Petrol station thief's seven-year sentence slashed on appeal After settling down into a stable life, the thief will have his prison sentence reduced to probation 6 January 2021, 1:58pm by Matthew Agius The court of appeal has given what it described as a “final opportunity” to a prolific thief, reducing his 7 year prison sentence to probation on the advice of social workers. In 2019, Matthew Portelli, 35, had been convicted of being one of a gang of thieves who had targeted 10 service stations, a tools store and two vehicles in various localities around Malta during a three-month theft spree in 2011. The gang were also allegedly behind the setting alight of one of the stolen vehicles, a Ford Transit, which had been used in one of their raids and later set on fire in Wied is-Sewda, Qormi.