A man convicted of a violent robbery because he was seen wearing the same clothes as one of the thieves has been cleared of all charges.
Ryan Briffa was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2020 when a court concluded that he and two others were guilty of having stolen money and jewellery from a Qormi residence and held a woman there against her will.
The victim had testified that a man dressed as a postman rang her doorbell, then forced himself in when she opened. Two other men then rushed into the house as the man disguised as a postman held a knife to her throat, threatening to kill her.
Briffa was convicted in large part because CCTV footage from the scene of the crime showed one of the men wearing blue tracksuit trousers – trousers which Briffa was seen wearing earlier that day at a detox centre.
Based on that and other pieces of circumstantial evidence, such as the fact that he and the co-accused had spoken on the phone on the day of the robbery, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to seven years.
Briffa and one of the co-accused, Mark Anthony Cardona, appealed their sentences. Cardona had also been sentenced to seven years for his part in the crime.
This week, a court of appeal ruled entirely in Briffa’s favour and reduced Cardona’s sentence by two years.
The court, presided by Judge Neville Camilleri, concluded that Briffa could not be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt based solely on the fact that he wore the same tracksuit trousers as one of the thieves. That was circumstantial evidence and not enough to place him at the scene of the crime, the judge ruled.
It said Cardona’s case was different, as CCTV footage from the scene of the crime clearly showed his face. There was no doubt that Cardona took part in the robbery, the court concluded. However, it acknowledged that Cardona had not broken the law for several years prior to this and that his probation officer had testified that he appeared ot have successfully overcome a drug-related issue.
The court therefore reduced his sentence from seven to five years.
The two defendents were represented by lawyers Franco Debono, Jose Herrera, Francesca Zarb and Adreana Zammit.