A man the police say was one of three intruders a 79-year-old jeweller warded off when they tried to rob his son’s outlet in St Lucia Street, Valletta was yesterday charged in court.

Marcus John Calleja, 37, of Balzan, who works at a scrap yard, was accused of taking part in the failed hold-up with another two unidentified individuals.

The attempted robbery took place at 7.45 a.m. on Saturday when Frank Zampa was inside his son’s shop, Frank Zampa Jewellery. The elderly, even if tall and stocky man who was once a renowned waterpolo player in his heyday, struck back at his assailants and scared them away.

Mr Calleja was charged with holding Mr Zampa against his will, threatening to kill him, seriously injuring him, possessing an unlicensed firearm at the time of the commission of a crime and damaging Mr Zampa’s property.

He was also accused of relapsing.

He pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Marseann Farrugia and was remanded in custody since Mr Zampa, the prosecution’s main witness, still has to testify.

Three men stormed into the shop shortly after the Angelus bell struck on Saturday morning, yelling incomprehensibly. Mr Zampa, who was praying, recounted later he started calling for help.

The men tried to subdue him but he resisted and, at one point, he lunged at the one holding a revolver. A struggle ensued and a shot was fired, which grazed Mr Zampa on the left cheek.

“At that point, all I could think of was to put up a fight. I wanted to prevent these men from robbing my son’s shop at all costs. I didn’t consider that I could have been killed,” he said.

Having noticed no blood, Mr Zampa recalled he concluded the gun was firing blanks and this gave him the confidence to keep fighting the man holding the gun, even as a taller man hit him unabatedly. The jeweller continued to wrestle his assailants as one of them hit him with a baton and another zapped him with what looked like a taser gun.

The huddle slowly moved towards the door and, eventually, they all fell to the ground, at which point the assailants fled, Mr Zampa said on Sunday.