Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2009]JRC248

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

18^th December 2009

The Attorney General

-v-

Scott Gerard Williamson

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charge:

Age:  20.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 22^nd August, 2009, the victim of the attack was walking with his girlfriend past a car in Williamson and some friends were sitting.  For no apparent reason other then he mistakenly thought the victim had aimed a comment at the occupants of the car, Wiliamson took a 3 inch serrated knife from the glove box and got out to attack the victim, thrusting the knife in a stabbing motion towards him.  Fortuitously, Williamson's girlfriend managed to disarm him and retrieve the knife before any contact was made.  However, Williamson still attacked the victim and a scuffle ensued during which the victim received minor cuts and bruises before Williamson and his girlfriend ran away. 

Williamson was arrested and confirmed that he had been very drunk.  He blamed his actions on "the drinks" and claimed that he wouldn't have intended to use the knife other than to scare the victim. 

The offending placed Williamson in breach of a 140 hour Community Service Order made in May 2009, after he had assaulted a girl who was arguing with his girlfriend by stamping on her while she lay on the ground.  He had then resisted arrest to the extent that officers needed to use CS gas to restrain him. 

Williamson had also been ordered to undertake an additional 40 hours' community service in October 2009 for breaching the May 2009 order by failing to comply with the Probation Service. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, co-operation, remorse, youth.

Previous Convictions:

Three previous convictions comprising fifteen offences.  In May 2009 he was sentenced to community service for inter alia a grave and criminal assault on a girl.  His instant offending put him in breach of both this and a second 2009 Court Order.

Conclusions:

Breach of Community Service Orders:

4 months' youth detention, consecutive to Count 1 for first breach.  2 weeks' youth detention, consecutive to Count 1 for second breach.

Total:  2 years' and 4 months' and 2 weeks' youth detention.

Forfeiture and destruction of the weapon sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court accepted that there had been no contact with the knife, but noted that it was not the defendant's first offence for violence.  Given the serious nature of the offence and the poor response to probation and community service, custody was unavoidable.  The Court said that the Crown's conclusions were reasonable, but in all the circumstances felt able to order that the separate elements run concurrently, making a total of 2 years' youth detention.

Breach 0f Community Service Orders:

4 months' youth detention, concurrent for first breach.

2 weeks' youth detention, concurrent for the second breach.

Total:  2 years' youth detention.

Forfeiture and destruction of the weapon ordered.

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

Advocate J. M. Grace for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        It is clear that when you drink you become aggressive.  On this occasion you got out of your car when there appears to have been no provocation of any note, you took a knife which was in the car and you threatened the victim.  You made stabbing gestures in his direction with the knife.  Fortunately you were disarmed by your girlfriend but you still then attacked the victim and a scuffle ensued.  We do accept that this is a case where there was no contact with the knife and indeed it did not get particularly close to contact, but it must nevertheless have been a very frightening occasion for the victim, to be faced with a man wielding the knife in a threatening manner. 

2.        This is not your first offence for violence.  In May 2009 you were, leniently we think, sentenced to community service by the Youth Court for a grave and criminal assault and resisting arrest.  Those offences in turn placed you in breach of probation and you have shown hitherto a poor response both to probation and community service. 

3.        Your Advocate has urged mitigation on your behalf.  She has referred to the fact that you have pleaded guilty; to your youth, you are only 20; she has made particular reference to the efforts that you are now making to turn your life around and the fact that you appear to be seeing the error of your ways.  We have also read carefully the references, your own letter and the employment offer.  We have considered, as she has urged, whether we can proceed by way of a non-custodial penalty and we have, of course, borne in mind Article 4 of the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994 but we are quite satisfied that this offending was so serious that a non-custodial sentence cannot be justified and we also find that you have a history of failing to respond to non-custodial penalties and have shown yourself unwilling or unable to respond to such a penalty.

4.         We also remind ourselves of what the Court has said in the two cases of AG-v-Lawlor [2009] JRC 150 and AG-v-Vale [2003] JRC 201; the Court takes a very stern view of knife attacks and the Court is determined to do all it can to ensure that a knife culture does not develop in Jersey with all the dangers that that can bring with it.

5.        In our judgment the conclusions moved for by the Crown were entirely reasonable and in most circumstances we would have gone along with them.  However, we are impressed by the contents of the reports, the fact that this does appear to be a turning point in your life and we hope very much that that is so.  As a result we are going to reduce the length of the sentence so as to give you hope that you will come out in a reasonable period and can try and get your life back on track.  What we are going to do is we are going to make the sentences concurrent even though normally they would be consecutive for breaches of previous orders.

6.        The sentence of the Court is 2 years' youth detention on the assault before us now and we impose the sentences of 4 months' concurrent and 2 weeks' as moved for by the Crown but we make all those concurrent so that is 2 years' youth detention in all.  I must warn you, you may be liable to supervision when you are released.

7.        We order the forfeiture and destruction of the knife.

Authorities

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

AG-v-Lawlor [2009] JRC 150.

AG-v-Vale [2003] JRC 201.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.