Man jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to aggravated theft

A man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening a man with a knife and stealing his mobile phone.

Mohmaed Hasan Abdillahi, 21, a Hal Far resident from Somalia, admitted to using a knife to attempt grievously injure Nicolas Marie Joseph Lejuene, after stealing his mobile phone in the early morning of 12 March 2016, at 4:30am in St Julian’s.

At the time of the incident, Abdillahi was also under the influence of alcohol.

The court was told that the man, besides being a relapsing, had committed the offence while under the operative period of a suspended sentence delivered in August 2015.

Considering the accused's admission to public intoxication, disturbing the peace, and breaching the conditions of his suspended sentence, the court declared the accused guilty and condemned him to a jail term of 18 months. The 12 months imposed under the earlier suspended sentence were also made effective, amounting to a total of 30 months in jail. The accused was further slapped with a fine of €116.47.

Inspector Elton Taliana prosecuted.

Lawyer Francine Abela was legal aid.