Two men who were found guilty of a spate of thefts from fuel stations were spared jail today after a magistrate felt that incarceration would jeopardize the reform process which they started after their arrest.

Instead, the were put on probation and ordered to perform community work.

Carmel Hartley, 39, and Matthew Portelli 24, both from San Gwann had been charged in connection with a number of robberies committed in 2010 from automated fuel pumps. Both men, who were also accused of relapsing, were arrested on the strength of CCTV footage which showed a silver Peugeot and two persons carrying out the theft. 

During interrogation, the two men admitted, and subsequently pleaded guilty in court.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud once again flagged the excessive delay in proceedings which stared before a different magistrate.

As for the merits of the case, he said that the two defendants should not benefit from a reduction in punishment simply for filing an admission, as they had been caught red-handed. 

On the other hand, he took into account the purposes of punishment at law and the discretion afforded by the legislator to those meting it out.

Mr Hartley's psychologist had testified that the man's experience in prison, for a separate offence, had served its purpose to rehabilitate him. He noted that the man's disciplinary record in jail was spotless and that he was performing community work.

In the case of Mr Portelli, his probation officer told the court that the accused had changed his habits for the better and settled down. The defendant was in stable employment, had a family and had successfully tackled his drug addiction. A custodial sentence would jeopardise all of this, the officer had testified.

The court took all this on board and after finding the two men guilty in view of their admission, ordered them to perform 80 hours of community service and placed them on probation for three years.

They were also ordered to repay the €7,200 which they had stolen as well as €2,243 in court expenses. 

Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone prosecuted. Lawyer Stefano Filletti was defence counsel for Mr Hartley while lawyer Jean Paul Grech appeared for Matthew Portelli.