Man accused of harassing ex-wife again despite two-day restraining order

A man has been charged with harassing his ex-partner just two days after the woman applied for a restraining order against him.

The 42-year-old dockworker from Ferguson was arraigned in court on Friday and charged with harassment and misuse of telecommunications equipment, as well as breaching a restraining order and committing an offence while on probation.

He has denied all the allegations.

Officer Audrey Micallef told the court the alleged victim reported the man to domestic violence authorities and told police he continued to call her asking about their children despite a court order prohibiting him from contacting her.

Micallef said the man was arrested after police applied for a warrant and that he cooperated with the investigation, noting he refused to consult a lawyer before being questioned, against police advice.

However, after being admitted with chest pains, the man caused a disturbance at Mater Dei Hospital when he refused to be discharged and was returned to police custody.

Micallef refused bail, saying the defendant could not be trusted and that he was likely to reoffend. She also said the defendant had little money and was currently living in a homeless shelter with no fixed address.

Legal Aid attorney Martina Herrera said his residential status should not be a factor in determining bail because other defendants have previously lived in the same homeless shelter and were granted bail.

Herrera asked the court to take into account that the man is still struggling for money despite having recently found a job, and that the court should take that into account when requesting bail.

However, the court rejected the request as the alleged victim had not yet testified in court and considering that the man was charged with a serious crime only two days after he was granted a probation order.

This obviously made the defendant very dissatisfied, and he directly told the court that the court only “heard one side of the story.”

The rage did not stop there, as the man kicked a bench inside the courtroom and continued to shout protests at the police outside, even banging on the courtroom door before being led away.