Copyright maltatoday
A 20-year-old man has been jailed for eight months after admitting to assaulting another clubgoer at Footloose in Paceville and breaching three separate court bail orders, while also driving without a licence, road licence or insurance. Niro Spagnol, 20, San Ġwann, pleaded guilty before the court to a series of offences connected to incidents in August and September this year. The court heard that during the early hours of 28 September, Spagnol assaulted another man inside the Footloose nightclub in St Julian’s, causing him slight injuries. The incident involved aggressive behaviour and shouting, resulting in a disturbance inside the popular Paceville venue. A medical certificate confirmed that the victim sustained minor injuries. Just weeks prior, on 31 August, Spagnol had been found driving a Toyota in St Julian’s without a driving licence, no third-party insurance and no valid circulation permit. He was stopped during the morning hours and subsequently charged. At the time of both incidents, Spagnol was already on three separate sets of bail conditions imposed over other pending criminal proceedings. These decrees were issued in 2022 and 2023 by different courts, including one from the Criminal Court which had been varied by Judge Edwina Grima. #The offences were also committed during the active period of a suspended sentence from November 2024, automatically bringing that sentence into effect. Spagnol registered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity, with the court noting his cooperation with police during the investigation and his young age. However, the court also remarked that repeated breaches of bail and disregard for judicial orders could not be overlooked. The court sentenced Spagnol to four months' imprisonment for the charges at hand, and activated the four-month suspended sentence, bringing the total term to eight months. He was also fined €2,600, to be paid in monthly instalments of €108 following his release. The court warned that failure to pay even one instalment would result in the remaining sum becoming immediately due and convertible into prison time. The court further ordered the partial forfeiture of three bail guarantees totalling €2,300, and disqualified Spagnol from holding a driving licence for 12 months and seven days. A two-year restraining order in favour of Almhawesh was also issued, with the magistrate carefully outlining the legal consequences should Spagnol breach it. The prosecution was led by Inspectors James Turner and Christian Xuereb. Magistrate Tanya Sammut presided. Defence lawyers José Herrera and Naomi Spiteri represented the accused.
