John Agius has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges brought against him, including the attempted murder of police officers. Arraigned in court this morning, 74-year-old Agius was presented with a host of charges after a tense stand-off in St Julian’s with police on Friday following the starting of a fire just underneath workers on a crane in a neighbouring construction site. While his brother left the scene, Agius allegedly fired several times at police, with Special Intervention Unit officer Johann Vella and Constable Omar Sharif being injured in the fire. Vella was critically injured after being hit in the face, neck and leg, but his condition has since improved. Agius pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder, alongside a series of charges which included starting the fire and endangering and threatening the workers, injuring the two police officers, resisting the police, the illegal discharge of a weapon and illegal arrest… and having trapped police officers who initially entered the building. It took an hour and a half of negotiations for Agius to allow the trapped officers out of the site. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lovin Malta (@lovinmalta)No request for bail was made, and protection orders were issued for not only police officers Shari and Vella, but also construction site workers Nawaf Khasem, Mohammaed Kasem Ibrahim, Frederic Pierre Villa, and Cruise Tonna. Should Agius violate any of these protection orders, he will be sentenced to two years in prison and a €7,000 fine. The prosecution was conducted by Inspectors Joseph Mercieca, Stephen Gulia and Christian Xuereb, together with Attorney General lawyers Kaylee Bonett and Joseph Camilleri Azarov. The accused was represented by lawyer Thomas Barbara Sant. Lawyers Franco Debono and Herman Mula appeared as parte civile. John’s brother, George, is expected to be arraigned separately. Photo via Times of Malta.•