Man conditionally discharged for assaulting officer

A 32-year-old-man from Ghaxaq was this morning conditionally discharged for two years and fined €240 after he pleaded guilty to violently resisting arrest early on Christmas Day and assaulting a police officer. Albert Caruana also pleaded guilty to damaging an officer’s glasses, causing €6 worth of damage to a police uniform, disobeying police orders and smoking at Havana in Paceville. Police Inspector Trevor Micallef said that when the police entered the club, Mr Caruana was smoking. He refused to give them his particulars and became very argumentative so much so that they had to take him to the police van outside because he turned aggressive. Defence lawyer Franco Debono said this was a minor incident. Magistrate Giovanni Grixti said this was always how things started off but then they escalated. Dr Debono vouched for the accused saying he knew the family very well and Mr Caruana was not the type of person to do these things. Magistrate Grixti noted that in 2007, Mr Caruana had been convicted for breaching public peace. He warned the man and besides the fine and conditional discharge ordered him to pay  €6 to the police force and to compensate the policeman for the damage to his...