Annesinin arabasını çalan 23 yaşındaki Luke Cremona'ya 26 ay hapis

Luke Cremona is 23 years old. A court gave him 26 months in prison. In June 2024, he took his mother's car. His mother says he pushed her from behind in Birżebbuġa. She fell on the ground, and he drove away.

The day before, he broke many things in her house in Żurrieq. The damage was 2,485 euros. The car was found in Marsa that evening. He also broke the side mirror. She thinks the repairs will cost about 3,000 euros. Cremona said he was on drugs and alcohol that day.

In March 2026, his mother said she forgave him. She wanted the case to stop. But the court said some crimes can continue without her. The court found him guilty of theft, damage and driving without insurance. It also heard about 10 prison reports since July 2025. Caritas said he wants to join a rehabilitation programme.

A 23-year-old man called Luke Cremona has been sentenced to 26 months in prison. He took his mother's car and left her on the ground outside a police station in Birżebbuġa. The court found him guilty of several charges from events in June 2024.

On 19 June 2024, Cremona was travelling with his mother and his girlfriend when an argument started. His mother told the court that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. She said that her son pushed her from behind and she fell on her face. Cremona then took the car keys and drove away. People who saw her on the ground called the police.

The car was found abandoned in Marsa that evening. His mother thought that repairs would cost about 3,000 euros. The day before, the police were called to her house in Żurrieq. Officers found many damaged things, including a television and furniture. The damage was worth 2,485 euros.

In March 2026, his mother said that she had forgiven him and wanted the case to stop. However, the court said that it could only stop charges that depend on the victim's complaint. So the case continued, and Cremona was found guilty of theft, causing fear of violence and driving without insurance. The court considered his efforts to fight his drug addiction. However, he has received 10 disciplinary reports in prison since July 2025. The 26 months will be reduced by the time he has already spent in preventive detention.

Luke Cremona, 23, has been sentenced to 26 months in prison after taking his mother's car and leaving her on the ground outside a police station in Birżebbuġa. He was found guilty of several charges arising from a series of incidents in June 2024. The court heard that on 19 June 2024 an argument broke out while he was travelling with his mother and his girlfriend. His mother told the court that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time.

In Birżebbuġa, the mother got out of the car, and holding her bag and the car keys, she tried to walk towards the police station. According to her testimony, her son pushed her from behind and she fell face down. Cremona then took the keys, which also included the keys to her home and apartment block, and drove off in her Peugeot 107. Passers-by saw the woman on the ground and called the police, but he had already gone. The car was found abandoned in Marsa that evening.

The day before, police had been called to the mother's house in Żurrieq after a report of a disturbance. Officers found many damaged items, including a television, a vacuum cleaner and furniture, and the damage came to €2,485. Cremona was arrested but was released on bail the next morning. His mother later said that the car was so badly damaged that a mechanic told her it was not worth repairing.

Cremona admitted that he had a drug problem, but his account changed several times during the hearing. The court described him as an unreliable witness and rejected the defence argument that the car had not been stolen. It found no evidence that he believed he had any right to the car. In March 2026, his mother told the court that she had forgiven him and wanted the case to stop. However, the court explained that this could only affect offences that depend on the victim's complaint, so many charges could continue.

When deciding the sentence, the court considered his efforts to fight his drug addiction. However, it also heard that he had received 10 disciplinary reports in prison since July 2025. He was cleared of six of the 12 charges but found guilty of the rest, including theft of his mother's car and driving without insurance. The time he has already spent in preventive custody will be deducted from his sentence.

Luke Cremona, 23, has been jailed for 26 months after taking his mother's car and leaving her on the ground outside a police station in Birżebbuġa.

The court heard that an argument erupted on 19 June 2024 while Cremona was travelling with his mother and his girlfriend. According to her testimony, she got out of the car holding her bag and the keys, intending to walk to the police station, but her son pushed her from behind and she fell face down. Cremona then took the keys to the Peugeot 107, which also opened her home and apartment block, and drove away. Members of the public who saw her on the ground phoned the police, but by the time officers arrived he was long gone. The car was later found abandoned in Marsa, so badly damaged that, according to his mother, a mechanic said repairing it was not worthwhile.

