A pensioner accused of attempted murder of an agricultural land neighbour
A New Year’s argument between two men with neighboring fields in Paola led to one of them being shot in the face with a shotgun, a court heard on Monday evening.
Martin Delia, a 66-year-old pensioner from Pahal, is accused of the attempted murder of his neighbour. Delia was arrested shortly after the incident on Saturday morning.
He is alleged to have shot the man from a distance of five meters with a shotgun, and then destroyed a CCTV video of the incident.
The second man initially arrested, a 30-year-old man from Pahol, was released without charge.
Dressed in a gray tracksuit and a woolen cap, Delia made an effort to hear what was being said in the courtroom as he pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment on Monday evening.
Apart from the charge of attempted murder, Delia is also charged with grievous bodily harm, carrying a weapon while committing a crime against a person, carrying a weapon without a police license and tampering with witnesses.
His legal team, led by defense lawyer Jose Herrera, argued that Delia should be granted bail for reasons of leniency.
Delia only had minor crimes in his past and was in good health, in the last stage of kidney disease, blind and on dialysis.
“His place is not in prison,” Herrera asserted, while adding that his client would happily comply with strict bail conditions if he was released from court.
Attorney General Kylie Bonnett argued against the release from custody, while noting the seriousness of the charges and the fact that Delia’s own neighbor, the victim, had identified him as the one who shot.
Magistrate Astrid May Grima rejected the request for release from custody, while noting the gravity of the crime as well as the fact that civilian witnesses have yet to testify. Recognizing Delia’s ill health, she instructed the prison director to ensure that Delia received the care he needed while behind bars.
A relative of Delia who was in court for the accusation started sobbing as the magistrate ordered that Delia be detained.
Delia was represented by a legal team of five people made up of lawyers Jose Herrera, Matthew Xuereb, Daniel Attard, Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri.
The prosecution was led by inspectors Wayne Camilleri and Antonello Magri together with the lawyers of the AG Nathaniel Falzon and Kaylie Bonnett.
The lawyer Franco Debono appeared parte civile, on behalf of the victim.
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