Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2007]JRC055

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

1st March 2007

Before     :

Sir Philip Bailhache Kt., Bailiff, and Jurats de Veulle, Bullen, Allo, King and Le Cornu.

The Attorney General

-v-

Daniel Hansen

Pawel Andrzej Karczewski

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court following a guilty plea to the following charges:

Daniel Hansen

Not Guilty Pleas to Counts 6 and 11 accepted.

3 counts of:	Possession of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 8(1) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Counts 1, 4 and 5).
1 count of:	Production of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 5(a) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 2).
1 count of:	Possession of utensils for the purpose of committing an offence, contrary to Article 10 of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 3).
3 counts of:	Being concerned in the supply of, or the making of an offer to supply, a controlled drug, contrary to Article 5(c) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Counts 7, 9 and 10)
1 count of:	Supplying a controlled drug, contrary to Article 5(b) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 8).

Age:  28

Plea: Guilty 

Details of Offence:

On 8^th of March, 2006 Police Officers attended the home address of Hansen, regarding an unrelated matter, and Hansen attempted to conceal something in a jacket pocket.

A search of the jacket revealed a personal amount of cannabis resin weighing 375 mg (Count 1) and 38 heart shaped ecstasy tablets containing on average 29 mg of MDMA per tablet (Count 5).  The Officer also seized two blister packets marked "Diazepam", which contained sixteen (16) 5 mg Diazepam tablets between them, from the dining room table; a further Diazepam tablet was found in Hansen's car (Count 4).

Later that day, during a thorough search of Hansen's house, in a small "shed" on the balcony of the flat, Officers discovered and seized five fully grown cannabis plants between 43cm and 67 cm in height, together with three small cuttings (Count 2) and a heater, fan, transformer and reflective light unit which had all been used to facilitate the cultivation of the plants (Count 3).

The Police obtained itemised billing from Jersey Telecoms for both of Hansen's telephone numbers and text messaging was recovered for the period 16^th February, 2006 to 8^th March, 2006.  A number of text "message threads" between Hansen and various parties were drug related.

A specific exchange of texts between Hansen and a person identified as Karczewski showed that Hansen had supplied Karczewski with 2 ounces (56 mg) of cannabis resin (Count 8).

Hansen was also seen to have been concerned in the further supplying of approximately 1½ kilos (54 ounces) of cannabis resin - wholesale value between £4,500 and £6,000, street value of £8,640 - Count 9, and concerned in the supplying of approximately 100 ecstasy tablets, street value of £1,000 (£10 per tablet), wholesale value between £600 and £800 - Count 10.

A further text exchange between Hansen and Karczewski showed that Karczewski had offered to supply Hansen with 1,000 "tablets", although their negotiations subsequently broke down and no transaction was ever effected.  Karczewski's offer to supply 1,000 "tablets" forms the basis of Count 13, whilst Hansen's concern in the making (negotiation) of that offer forms the basis of Count 7.

On 13^th July, 2006 Police attended the home address of Hansen and arrested him.  On the same day Officers attended at Karczewski's home address, arrested him, and found a personal amount (83 mg) of cannabis in his bedroom (Count 14).

Hansen was re-interviewed and answered "no comment" to the majority of questions put to him.  However, when confronted with the text messaging between himself and Karczewski, Hansen stated that he had been arranging to purchase Valium tablets from Karczewski.

When Karczewski was interviewed, he stated that he believed that keeping Hansen engaged in believing that he (Karczewski) could obtain controlled drugs would make Hansen more amenable to supplying him with cannabis.  Karczewski said that he never possessed any controlled drug and that he had had no intention of actually obtaining or supplying any controlled drug.  Finally, he stated that he had passed on some of the cannabis bought from Hansen on to his friends for no profit (Count 12).

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, limited co-operation

Previous Convictions:

8 previous convictions comprising 12 offences including 2 drug-related offences.

Conclusions:

Count 1:	1 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 2:	9 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 3:	3 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	1 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 5:	18 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 7:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 8:	4 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 9:	15 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 10:	5 years' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total: 5 years' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Counts 1-9:	Conclusions granted.
Count 10:	4 years' imprisonment.

Total: 4 years' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs ordered.

Pawel Andrzej Karczewski

1 count of:	Supplying a controlled drug, contrary to Article 5(b) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 12).
1 count of:	Offering to supply a controlled drug, contrary to Article 5(b) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 13).
1 count of:	Possession of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 8(1) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  (Count 14).

Age:  29

Plea: Guilty

Details of Offence:

See above as for Hansen.

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty pleas.

Previous Convictions:

No criminal record.

Conclusions:

Count 12:	2 months' imprisonment.
Count 13:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 14:	1 months' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total: 1 years' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs sought.

Deportation recommendation sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

Recommendation for deportation.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs ordered.

C. M. M. Yates Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. Harvey-Hills for Hansen.

Advocate C. G. P. Lakeman for Karczewski.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        These two Defendants are to be sentenced for various offences involving the possession and supply of cannabis and other drugs.  Both Defendants are mature men who must be assumed to have known the likely penalties for committing drug trafficking offences.

2.        Hansen has pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of 100 ecstasy tablets and 1½ kilograms of cannabis.  The Crown Advocate has taken a starting point of 8 years' imprisonment which has been accepted by Defence Counsel.  The Court appreciates that the guideline cases might well point in that direction but we have applied our minds to the fundamental question, which is the extent to which Hanson was involved in drug trafficking, and we have used as our guide the quantities of drugs involved.  We think that the appropriate starting point is one of 7 years' imprisonment.

3.        The Crown has allowed a discount of 25% for the guilty plea and limited co-operation with the police.  Hansen has a number of previous convictions, including offences involving the misuse of drugs, but those offences took place a long time ago.

4.        Hansen you have, as your letter to the Court recognises, let your family down.  You have let your father down, and your girlfriend and your children and you have let yourself down, and you will continue to let everyone down so long as you dabble in the misuse of drugs.  We hope that you will be able to keep yourself clean of drugs, but you will need to recognise that that will not be easy.  We are going to reduce slightly the conclusions moved for by the Crown Advocate and we will sentence you on Count 10 to 4 years' imprisonment and on the remaining Counts, as moved for by the Crown, making a total of 4 years' imprisonment.

5.        Karczewski is to be sentenced for offering to supply 1000 tablets of diazepam and for the possession and supply of small quantities of cannabis.  He is a first offender and has pleaded guilty to the Indictment.  We think that the conclusions of the Crown Advocate are correct and you are, accordingly, sentenced on Count 13 to 12 months' imprisonment, on Count 12 to 2 months' imprisonment and on Count 14 to 1 months' imprisonment, all concurrent, making a total of 12 months' imprisonment.

6.        You have accepted, rightly we think, that your future does not lie in Jersey.  We hope that you will make a fresh start in Poland with your girlfriend and that you will keep away from the misuse of illegal drugs.  We will recommend to the Lieutenant Governor that you be deported from the Island at the conclusion of your sentence.  And finally, we order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

No Authorities