Feb 16 - Man Jailed For Ocean Village Mugging
A local man was sentenced to one year in prison at the Supreme Court this morning, after pleading guilty to robbing a mobile phone, cash and a wallet from a passer-by in Ocean Village.
Angelo Podesta, 37, also pleaded guilty to two separate counts of theft, dating back to December 2017.
Prosecutor Johann Fernandez said the first offence took place on 1st December last year, when Podesta picked up a blue Samsung S6 mobile phone, belonging to someone else, from the bar at the Sunborn Casino. He was caught on CCTV footage and admitted to having sold the device when questioned by officers.
The following week, Podesta was walking in Ocean Village when he saw a passer-by walking along. He approached the complainant and started talking to him, and escorted him to the cash machine where he forced him to make a withdrawal and hand over £150 in cash. Mr Fernandez said the victim did not resist the mugging, as he feared for his safety when Podesta also took his phone and his wallet before fleeing the scene.
Mr Fernandez said the defendant had similar previous convictions.
Defence counsel Leigh Debono said his client was addicted to drugs at the time, adding that since he’s been in prison he has been undergoing a rehabilitation programme for his drug addiction. He also said that his client acknowledges his culpability and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Debono added that the crimes were spontaneous and no violence or weapons were used in either offence, however Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott argued that although no violence was used, the victim could have felt intimidated by Podesta’s presence, adding that approaching a victim who was intoxicated in the early hours of the morning and at a cash machine added to his vulnerability.
While sentencing, Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott focused on the robbery, and said: “This can be construed as a street robbery or a mugging.”
She added that the victim in the robbery had feared for his safety when Podesta removed the phone and wallet from him, adding that Podesta presented a threat of force even though there were no injuries or harm caused.
Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott accepted the defence’s mitigating factors, adding that it was commendable that Podesta is undergoing a drug rehabilitation programme since being on remand.
Podesta was sentenced to 18 months in prison for robbery, with the sentence reduced to a year after entering an early guilty plea. There was no separate penalty for the theft, and time spent on remand taken into account.
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