A man, arrested on Tuesday when police came across an unlicensed and loaded pistol in his car boot, was denied bail on Wednesday after being deemed untrustworth
Magistrate strikes down Adrian Agius s request for bail
The seriousness of the offence provided enough ground to refuse bail outright
25 May 2021, 4:52pm
by Matthew Agius
A court has denied bail to Adrian Agius, one of the
tal-Maksar brothers, who stands accused of the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop, dismissing arguments made by his legal team.
Agius was charged alongside his brother Robert, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella earlier this year.
Robert Agius and Jamie Vella stand accused of supplying the bomb that was used to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, while Degiorgio and Adrian Agius have been charged with Chircop’s murder.
Ta’ Maksar brother Adrian Agius is seeking bail, with his lawyer arguing that all civilian witnesses in the case against him have testified and that there exist no reason for his client to continue to be held in police custody.
Agius stands accused of commissioning the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop, which prosecutors say was carried out by Agius’ associates Jamie Vella, George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat.
Appearing in court on Monday morning, Agius’ lawyer Alfred Abela argued that arguments against granting Agius bail were now non-existent.
Abela noted that the prosecution had advanced the case briskly and that all civilian witnesses had now testified. His client had cooperated throughout, from the moment he was arrested, he noted, arguing that the prosecution had to prove that its concerns were well-founded rather than just state them.
A man with a 21-page conviction booklet over a variety of offences since his first court case two decades ago has been spared 30 months in jail after a judge heard how he had finally mended his ways.
Presiding over the court of criminal appeal, Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera noted that 41-year-old car dealer Keith Pace has spent more than half his life living a life of crime, mostly to fund his drug addiction.
However, this did not preclude the court from giving him another chance if it was convinced that he had really embarked on the road away from crime and other vices.