A man has been jailed for three years after he was found guilty of stealing stereos from eight cars, parked in St Julian’s, Paceville and St Andrew’s, on the night of 5 to 6 June 2004.

Grazio, known as Horace, Zammit, 34, from Zabbar, was caught red-handed attempting to steal a stereo from a car parked in St Julian’s and was seen stealing from another car also parked in St Julian’s.

The owner of the latter car found a note attached to his windscreen which informed him that his car stereo had been stolen by a man driving a dark Mini Minor.

This eyewitness, who never approached the police with this information, probably out of a fear of being dragged into a long-running court case, also supplied the registration number of the car being driven by the robber.

Zammit was found guilty of breaking into a Fiat Uno, a Bedford Astra, a Tata, a Renault Campus, three Fiat Puntos and a Fiat Regatta. He was also found guilty of the attempted theft of a car stereo from a Nissan Sunny.

The court heard how the owner of the Nissan was walking back to the car with his friends on the night in question when he noticed that there was someone in his car. He told the court that at first he froze but then he approached the man, pulled him out of the car and asked him what he was doing.

The car owner said the man, who he recognised in court, said to him: “sorry, sorry, sorry” and managed to escape.

An owner of one of the Fiat Puntos said that someone had placed a note on his car saying that his car stereo had been stolen by a driver of a dark Mini Minor.

He said he gave the police the registration numbers and the car was found parked outside the defendant’s house when the police went there with a search warrant.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera pointed out that Zammit had been granted several chances to get his life back on track. She also noted that all the thefts had taken place in just one night. She jailed him for three years.

Police inspector Mario Tonna prosecuted.