Mugshot by victim lands burglar in jail

A burglar who ended up in the news after his elderly victim took a photograph of his face has been jailed after pleading guilty to aggravated theft.

Fabrizio Carucci, 50, an Italian, had broken into a house in Birkirkara on Sunday when he was discovered by the house’s elderly female occupant as he rummaged through her purse. The woman took a photo of the man and showed it to the police, recognised Carucci from the likeness.

Carucci, who told the court that he no longer had an address in Malta and that he had been a waiter “up till now,” was charged with theft aggravated by place and attempted theft aggravated by value. He was also accused of breaching a suspended sentence from last November, breaching a conditional discharge and relapsing.

Addressing the court through an interpreter, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges. The court asked him if he needed time to reconsider his admission “because if not you will be going to prison.”

Inspector Elton Taliana, prosecuting, insisted on an effective prison sentence. The man had been convicted of theft in the past and had received a suspended sentence and did not appear to have changed his ways, said the inspector.

In his submissions on punishment lawyer Christopher Chircop, legal aid, said the accused was sorry for what he had done and had a substance abuse problem. He asked the court to bear these factors in mind together with the man’s early admission when sentencing.

In view of the accused’s admission, the court found Carucci guilty. After weighing the apology and early admission against the fact that he had breached a conditional discharge and had a suspended sentence hanging over him, magistrate Neville Camilleri jailed Carucci for 24 months.

The court urged the authorities to place the man on a drug rehabilitation programme.