Man held under arrest after fight in Tarxien garage
The incident happened on Friday
A man was kept under preventive custody on Sunday after being taken to court and accused of injuring another man in an argument on Friday.
The two men allegedly came to blows in a garage in Tarxien.
The accused, James Manfrè, 31 of Msida, pleaded not guilty to causing grievous injury, threatening and insulting the victim, Jason Mallia, breaching public order, breaching a set of bail conditions, a probation order and recidivism.
The court was told that when the police arrived on site, Mallia was found injured and bleeding in the garage. The police seized CCTV footage from inside the garage.
During submissions on bail, defence lawyer Adreana Zammit argued that as shown in the footage, it was Mallia who had pointed a weapon first, and her client was acting in self-defence. She also insisted that there was no breach of bail and Manfrè always followed his probation order.
Prosecutor Manuel Grech disagreed with the defence that Manfrè was acting in self-defence. While the firearm was taken away from Mallia by the accused, the accused had stayed on site and continued to argue before assaulting the victim, he said.
Grech also highlighted Manfrè’s past convictions, including other incidents where he was found guilty of causing grievous injuries to third parties.
After hearing the submissions, the court rejected the request for bail, citing the accused’s refractory character and various convictions for causing grievous bodily harm to others. The court also observed that Mallia was still to testify.
Magistrate Giannella Camilleri Busuttil presided. AG lawyer Manuel Grech prosecuted assisted by Kurt Farrugia. Lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit represented the accused.