Updated 2.40pm

Three people who threatened journalists outside the Valletta law courts have admitted to criminal charges and publicly apologised for their behaviour.

Keith Pace, 44 and from Marsa, 48-year-old Maria Grixti from Xgħajra and 28-year-old Desideria Grixti from Marsa pleaded guilty to having insulted and threatened physical violence against three journalists, breaching public order and swearing in public.

The three are relatives of Cleaven and Carlos Pace, a 19-year-old accused of being involved in a daring heist of cannabis from an army barracks last weekend.

Keith Pace is Cleaven's and Carlos' father, Maria Grixti Cleavon's mother and Desideria their step-sister.

All three attended Cleaven and Carlos Pace’s arraignment late on Wednesday. Minutes before the hearing began and while they were waiting outside the Valletta law courts, they got into an altercation with journalists.

ONE News subsequently published footage of the incident. ONE News editor Josef Caruana also filed a police report after speaking to his reporters.

In the footage, a person could be heard telling one of the journalists: "I'm going to take a photo of you, and then if you show my brother I'll f*ck up your entire family.”

The journalists were also told they would be beaten up on camera. When one urged her colleague to call the police, one of the accused said "We don't give a f*ck about the police.”

Prosecuting Inspector Gabriel Micallefg told the court that police identified the three thanks to that footage. Desideria Grixti and Keith Pace were the main aggressors, he said, as Maria Grixti had only passed one comment.

The three struck a contrite tone when arraigned in court on Friday.

“We are sorry,” they told the court presided by Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi.

Desideria Grixti told the court that she had also expressed remorse in a post on social media, which she published before she was arrested and charged.

Grech posted on social media on Thursday to say she apologised to the journalists.

Lawyer Ramona Attard, who represented the three journalists, told the court that the journalists were willing to forgive the accused but wanted a court-issued protection order against the accused. The prosecution endorsed that request.

After hearing their admission, the court proceeded to hand down judgment.

Keith Pace was given a one-year prison sentence suspended for four years. Desideria Grixti was given a three-year probation order. Maria Grixti was also given a probation order, albeit for a shorter one-year period. 

Police have so far charged five people with having taken part in the Sunday morning robbery of roughly 200kg of cannabis resin from an AFM barracks in Safi. A sixth person is to be charged later on Friday.

Inspector Gabriel Micallef prosecuted the case.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Adreana Zammit were defence counsel.

Lawyer and Labour MP Ramona Attard appeared on behalf of ONE Media.