A man on the wanted list for skipping police bail was taken to court after being caught asleep in his car in possession of wheel rims stolen from an abandoned vehicle.

Sean Grech, a 29-year-old drug addict from Cospicua, had been arrested earlier on after incriminating footage from the scene of a car theft had allegedly made him out as one of the two culprits.

That theft had taken place on June 1 at Fgura. One man was caught by CCTV cameras in the act of smashing a car window and handing over items from the interior of the vehicle to the second man nearby, later identified as Mr Grech.

The latter was subsequently arrested, interrogated and then released on police bail while investigations continued.

However, the man soon landed in trouble once again for skipping his appointment with the bail book, ending up on the police wanted list.

A report concerning the theft of wheel rims from an abandoned vehicle eventually brought the wanted man back under police custody. Members from the Rapid Intervention Unit, acting upon that report, came across the accused as he slept inside his car in a field nearby.

The stolen car parts, as well as a small amount of cannabis, were found in the man’s possession. 

Upon his arraignment on Friday, the accused pleaded guilty to aggravated theft and cannabis possession with his legal aid lawyer, Simon Micallef Stafrace, pointing out that the man resorted to theft to sustain his addiction.

“I don’t normally steal,” interrupted the accused, while his lawyer explained how for the past nine years the man had been a regular visitor to the detox centre and that all previous convictions had been on drug-related charges. 

Upon the accused’s guilty plea, the court, presided over by magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, placed the man under the legal maximum probation term of three years.

He was also fined €70 for the cannabis possession.

Inspector Sarah Zerafa prosecuted.