Jewellery thieves had no rush to split gold

22-year-old Ryan Debattista told a court todat that he had lost count of the number of court cases he was involved in, insisting that he was not in the business of selling stolen jewellery but cutting up drugs.

The witness was giving evidence in the case against George Tabone, the owner of Gram Jewellers, who stands charged of handling some €350,000 in stolen gold and jewellery, which came from a €500,000 heist on the Piazza Antiques shop in South Street, Valletta, back in 2011. 

Debattista was given a two-year jail term, suspended for four years, and a €500 fine over the robbery, His accomplices, father Glen Debattista, 52, was jailed for three years and a third man, Carmel Hartley, 40, was also jailed for three years.

Appearing somewhat nonchalant on the witness stand, Debattista said that he realised one day after the robbery that the items had been divided up in three parts at his father's house in St Venera. "We were in no rush, so we chatted along while we split the booty", he said.

They shared the items out equally and according to value, which was marked on the price tags. The stolen items were kept by his father overnight in an undisclosed place.

Debattista told the court that after having split up the items, his father had later told him that he had sold both their shares to George Tabone of Gram, but he told the court that he could not vouch for what had actually happened to his father's share of the loot. He told the court that he had never had any dealings or met with Tabone, and that he was under the impression that his father had been paid in bundles of €50 notes for his share, because that's what he had recieved in payment from his father.

Debattista denied ever going to a bank with his father, and said he did not know whether his father or Hartley were knowledgable about gold and its value.

Defence lawyer Michael Schriha asked the witness to comment on the discrepancy of dates between his statement and that of his father, over the time when they were splitting their loot. Debattista replied that at no stage of his evidence had he ever mentioned dates.

At the end of the sitting a representative from Transport Malta was issued with a warrant of accompaniment after failing to turn up to court to testify. He was expected to confirm who the registered owner of Matthew Zahra's taxi was. Zahra, whose remains were found in a Birzebbugia field in August 2013, had disappeared a year earlier. His deserted car contained a DVD with CCTV footage of the jewellery shop where the stolen gold was allegedly traded in.

Two men, Ronald Urry and Jason Galea, are charged with Zahra's murder. Galea is also facing similar charges for the murder of father and son Mario Camilleri 'l-imniehru' and Mario junior. Their bodies were found a day later in the same field where Zahra's remains were found during the removal of soil samples.