Repeat offender with 50-page criminal record jailed for shop burglary

A man with a 50-page criminal record was jailed for six years on Thursday after he was found guilty of breaking into a St Paul’s Bay shop and over €8,000 worth of objects and cash.

Matthew Camilleri, 39, who was already serving time for a separate case, told the police he was willing to cooperate and name accomplices in the 2020 burglary, in exchange for a probation order.

When his request was turned down, he asked to be returned to his cell “to continue to watch Netflix”.

Camilleri was accused of aggravated theft from the Eurostretcher shop in St Paul’s Bay during the night between November 12 and 13, 2020. He was also accused of wilfully damaging third party property and failing to inform the police that he was in possession of stolen goods.

The man also faced charges of breaching two sets of bail conditions and committing an offence during a probation order, as well as recidivism.

Police inspector Francesco Mizzi testified that the police received a report about a burglary. When the officers went on site they found the door had been forced open and a glass pane was broken. 

They also found a trail of blood in different places starting from where the glass pane was broken and also on a packet of wipes found on the floor near the cash register.

The owner of the shop and his son told the police that some €250 in cash, several objects amounting to €1,850, two decoders of CCTV cameras worth some €900 and a laptop were missing. This amounted to €8,135.75. The court also heard how a television and a set of shelves were broken.

From the CCTV footage gathered from the area, the police observed a number of individuals emerging from a vehicle but could neither recognise them nor could they make out the number plate of the car.

In 2024, thanks to a forensic report into another case, the police inspector found that one of the suspects in the St Paul’s Bay burglary had been involved in a separate theft in February 15, 2019. Mizzi requested a comparative analysis of the genetic profile and there was a positive match leading to Camilleri’s identification.

On July 9, 2024, Mizzi together with a constable went to Corradino Correctional Facility to interrogate Camilleri. The accused claimed that he was in prison at the time of theft but further verifications showed otherwise.

Camilleri initially declined legal assistance and said he was ready to cooperate as long as he is given a probation order. The inspector informed him he could not promise him such a thing and suggested he should engage a lawyer.

After Camilleri engaged a lawyer, he once again offered to collaborate and name those involved in exchange of a probation order. When his offer was declined, he requested to go back to the cell and continue watching Netflix.

The police constable accompanying the inspector told the court that Camilleri had told them he was going through a bad phase while confessing to the theft.

The prosecution argued that Camilleri’s blood was found in a shop and was left there at a time when the outlet was closed to the public, and therefore the man was involved in the break in.

The court held that the statements made by the accused to the police were admissible as evidence against him, noting that the police inspector correctly informed the accused he could not promise him a probation order in exchange for his collaboration. This confession was further corroborated with the evidence gathered in the inquiry and the genetic material gathered from the crime scene, which was analysed and found to belong to Camilleri.

The court found Camilleri guilty of aggravated theft and of having caused damages to third party property, although this damage was never quantified. He was not found guilty of being in possession of stolen objects he failed to report to the police and of breaching his probation order, since the two-year period had already passed.

He was found guilty of breaching the two bail conditions and recidivism.

The court observed that the man broke the TV and the shelves, but this did not constitute a means to the theft, but was done capriciously.

It also noted that the man had a 50-page criminal record with the first conviction dating back to 2002. The man had been in and out of court, and had a number of convictions related to aggravated theft, with the court noting that he had made no effort to rehabilitate himself and overcome his drug addiction, despite being given multiple opportunities.

It upheld the prosecution’s arguments that the man was a threat to society and showed anti-social behaviour, with a manifest disregard to rules and laws.

For this reason, the court moved to jail him for a period which was not close to the minimum allowed by law.

Camilleri was jailed for six years.

The court ordered that he forfeits €10,000 given as a personal guarantee when he was granted bail in January 2020 and another €10,000 - €5,000 from his bail deposit and €5,000 from his personal guarantee – from another case.

The court revoked his bail from one of the cases.

He was ordered to pay the victims €8,135.75 for the objects stolen and €2,435.53 in court expenses.

Magistrate Ann Marie Thake presided.

AG lawyer Joseph Camilleri Azarov prosecuted alongside police inspector Francesco Mizzi.

Lawyer George Anton Buttigieg appeared for the accused.