A father of two on Monday pleaded not guilty to stealing two iPads from restaurants.

Lydon Gravina, a 32-year old kitchen hand, was escorted to court after police tracked him down using CCTV footage.

Prosecutors said that on May 23, at around 3:00pm, an Apple iPad was reported stolen from a fast-food restaurant in Bugibba.

The following day, a similar device went missing from a gastropub in Tigne’.

Earlier on Monday, the police said a joint investigation between the Qawra and Sliema police had identified the man.

The man’s lawyer, Matthew Xuereb, said that the accused was currently undergoing a drug rehabilitation program with Caritas and had registered significant progress in kicking his drug habit.

“I’m clean, Mr Magistrate,” intervened the accused.

Moreover, he had just started a new job to support his two children over whom he had joint custody, his lawyer continued.

A request for bail was weighed at length by the court, presided over by Magistrate Ian Farrugia, who decided that, in the interest of justice and considering what was in the best interest of the accused, the court would turn down the request.

Denying the accused bail at this stage, the magistrate said, would probably spare him fresh run-ins with the law in the near future.

“You must understand and reflect that the time to change your path is now,” the court advised, as the man was escorted out of the courtroom.

Inspectors Colin Sheldon and Christina Delia prosecuted.