform and was not a first time offender.. 

Sciberras was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment, the court also making a recommendation that the woman be treated for her addiction.