Jersey Unreported Judgments

 2002/17

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

18^th January 2002

The Attorney General

-v-

Mark William Sneddon

Breach of a 2 year Probation Order, with 240 hours community service, made on 28^th September, 2001, by the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to 1 count of grave and criminal assault, and an admitted breach of 6 months' Probation Order, made on 24^th January, 2001, in the Magistrate's Court following guilty pleas to 1 count of being drunk and disorderly and 1 count of malicious damage.

Age:     31.

Plea:    Breach admitted.

Conclusions:

Re: Royal Court (28^th September, 2001) offence: grave and criminal assault: 18 months' imprisonment.

Re: Magistrate's Court (24^th January, 2001) offence: drunk and disorderly: 1 month's imprisonment; and

      Malicious damage: 1 month's imprisonment concurrent, but consecutive to 18 months' sentence.

TOTAL:  19 months' imprisonment.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

T.J. Le Cocq, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate C.R.G. Deacon for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        On 28^th September, 2001, you appeared before this Court for grave and criminal assault and for breach of a Probation Order.  Despite that, the Court took a lenient view and imposed a new Probation Order in which it was ordered that you perform 240 hours community service.  This is what the Court said at the time:

"Finally, Sneddon, I must warn you that you must stick by these orders.  If you do not turn up to see the Probation Officer, if you do not carry out the community service, if you do not attend the courses, or if you re-offend you will be brought back before us and I can assure you that if you are brought back you will go to prison for a lengthy period in the way that we have described because this was a serious offence.  You can consider yourself extremely lucky."

2.        The Court could not have made clearer the importance that you should comply in every way with the Probation Order and with the community service.  Despite that warning, as we have heard, you have performed no community service and you have failed to attend the Probation Officer on many occasions when directed.  It is true that you have attended a number of sessions of one of the courses.

3.        Your counsel has urged in mitigation that you have learned your lesson from this appearance and that if we give you one final chance, that will be repaid.  We have also taken into account in relation to the offence itself that you pleaded guilty; that you have no previous convictions for violence; we take account of your progress since then in terms of your work and addressing your drink problem; and we also take account of your girlfriend's wishes, she having been the victim of your assault.  However, in our judgment we have no alternative but to impose a prison sentence.  Probation Orders are to be respected and those who do not must expect to find them revoked and to be punished.

4.        We have reconsidered the matter but we think that our conclusions on the last occasion were right and that the Crown's conclusions are correct.  The sentence is therefore as follows: on the count on the indictment of grave and criminal assault, you are sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment; for the two offences for which you are in breach of probation, you are sentenced to 1 month's imprisonment, concurrent with each other, but consecutive to the sentence of 18 months' imprisonment, making a total of 19 months' imprisonment.  We will cancel the exclusion order, as we do not think there is any point in splitting it as suggested.

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