Marsa man jailed 13 years for 1996 bank hold-up and shoot-out

George Xuereb, 49, of Marsa has been jailed for 13 years after jurors found him guilty of involvement in the foiled hold-up at the Swieqi Mid-Med Bank branch on March 27, 1996. He was also found guilty of trying to kill two policeman in a shootout as the gang escaped from the scene. Jurors delivered the guilty verdict following 14 hours of deliberation. They found Mr Xuereb guilty - by eight votes to one - of the attempted theft of around Lm100,000 (€233,000) and guilty by, seven votes to two, of the attempted murder. He was also found guilty of stealing a revolver, complicity in stealing a van and the possession of a firearm without a licence - by eight votes to one. Mr Justice Michael Mallia said he had considered the final submissions of the defence and the prosecution. Defence counsel Raphael Fenech Adami in his submissions asked the court to consider the lapse of time. Lara Lanfranco for the prosecution, pointed out in her submissions that Mr Xuereb had also been convicted of attempted burglary from a private residence in March 2012, showing that despite the passage of time, he had not changed his ways. The Mid-Med Bank hold-up and shootout could have had far worse...