Jersey Unreported Judgments

2001/183

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

17^th August 2001

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

Maricel Cristovao

 

1 count of:

grave and criminal assault.

 

Age:     25.       

 

Plea:    Guilty.  

 

Details of Offence:

The defendant was employed as a farm worker and shared accommodation with two other fellow farm workers on a farm in St. Lawrence.  On the day of the offence the defendant had started drinking alcohol at 7 o'clock in the morning and continued through the day to a point where he was grossly intoxicated.  The victim returned to the shared accommodation at around 3.00pm and the defendant became abusive, threatening and ultimately violent towards the victim.  A scuffle broke out and as the victim was trying to escape the defendant reached for a knife, which was 20 centimetres long with a serrated blade, and stabbed the victim in the back.  The victim sustained a small puncture wound to the shoulder which bled profusely and required two sutures.  As the victim attempted to escape, the defendant, brandishing a different knife, threatened to repeat the stabbing if the victim returned.  There was no evidence of provocation.  The victim was in fear for his life.

 

Details of Mitigation:

The defendant was a relatively young man with no previous convictions.  The attack was not premeditated; the defendant grabbed the knife on the spur of the moment.  The vast amount of alcohol the defendant had consumed resulted in his having no recollection of events.  The defendant recognises the need to control his drinking which is the cause of the problem.  He was fortunate in that the injuries sustained by the victim were not serious.

 

Previous Convictions:     None.

 

Conclusions:

2 years' imprisonment.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court was determined that those who use dangerous weapons, such as knives, to attack others will receive deterrent custodial sentences.  The Crown's conclusions made ample allowance for all the circumstances and therefore the Court granted the Crown's conclusions and sentenced the defendant to two years' imprisonment.

 

 

 

M. St.J. O'Connell, Esq., Crown Advocate;

Advocate C.M. Fogarty for the accused.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Having been drinking since 7 o'clock in the morning, this defendant attacked his victim with a 20 centimetre serrated kitchen knife.  After holding the knife to the victim's throat, the defendant then stabbed him in the back, as he struggled to get away.  Fortunately, the injuries were very minor, but that was fortuitous.

2.        In mitigation Miss Fogarty has referred to the guilty plea and to the fact that this offence was not premeditated.  The defendant grabbed the knife from the kitchen table on the spur of the moment.  She has also referred to the defendant's good character.  He has no previous convictions and he has a wife and child in Madeira.  All of these matters go to his credit.  Miss Fogarty has also referred to a number of other cases but we do not think that it is productive to undertake a detailed comparison of the facts of one case with another because all the circumstances, including the personal circumstances of the offender, vary so much from one case to another.

3.        The Court is determined that those who use dangerous weapons, such as a knife, to attack others will be punished severely.  We think that the Crown's conclusions make ample allowance for all the mitigating circumstances and we therefore grant them.

4.        Stand up, please, Cristovao.  The sentence of the Court is two years' imprisonment.

 

Authorities

AG-v-Ashford (12^th July, 1996) Jersey Unreported.

AG-v-Langford (25^th January, 1985) Jersey Unreported.

AG-v-Mallet (24^th May, 2000) Jersey Unreported; [2000/87].

AG-v-Leitch (21^st August, 1998) Jersey Unreported; [1998/177].

AG-v-Monet, Le Feuvre (5^th October, 1998) Jersey Unreported; [1998/197].

AG-v-Goncalves (7^th February, 1997) Jersey Unreported.

AG-v-Mullacky (14^th June, 1996) Jersey Unreported.

AG-v-Harris (4^th December, 1995) Jersey Unreported.

Whelan: Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Courts of Jersey: pp.84-86.