A man was kept under arrest on Thursday after being accused of committing three break-ins in quick succession.

Wayne Delia, 34 of Paola, was charged in court with two cases of theft and another of attempted theft. 
 
He was further charged with possession of cocaine, cannabis and heroin as well as having allegedly breached four bail decrees, with the total value of the bail bonds amounting to just over €50,000.

The man was also charged with recidivism.

Prosecuting Inspectors Kylie Borg and Stacy Attard explained how Mr Delia had
been identified through CCTV footage relating to the first break-in at a Qormi
nursery late at night on January 7.

That same night, in the early hours of January 8, the suspect thief had attempted to burgle a Gzira salon. Although his plan had gone awry, he had  caused damage to the shop.

On the following night he attempted to burgle a shop in St Joseph High Road, Hamrun but was arrested after people tipped off the police.

Mr Delia pleaded not guilty.

His lawyer, George Anton Buttigieg, informed the court that the man was battling a serious drug problem and was being treated at the Mount Carmel Hospital drug ward.

A request for bail was strongly objected to by the prosecution, arguing that the accused had wasted several earlier chances at attested by his criminal record and the fact that the charges included the alleged breach of four previous bail decrees.

Moreover, he had not signed the bail books and had ignored his curfew.

“This was not a spur of the moment crime,” said Inspector Borg. “We had two thefts in one night and the night after that he was also stealing,” she argued, saying that these were only the crimes which the police knew about so far.

The defence lawyer pointed out that the accused had not been discharged from hospital and in fact was accompanied by a nurse throughout the arraignment. Moreover, he was due to enter rehabilitation in February.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli, whilst observing that the court  did not intend to obstruct the man’s rehabilitation, pointed out that his rehabilitation
programme was still some weeks off and another request for bail could be filed.

In view of the fact that civilian witnesses were still to testify and since the accused was not deemed sufficiently trustworthy, the court turned down the request for bail, whilst upholding a request for him to be detained at the Mount Carmel Hospital forensic unit.