Only a day earlier, on 18 June, police had been called to her home in Żurrieq after a report of a disturbance. Officers found a television, furniture and a carpet among the damaged items, with losses amounting to €2,485.

In his police statement, Cremona acknowledged a drug problem but consistently denied assaulting his mother or taking her keys. When he testified, however, his account shifted several times before he admitted being under the influence of drugs and alcohol and damaging the car's side mirror. The court branded him an unreliable witness, pointing to numerous contradictions between his police statement, his testimony and the other evidence. The court also rejected the defence claim that this was not theft, ruling that the benefit he gained from using the car was sufficient.

In March 2026, his mother told the court that she had forgiven him, that he had paid €3,000 in compensation, and that she wanted the case dropped. The court pointed out, however, that its decision could affect only offences dependent on the victim's complaint, so theft, causing fear of violence and wilful damage could proceed regardless. He was therefore acquitted of causing slight injury, insulting and assaulting her. Cremona then interrupted her testimony, saying, "If you don't testify, I'll give you the money", and the magistrate ordered an immediate investigation.

The court acknowledged his efforts to tackle his addiction, but he had received 10 disciplinary reports in prison since July 2025 and had previous convictions for similar offences. He was acquitted of six of the 12 charges, but found guilty of the remainder, including theft of his mother's car, causing her to fear violence, wilful damage, driving uninsured and breaching police bail. The 26-month term will be reduced by the time he has spent in preventive custody in connection with the case.

Luke Cremona, 23, has been jailed for 26 months after taking his mother's car and leaving her on the ground outside a police station in Birżebbuġa. He was convicted on a string of charges arising from incidents in June 2024, even though his mother had forgiven him. The court heard that an argument flared up on 19 June 2024 as Cremona travelled with his mother and girlfriend, and she said he was then under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

As the quarrel continued, they reached Birżebbuġa, where Cremona got out and approached his girlfriend, while his mother, clutching her bag and the car keys, tried to reach the police station. By her account, her son pushed her from behind and she fell face down. He then took the keys to the Peugeot 107, which included those to her home and apartment block, and left. Passers-by who saw her on the ground called the police, but he was long gone by the time officers arrived, and the car was found abandoned that evening in Marsa.

Barely a day earlier, the court heard, Cremona had wreaked havoc at his mother's home in Żurrieq. Police called out on 18 June after a disturbance was reported found a television, furniture and other belongings wrecked, to the tune of €2,485. Cremona was arrested but freed on bail the next morning so that he could attend a scheduled meeting with his probation officer. He then promised to pay his mother for the television, and the two left together, which led to the Birżebbuġa incident.

In his police statement, Cremona admitted to a drug problem but denied attacking his mother or taking her keys. In the witness box, however, his story shifted repeatedly. He conceded driving the car but first claimed to have taken the keys from his mother's bag at home, before saying, when confronted with the Birżebbuġa evidence, that they had been left in the ignition. At one point the magistrate remarked, "Everyone remembers you, except you." Under pressure, he eventually admitted that he was on drugs and alcohol that day, had damaged the wing mirror and had gone to Marsa to buy drugs, and the court branded him an unreliable witness.

The defence argued that Cremona's actions were not theft but the arbitrary exercise of a fictitious right. The court rejected that, finding no evidence that he believed he had any right to the car and noting that it was he who owed his mother money for the damage, not the reverse. Although there was no evidence that he meant to sell the car, it held that the gain required for theft need not be monetary, and the benefit of using it sufficed. Nor was it mere temporary use, since he abandoned the car in Marsa after damaging it.

In March 2026, Cremona's mother told the court she had forgiven him and wanted the case dropped. The court explained that this could affect only offences dependent on the victim's complaint, so it acquitted him of slight injury, insult and assault, while theft, causing fear of violence and wilful damage could proceed regardless. He was convicted of the remaining charges, including theft of the car, causing his mother fear of violence, wilful damage and driving without insurance. Weighing his efforts to tackle addiction against ten disciplinary reports in prison since July 2025 and earlier similar convictions, the court sentenced him to 26 months, less time already spent in preventive detention.