Man accused of stealing motorcycle intended to return it after his car was repaired
A man accused of stealing a motorcycle had intended to return it after his own car was repaired, a court was told on Monday.
A man accused of stealing a motorcycle had intended to return it after his own car was repaired, a court was told on Monday.
This emerged as handyman Leon Lee Zammit, 24, from Mosta was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Nadia Helena Vella. Police inspector Jeffrey Scicluna and prosecutor Brendan Hewer charged Zammit with the aggravated theft of a motorcycle from Tarxien on 28 August, as well as breaching bail conditions he had been handed last December, a probation order from 2022 and a suspended sentence from February last year. Zammit was also accused of recidivism.
Inspector Scicluna explained that the Major Crimes Unit had been tasked with investigating the theft of a Kymco motorcycle that had been reported stolen from Tarxien. A tall, thin man was identified as the thief from CCTV footage.
Zammit had spoken to officers who were conducting a routine patrol about an unrelated issue. During that conversation, the officers noticed that the registration plate on his motorcycle appeared to have been tampered with. After radioing the number plate to their command station, the officers received confirmation that the vehicle was stolen.
During his subsequent arrest, Zammit was also noticed to be wearing the same outfit that he had worn while stealing the motorcycle.
Zammit explained to the police that he had stolen the bike because his car was damaged and he still had to go out to work to feed his family. Inspector Scicluna added that Zammit told the police that he had intended to return the bike once he no longer needed it.
Lawyer Rachel Tua, defence counsel to Zammit, told the court that the defendant wished to plead not guilty. Bail was also requested.
Prosecutor Brendan Hewer objected to bail, pointing out that the defendant was being charged with breaching bail, probation as well as a suspended sentence. “He has shown the value he gives to the chances that our courts have given him,” said the prosecutor, adding that the defendant knew at least one of the prosecution’s witnesses.
“I’m sorry, but the facts are what they are. We can never be assured [that he will comply with his bail conditions] in this situation,” Hewer told the court.
In her counter-arguments, Tua pointed out that the stolen item was already in the police’s possession, “so witnesses or no witnesses this cannot change, and neither can the CCTV footage.”
“We have a person who allegedly stole a motorcycle with the intention of returning it….It is true that what happened happened, but he has two young children to look after. He had successfully overcome his past drug problems. If he is denied bail he will probably lose his job and we’ll be back to square one,” said the lawyer, arguing that releasing him from arrest was better both for the defendant and for society.
The court, however, in view of the charges and circumstances surrounding the case, ruled that the defendant was not sufficiently trustworthy to merit being granted bail and ordered that he be remanded in custody.
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