A man who threw cocaine out of his car window and then took police on a car chase, has been given "one last chance" to reform.
Mattheas Borg, 20, threw the can containing two grams of cocaine from a car window at around 6pm on Monday.
He was spotted by a pedestrian on Valley Road, Birkirkara, who alerted police that a driver had thrown something outside his window.
The court was told that two police officers gave chase on their motorbikes, following Borg's Honda Fit car from an area of Valley Road opposite McDonalds, onto Msida, where he gave them the slip.
But one of the officers had identified the driver as Borg, a car wash worker from Luqa, and arrested him at his home.
Meanwhile, the packet thrown out of the suspect’s car was found to contain two grams of cocaine.
Appearing in court on Wednesday, Borg denied possession of cocaine under circumstances denoting that the drug was not exclusively for personal use.
He was further charged with reckless and dangerous driving, without a driving licence and insurance cover, wilful breach of public peace, not obeying police orders and failing to abide by court orders.
The prosecution objected to bail in view of ongoing police investigations and the risk of tampering.
However, defence lawyer Jacob Magri countered that the defendant was 20 years old, had an untainted criminal record and a supportive family.
Magistrate's warning
Moreover, the amount of drug was around two grams. The case was likely to go to the Drug Court, said the lawyer.
“Unfortunately Borg is a user,” his lawyer explained, arguing that the case was one of simple rather than aggravated possession as put forward by the prosecution.
Moreover, evidence had been preserved in the magisterial inquiry.
Any passer by at the alleged crime scene was unknown to Borg. Any other person being investigated over the same incident could not be produced as witness against the defendant.
After hearing submissions Magistrate Joseph Gatt addressed the defendant.
“I’m giving you a chance. Let me make it clear that I don't do so often. I shall tighten bail conditions,” warned the magistrate.
Bail was granted under daily signing of the bail book, a deposit of €3,000, a personal guarantee of €6,000 and a curfew between 7pm and 6am.
The man had a previous curfew starting at 11pm.
“The court is narrowing that down…your personal liberty is being further restricted,” explained the magistrate, warning the youth to mend his ways.
Attorney General lawyer Nadia Ciappara and Inspector Joseph Mallia prosecuted. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri are defence counsel.