Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2010]JRC153

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

20^th August 2010

The Attorney General

-v-

Katie Falle

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

Age:  29.

Plea: Guilty.  (Counts 1-6 and 8).  Count 7 Not guilty plea accepted). 

Details of Offence:

In April 2009 Falle was found in possession of a very small quantity of cannabis, namely 880mg, just short of 1 gram.  It was accepted by the Crown that this was intended for Falle's own use (Count 1). 

In July 2009, when Falle was being treated in hospital, she was  found in possession of a very small quantity of heroin, namely 98mg, just short of one tenth of a gram.  It was accepted by the Crown that this was for Falle's personal use (Count 2). 

On Sunday 11^th April, 2010, Falle arrived in Jersey from St Malo.  She was stopped by a customs officer.  She was unsteady on her feet.  She informed the officer that her father had driven her from Bergerac in France to St Malo.  Following further questioning Falle informed the officer that she was a previous heroin user but that she was now prescribed morphine by her doctor in France.  During a search of her luggage, various drugs including buprenorphine, temazepam and lorazepam were found.  They were in tablet form in blister packs and also loose within the bag.  A number of loose ampoules of morphine in glass vials were found, along with several pink condoms holding more ampoules of morphine. 

The drugs amounted to the following, with a total estimated street value of £1,323:

a.     Morphine - Class A - 32 ampoules, 640mg, worth £640

b.     Buprenorphine - Class C - 14 tablets, 112mg, worth £630

c.     Lorazepam - Class C - 25 tablets, 62.5mg, worth £25

d.     Temazepam - Class C - 28 tablets, 280mg, worth £28

Falle was arrested and searched.  She was not in possession of any prescriptions (Counts 3-6).

She had recently sent a text message to two associates saying "I'm on my way back to Jersey for two days...I've got five 8ml subs for sale for £40 each, if you know anyone that would be interested.  They're the small French pure buprenorphine ones though which is why I'll sell them cheap..." (Count 8). 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea; expressed remorse; personal use; small quantity of drugs involved; detoxed from illicit drugs whilst on remand in  custody; no previous drugs convictions. 

Previous Convictions:

Jersey: one conviction for five offences of larceny. 

Conclusions:

Starting point 7 years. 

Total:  2 years' imprisonment. 

Forfeiture and destruction of drugs sought. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

You are a bright, intelligent young woman.  These current offences are aggravated by the warning given to you in January 2010.  You lied to the police.  There was no immediate remorse or co-operation.  The conclusions of the Crown are absolutely right.

Conclusions granted. 

S. M. Baker, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate A. C. M. Pinel for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are here to be sentenced on an Indictment which contains eight counts, to which you have pleaded guilty to seven.  For the record we direct that a not guilty verdict be entered in relation to Count 7, where your plea of not guilty has been accepted.  Of the counts for which you are to be sentenced, Count 3, which is being knowingly concerned in the importation of the Class A drug morphine and Count 8, the possession of a Class C drug with intent to supply, are the two most serious ones.  The charges of being concerned in the importation for personal use of the Class C and Class B drugs are not in the same category. 

2.        In relation to the question of the importation of morphine we would like to say this; we do not treat you as having acquired the morphine, or indeed for that matter the lorazepam, lawfully, whether because there was no prescription or whether it was because you had a prescription issued to someone else in relation to those drugs.  In either case it seems to us that the offences are not merely technical in failing to get the relevant import licence, because the drugs were unlawfully in your possession. 

3.        The Court has taken account of your early guilty plea and has taken account of the relatively low value of the drugs.  We have also noted that you have no previous convictions for drug offences and that you have written a letter expressing your remorse to the Court, and also, of course, the letter from your mother as well.  We have taken all those things into account.  Nonetheless you fall to be sentenced for what you have done and the importation of Class A drugs, as the Court has said on many occasions, even for personal use, is a serious offence.  The case in the Court of Appeal of Shahnowaz-v-AG [2007] JLR 221 requires us to start with a starting point of 7 years' imprisonment from which we can allow amounts for mitigation and the most substantial mitigation in this respect is the reduction, it seems to us, for personal use and the reduction for the guilty plea. 

4.        You are a bright, intelligent woman and you will understand the Court's sentencing policy; you will also understand that your offending has been aggravated by the warning in January this year in relation to the importation of Subutex and you will understand that the offending has been aggravated by the fact that the Counts from 3 to 8 were committed when you were already under investigation on Counts 1 and 2.  You will also understand that lying to the police does not show any immediate remorse or co-operation. 

5.        In relation to the possession of the subutex with intent to supply, where there is a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment, we have taken particular account of the relatively small quantity of the drugs but having looked at all these circumstances in our view the conclusions of the Crown are absolutely right and you are therefore sentenced in accordance with those conclusions which are: on Count 1 there will be no separate penalty, on Count 2; 1 month's imprisonment, on Count 3; 2 years' imprisonment, on Count 4; 1 month's imprisonment, on Count 5; 1 month's imprisonment, Count 6; 1 month's imprisonment, Count 8; 12 months' imprisonment, all to be served concurrently making a total of 2 years' imprisonment in all. 

6.        The Court orders the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs. 

Authorities

Shahnowaz-v-AG [2007] JLR 221.

Bonnar and Noon-v-AG [2001] JLR 626.