Fenech charged with cocaine possession in US five months ago

Businessman and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech had been sentenced to 30 days in an American jail in July after being caught in possession of cocaine by the Houston police.

According to court documents seen by The Shift News, Fenech pleaded guilty to the charges of cocaine possession in an American court after being arrested on July 15.

The day after his arrest, Houston police ordered Fenech to surrender his passport and other documents since he was not a US citizen. The bail was set to $7,500, lowered from $10,000 on the request of Fenech’s public defender, for the offence of being in possession of cocaine “weighing more than 4 grams and less than 200 grams,” the court documents said.

During this period, it was rumored that Fenech had been admitted to a rehabilitation facility abroad to treat his addiction. He was, in fact, attending a rehabilitation facility but only because the US court converted the jail term to a stay at the treatment facility.

Two days after his arrest, Fenech was released under court order and taken to Sierra Tuscon Hospital, a treatment centre for drug and alcohol addiction, where he was admitted on 17 July. The court sentence refers to Texas Penal Code § 12.44(a), where there is a reduction of State jail felony punishment to misdemeanor punishment seeing to the rehabilitative needs of the defendant.

According to court documents dated July 16, the court “orders the defendant committed to the custody of the Sheriff of Harris County, Houston, until he posts the required bond or until further order of the Court”.

On 29 July, the court sentenced Fenech to serve 30 days in Harris County Jail. Following a guilty plea, filed by Fenech on 30 July, the judge set aside the order of judgement and, on August 5, Fenech gets his request for return his luggage granted.

Once Fenech was able to claim his luggage, then he was no longer under treatment or fulfilling his jail term – 21 days after being arrested.

Earlier this month, Fenech pleaded not guilty to being an accomplice to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech was stopped by Armed Forces of Malta and arrested by police after attempting to flee the country on his luxury yacht on November 20.