Three youths were granted bail after pleading not guilty to a spate of motorbike thefts targeting the areas of Mtarfa, Rabat and Dingli throughout December.

Brooklyn Camilleri, an 18-year old electrician from Floriana was arrested and arraigned on Tuesday afternoon alongside two other co-accused. 

Both are 15-year-old students from Mgarr and Dingli whose names were banned from publication by the court.

The first suspected theft was reported at the Rabat police station on December 13, prosecuting Inspector Roderick Attard told the court.

That report was followed by five other similar cases of suspected motorbike thefts in the Rabat area, until on December 20, the two minors were spotted riding a stolen quad-bike in a parking area.

Investigations allegedly linked the three youths to the string of thefts, leading up to Tuesday’s arraignment.

All three pleaded not guilty to the thefts as well as wilfully damaging third-party property.

Camilleri was also separately charged with breaching two probation orders.

A request for bail was objected where it comes to Camilleri, with the prosecution arguing that the youth had wasted past chances handed down by the courts and was therefore deemed not sufficiently trustworthy.

Moreover, there was a risk of tampering with prosecution witnesses.

However, the youth’s lawyer, Leontine Calleja, countered that the accused lived with his parents and had a job, pointing out further that personal freedom was the rule rather than the exception.

With regard to the two minors, the prosecution did not object to bail as long as the court imposed adequately stringent conditions.

After hearing submissions by all parties, the court presided over by magistrate Victor George Axiak, upheld the request granting the 18-year old bail against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €5,000, signing the bail book twice a week and abiding by a curfew.

The 15-year olds were granted bail against a deposit of €250, a personal guarantee of €5,000, twice-weekly signing of the bail book and also under a curfew.

The court finally warned the accused and relatives of the minors, who were also present at the arraignment, about the serious consequences that would follow if bail conditions were to be breached.

Inspectors Roderick Attard, Stacy Gatt and Andy Rotin led the prosecution.

Lawyer Leontine Calleja assisted the 18-year old, while lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Josette Sultana assisted the minors from Dingli and Mgarr respectively.