Man charged after allegedly hitting driver with metal rod

A man from Santa Venera was remanded in custody this morning accused of hitting the driver of a car that had been blocked by another vehicle, with a metal rod.

Leonvic Fenech, 23, from Santa Venera, who told the court that he worked as a tow truck driver, was arrested after allegedly grievously injuring another man by hitting him with a metal rod in an argument about a badly parked car on Saturday.

Magistrate Nadine Lia heard Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa explain how an argument had started when the victim had honked his car horn to draw attention to the fact that his path was blocked by another vehicle. 

Fenech, who was driving his tow truck, had insisted that the car blocking the road was not his. The verbal exchange escalated into physical violence when Fenech allegedly retrieved a metal rod from his truck and hit the other man in the leg with it. He then allegedly drove the tow truck at the injured man, as if to run him over, but stopping just in front of him.

Fenech had opted not to answer questions during interrogation, the inspector said.

Answering a question from the defence, the inspector confirmed that the victim of the assault practised martial arts.

A plea of not guilty was entered and bail was requested.

The prosecution objected to the bail request, pointing out that the injuries inflicted were grievous in nature and that the defendant lived in the same street as the victim’s garage.

Defence lawyer Ishmael Psaila told the court that the defendant was prepared to stay with his mother in another town, if granted bail. “The only remaining witness is the parte civile, who is a kickboxer and no slouch.” He suggested the court could order that Fenech stays away from St Venera and its surroundings, arguing that to refuse bail in these circumstances would be “an exaggeration.”

“The victim had gone up to him and not the other way around,” suggested the lawyer. “The injuries are not serious, [the victim] isn’t in hospital, he’s at home. I would have expected the police to have gathered CCTV evidence by now, but this has not happened yet,” submitted the lawyer, adding that Fenech’s only prior convictions were only for minor offences.

Inspector Zerafa replied that the defendant was arrested on Sunday, not Saturday “precisely because we were still investigating.” CCTV cameras had also been checked, she said, arguing that bail should be denied at this stage because there were civilian witnesses, besides the victim, who had not yet testified..
“Our main concern is the testimony of the alleged victim,” clarified the prosecuting lawyer Rebekah Spiteri. 
Inspector Zerafa added that the victim’s hobbies and choice of sport had no bearing on the case, pointing out that “he is the one with the injuries.” 

The prosecution pointed out that Fenech was also charged with dangerous driving, “because after the incident, the defendant tried to reverse over the victim in his tow truck.”

Lawyer Roberto Spiteri, who is also assisting the defendant, added that a protection order could also be imposed in tandem with bail conditions.

Having heard the parties submissions on bail, the court noted that the prosecution was not insisting on continuing to detain the defendant after the victim testified. 

In the circumstances, it said bail should be considered after the victim gives his evidence and rejected the request for Fenech’s release, urging the prosecution to produce that witness as soon as possible.

Fenech was remanded in custody.

Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa prosecuted, assisted by prosecutor Rebekah Spiteri.

Lawyers Ishmael Psaila and Roberto Spiteri are defence counsel.