Cleared of burgling father's house

A former drug addict accused of stealing from his father was yesterday cleared on lack of evidence.

Jesmond Portelli, 24, was charged with stealing a satellite decoder, a mobile phone, a CCTV camera, two DVD players and gold jewellery from his father's house in 2004.

Mr Portelli's father, Nazzareno, had accused his son of burgling his house and the police investigated the claim.

His parents had separated and the accused was living with his mother, who noticed him wearing a watch with a black wrist band, one of the items that his father reported missing.

When the police spoke to her, she told them her son would steal from the parents to sustain his drug habit.

However, the police did not include the watch in the list of items Mr Portelli was charged with having stolen. Moreover, during the case, the police failed to prove he had stolen the other items, which also included some Romanian currency.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano said he could not find him guilty since there was no evidence to suggest he had burgled his father's house.

Police Inspector Anthony Cassar prosecuted.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto ap-peared for Mr Portelli.