Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2008]JRC190

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

7^th November 2008

The Attorney General

-v-

James Craig Ring

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following guilty pleas to the following charges:

Age:  20.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Count 1: On 23^rd May, 2008, Ring illegally entered the premises known as Pickwicks, Bath Street, in the Parish of St. Helier, and attempted to steal cash from the cash register by going behind the counter and opening the till.  When confronted by the manager, Ring shouted at him and threw the money at him, before running off.

Count 2: On 4^th June, 2008, at Police Headquarters, Rouge Bouillon, Ring was searched by Police Officers and found in possession of a personal amount of cannabis.

Count 3: On 6^th June, 2008, at Jersey Telecoms, Queen Street, Ring stole 3 mobile telephones with a combined value of £1,200.  The offence was caught on video.

Count 4: On 19^th June, 2008, at Wholesale Electrics, Halkett Place, Ring stole nine mobile telephones with a combined value of £1,918.  The offence was caught on video.

Count 5: On 25^th June, 2008, at 35 La Collette Flats, Green Street, Ring resisted Police Officers in his lawful arrest.

Only 1 stolen phone has been recovered.  It was accepted that Ring's criminality was due to his wish to obtain money as he had no other source of income through unemployment.  Ring was assessed as being of high risk of re-offending.

Details of Mitigation:

Ring pleaded guilty.  Remorse.  He has the benefit of youth.  He has undertaken vocational courses and wants to undertake similar courses in order to secure employment.  He has behavioural problems as a result of a difficult childhood. 

Previous Convictions:

Ring has 14 convictions for 65 previous offences, including 34 thefts and kindred offences and 2 drugs offences.

Conclusions:

Total: 16 months' Youth Detention.

The forfeiture and destruction of the drugs from Count 2 is sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court held the view that Ring's behaviour in Pickwicks was 'completely outrageous'.

The Court noted that only 1 of the mobile phones that Ring had stolen had been recovered which meant that over £3,500 worth of goods has never been recovered.

Ring's non-compliance of his previous probation orders meant that a custodial sentence was inevitable.

Conclusions granted.

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs ordered.

C. M. M. Yates, Crown Advocate.

Advocate E. Le Guillou for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

the bailiff:

1.        You have pleaded guilty to a number of offences; £3,000 worth of mobile phones have disappeared without a trace; your conduct with the shopkeeper in taking money from the till and then throwing it around when he caught you was completely outrageous.  You can not expect to behave like that and to get away with it. 

2.        You have been placed on probation many times by the courts and offered chances by the Magistrates and by the Youth Court and you have not taken those chances so far.  We are satisfied as the law requires us to be, that with your history of failure to respond to non-custodial penalties and your unwillingness to respond to them, there is no other way of dealing with you other than by imposing a sentence of youth detention. 

3.        Having said that, the Court wants you to know that we have read your letter very carefully and we are greatly encouraged by it.  You have been let down by your father, that is true, and many other people are in the same boat, but you have not been let down by your mother, who notwithstanding everything that you have done, is in Court today supporting you.  We want to say that you have reached an age where in fact, you should be thinking of giving some help and support to her rather than the other way round.  We are, as we say, encouraged by the fact that the courses that you have done in prison are courses which will help you in the future; we hope that you will continue to take advantage of those and that when you come out of the Youth Detention Centre, you will indeed go to Highlands and make something of your life for the first time.  There is no reason why you should not do that.  You are a fit, healthy, intelligent young man and there is no reason why, with the qualifications that you get in the prison and perhaps afterwards at Highlands, you should not get a job if you set your mind to doing so and we hope you will do just that.

4.        In the meantime I'm afraid we have to punish you for the offences that you have admitted.  The conclusions are granted.  We will sentence you to a total of 16 months' Youth Detention, and we must tell you that you will liable to supervision by a Probation Officer when you have served that sentence.

5.        We order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 1994.

Whelan on Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Court of Jersey.

AG-v-Gaffney [1995] JLR N 22b.

R-v-Sergeant (1974) 60 Cr. App. R. 74.