A man accused of conspiring to burn a BMW vehicle driven by his ex-partner’s new boyfriend has been cleared based on lack of sufficient evidence. 

Luke Vella, a 28-year-old Żabbar resident, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson, causing third parties to fear violence as well as breaching three previous sets of bail conditions. 

Criminal investigations date to 2020 when Vella’s suspected accomplice headed to the Żabbar police station to spill the beans on the accused who had allegedly been trying to rope him into his plan to set fire to a particular vehicle.

Gordon Albani, the alleged accomplice, detailed the alleged plot. 

Vella was to call for him, drive him to his house to collect certain items, and then drop him off at the spot where the arson was to be committed. 

But although he heard Vella’s plans and went along with him, he never meant to carry out the task, Albani later told police. 

Instead of committing the arson, he headed to the police station to file a report. 

Vella was subsequently charged, pleading not guilty.

The court heard that the accused had been in a relationship with a woman and the couple also had a young child. 

After they broke up, the woman started a relationship with someone else. 

Her new boyfriend drove a BMW model that was registered in his father’s name. 

That was the vehicle allegedly targeted in the planned arson. 

Vella’s ex testified in the proceedings that Albani used to turn up at her takeaway outlet at  Żabbar, asking for money and food. 

The guy had also told her about how her ex, Vella, had allegedly spoken to him several times to burn down her new boyfriend’s car.

Albani claimed that Vella had promised him €700 for the job which was allegedly planned for the night of October 12, 2020. 

That information had prompted the woman and her boyfriend to file a police report. 

Vella denied any such agreement with Albani. 

The prosecution produced mobile localisation and call profile data to prove that Vella and Albani were well acquainted and communicated frequently.

That data - covering the period between June and October - showed that Vella called Albani 20 times on eight different days. 

Between October 6 and 13, they communicated 12 times.

Calls were localised around Żabbar, Żejtun, Birżebbuġa and Vittoriosa. 

Although the pattern and frequency of those calls appeared to coincide with the prosecution’s theory, the content of the calls was unknown. 

The very first element of the crime of conspiracy is the existence of an agreement between two or more people. 

In this case, evidence showed that even if Vella was trying to convince Albani to go along with his plan, Albani never accepted, not even momentarily, to commit the arson. 

Failure to prove that first element meant that the prosecution failed to prove the charge of conspiracy, said presiding Magistrate Leonard Caruana. 

When testifying, Vella’s ex as well as her new boyfriend and his father, never expressed any sign of fear. 

After Albani spoke to her about Vella’s arson plan, the woman was not convinced that the crime would take place. 

Albani had also told her about some court proceedings involving him and Vella and said that he wanted to take revenge against her ex after landing a conviction. 

There was no evidence of any fire having been started. 

When all was considered, the court concluded that those offences were not proved beyond reasonable doubt and consequently Vella could not be found guilty of breaching those three bail decrees.

The court thus pronounced an acquittal. 

Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel.