Jury upholds insanity plea in Sliema hold up case

A jury has declared a 33 year old German man, Oliver Krautscheid, unfit to stand trial for armed robbery due to his having been in a state of insanity at the time.

With a verdict of seven votes in favour and two against, the specially empanelled jury ruled that the man had been legally insane at the time of the robbery which took place in Sliema on February 25 last year.

The specialised jury, known as a Ġurin, had been hearing the case since Monday and had retired to deliberate on a verdict on Thursday afternoon before delivering its verdict that evening at around 7pm.

The jurors concluded that Krautscheid, a business owner, was not capable of forming the requisite criminal intent when he held up a store in Sliema with a can of pepper spray. Krautscheid had sprayed pepper spray in the face of a cashier at a grocery store in Creche Street and emptied the till, briefly escaping before being apprehended by police from the Rapid Intervention Unit.

He was indicted for theft, aggravated by violence and value, holding individuals against their will and possession of a prohibited weapon during the commission of an offence.

The court, presided by Mr. Justice Aaron Bugeja ordered that Krautschied be held at Mount Carmel Hospital until psychiatrists declare him fit to return to society.

Lawyers Ezekiel Psaila and Dustin Camilleri were defence counsel.