Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2005]JRC054

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

22^nd April, 2005

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

Michelle Bernice Ahier

 

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, to a guilty plea entered on 22^nd November, 2004, to the following charges:

 

1 count of:	Grave and Criminal Assault (Count 2).
1 count of:	Possession of an offensive weapon, contrary to Article 43 of the Firearms  (Jersey) Law, 2000.  (Count 3).
1 count of:	Illegal entry and larceny (Count 4).

 

(The Court accepted a not guilty plea to Count 1 on 4^th April, 2005).

 

 

Age:     21.

 

Plea:    Guilty.

 

Details of Offence:

Counts 2 and 3, after a disagreement and physical altercation with the victim over heroin in her flat, Ahier armed herself with a pen knife and followed the victim, who was pushing his infant daughter in a pram, through St Helier streets.  During a scuffle she recklessly stabbed the victim in his right buttock.

Count 4, whilst in Brighton Road Stores, Ahier and a friend went into a store room at the back of the shop and took £150 worth of cigarettes and a laptop computer valued at £350.

 

Details of Mitigation:

 

Guilty plea.

Youth.

Very strong mitigation in Background reports.

Provocation.

No intention to cause serious injury.

Injuries slight, no lasting damage.

Co-operation.

 

 

Previous Convictions:

Ahier was in breach of a probation order in respect of 19 offences including larceny, obtaining goods by false pretences, credit card fraud, malicious damage, breach of the peace, and driving without a licence or valid insurance.  She was sentenced to a 12 months' probation order on 2^nd July 2004.

 

 

Conclusions:

 

Counts 2, 3 and 4:  12 months' Probation and treatment order.

 

Probation order to which she was sentenced on 2^nd July to be cancelled and substituted with a 12 months probation order subject to the condition that she attends for assessment and drug rehabilitation for up to 6 months as recommended by the alcohol and Drugs Service.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

 

Conclusions granted.

 

 

 

T. Le Cocq, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate R. Tremoceiro for the Defendant.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

 

 

THE BAILIFF:

1.        Miss Ahier we hope that you do understand, as your Counsel has said you do, that it is quite unacceptable to carry a knife in a public place for your defence, and indeed even worse to use it in the way in which you did.  Ordinarily that kind of conduct attracts, as the Crown Advocate has said, substantial custodial sentences.

2.        We have taken into account everything which has been said by counsel.  We have read the reports upon you and we are glad to see that you are trying to get a grip of your heroin problem and that you are working to overcome that and to make something of your life. 

3.        We want to encourage you to do that and so we are going to grant the conclusions and we will place you on probation for a period of 12 months, and that Probation Order will have attached to it a condition of treatment for 12 months as has been explained to you.

4.        I do have to warn you that if you do not comply with the probation requirements and do not make a success of the treatment that you have been ordered to undergo, it is possible that you will come back before this Court and you may be sentenced again for the offences which you have admitted.  On that occasion the Court may very well consider a custodial sentence.  We hope that does not happen and we want you to succeed, as we are sure you will if you put your mind to it.

Authorities

A.G. - v- Vale (7th November, 2003) Jersey Unreported [2003]JRC201.

A.G. -v- Baudains and Baudains (4th May, 2000), Jersey Unreported [2000]JRC078.