A man who stole a parish priest’s mobile phone from a Gozo church was jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of a spate of thefts.

John Bugeja, a 50-year old Gozitan resident, was targeted by criminal prosecution over a number of thefts which took place in close succession in 2018.

The man was accused of stealing a gas cylinder, which disappeared one afternoon in October 2018 after being placed outside a property in Żebbuġ.

The following afternoon, the suspect allegedly held up a man inside his Rabat home, taking off with an undisclosed amount of cash. 

Later that same evening, a mobile phone belonging to the Kerċem parish priest went missing.

Days later, an attempted break-in at a Victoria restaurant took place shortly after midnight. 

The suspect behind all four cases was tracked down by the police and charged over the various thefts, as well as willful damage to third party property.

The accused was also charged with harassing passers-by, begging for alms. 

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud declared the accused guilty.

After observing that all victims had since forgiven the man who had apologised for his behaviour, that the mobile phone had been returned to its owner as well as considering the total value of the items stolen, the Court condemned the accused to an 18-month effective jail term.

Inspector Josef Gauci prosecuted.