Mechanic accused of stealing vehicles, some he allegedly fixed at roadside first
The man was denied bail in court on Monday
A car mechanic was denied bail after pleading not guilty to the theft of several vehicles, some of which it is understood he fixed at the side of the road before allegedly stealing.
Abdulsalam Salem Benhamed, a 52-year-old Libyan national, was accused of stealing a raft of vehicles between May and August from different locations.
The man allegedly stole a Toyota Vitz in May from where it was parked on Triq id-Dgħajjes in Paola, before stealing a raft of vehicles from a Qormi showroom on July 12.
The vehicles allegedly taken from the Qormi showroom include a Land Rover, Toyota Hilux and three motorcycles – a Honda 125, Suzuki DR350 and Honda 220R.
Benhamed allegedly returned to the same showroom two days later in an attempt to steal more vehicles but was not successful, a court heard Monday.
The man was accused of stealing and damaging a Samsung SV-110 from Triq il-Belt Valletta in Qormi and stealing a Subaru J10 parked on Marsa’s Triq Prinċep Albertu in July.
He also faces charges of theft from a construction site and willful damage to the site, as well as trying to suppress the evidence.
Benhamed was also accused of two aggravated thefts that took place in August and of stealing a Mazda Titan from Triq Danny Cremona in Ħamrun.
It is understood that in some cases, he fixed the cars on the spot before stealing them.
In July, he allegedly stole a generator from Marsa.
Among other charges, Benhamed was accused of breaching a set of bail conditions and a temporary supervision order.
Police inspector Jeffery Scicluna told the court he recognised the suspect from another case when analysing CCTV footage from the showroom.
He also explained that the van stolen from Qormi was found by officers. The van was subject to several LESA tickets, and from the analysis of the footage, police recognised Benhamed at the wheel. The police tried to arrest him, but he fled.
The inspector explained the police had tried to determine where the suspect had been living over the past months and said that they suspected he was homeless.
It was only when a sergeant happened to be passing by Żmerċ in Ħ’Attard that he noticed the stolen Toyota Vitz. He monitored the area and saw the suspect sleeping in another stolen car parked nearby.
He called for backup, and the man was arrested at the scene.
Bail was not requested, with defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud requesting that a temporary supervision order be issued to treat his client for his drug addiction.
Magistrate Charmaine Galea presided.
AG lawyer Giuliana Magro Conti prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Elisia Scicluna.
Lawyer Nicholas Mifsud assisted the accused.