Jersey Unreported Judgments

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

10 September 1999

Before: F C Hamon, Deputy Bailiff,

Jurats Rumfitt, and Le Breton

AG

v

Robert George Collins

1 count of possession of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 6(1) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978.

Count 1: cannabis resin

1 count ofpossession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, contrary to Article 6(2) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978

Count 2: cannabis resin.

Age: 45.

Plea: Guilty

Details of Offence:

‘Minding’ 587g (20oz) of cannabis street value £3,300 (wholesale £2,400). Arrested while waiting to return it to the owner. Also found in possession of 55g (2oz), value £240 - £320 for personal consumption - his reward for minding.

Details of Mitigation:

No previous for drugs. Long record of dishonesty and one offence of manslaughter. 15-year gap in record. Plea of guilty, and co-operation. Provided a level of support for his infirm parents.

Previous Convictions: As above

Conclusions:

Count 1:3 months imprisonment.

Count 2:12 months imprisonment, concurrent.

TOTAL: 12 months imprisonment.

Sentence & Observations of Court: Conclusions granted. ‘Minders’ play a significant part in chain of dissemination

C E Whelan, Crown Advocate

Advocate W Grace for the Accused

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF: Collins was approached by police in his motor car opposite the Post Horn public house, and he readily admitted that there were drugs in the car. The street value of the ready packed cannabis resin in the boot was some £3,315. It was packed ready for distribution. More cannabis resin was found in the glove compartment of the car, some £320 worth. In all they were clearly commercial amounts. Some 25 x 1oz deals.

Collins says he was waiting for someone to whom to hand over the wrapped cannabis. He says the amount in the glove compartment, just under 2ozs, was for his personal use. That would have lasted him for about a month.

His average income was some £200 a week but he had £260 in cash in his possession. He worked spasmodically because he has a back problem. Unlike many others, he was apparently able to make money from gambling.

The Crown proposes to move for its conclusions on the basis of the explanations given. He is 45 years old with a bad record culminating in a serious conviction at Winchester Crown Court, where he received a term of imprisonment of 2½ years, but there is a gap of 15 years in his record, and there is no previous record of drug offending, and we can regard him - safely we feel - as a first offender for these purposes.

But this was a significant amount of cannabis ready for distribution. Collins does not say who was collecting it; he does not say where it came from. He has pleaded guilty but he had no alternative. A custodial sentence, following the Court of Appeal guidelines, is inevitable, and that is recognised by his Counsel.

Those who are directly in the chain of supply deserve as much punishment in our view, as those who actually do the supplying. His personal family circumstances are tragic, but he is not a child. A mature adult of 45 must be prepared to suffer the consequences of his criminal actions. On Count 1 you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. On Count 2 you are sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment, concurrent, thus making a total of 12 months imprisonment. We order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

Authorities

Campbell, Mac Kenzie & Molloy -v- A.G. (1995) JLR136 CofA

A.G v Durkin (30 October 1998) Jersey Unreported.[1998.217]