Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2011]JRC046C

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

28^th February 2011

Before     :

W. J. Bailhache, Q.C., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Tibbo, Clapham, Morgan, Kerley, Nicolle and Bullen.

The Attorney General

-v-

William Malcolm Faulkner

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

1 count of:

Arson (Count 1).

Age:  64.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Prior to the incident which formed the basis of the single count on the Indictment, Faulkner was in a relationship with Ms A for approximately nine years.  However, more recently, the relationship had deteriorated. 

During the morning of 7^th September, 2010, Faulkner was alone at the flat which he and Ms A rented together, being in Halkett Place, which is one of the six flats situated on the third floor of the property better known as New Look (formerly Woolworths).  Ms A was not at the property.  However, some of the residents of the other four flats which were let, were at home at the time including:-

(1)       A woman and her dog;

(2)       A man; and

(3)       Two women, a man and a dog.

One flat was let but not occupied and the other flat was not let. 

At approximately 10:00 hours on 7^th September, 2010, Ms A received a telephone call on her mobile phone from Faulkner.  He stated words to the effect of "So you definitely choose him over me?" to which she replied "Yes".  Faulkner then stated "Good luck to you both."

Approximately one hour later Faulkner telephoned Ms A again and stated words to the effect of "You two better watch your backs, I know somebody with a gun, so watch your backs."  Ms A was frightened but did not think he would do anything and that he was just trying to scare her. 

Approximately ten minutes later Faulkner made another couple of telephone calls to Ms A during which he was laughing out loud and stating "I'm coming to get you."  Ms A was again very scared. 

At approximately 11:00 hours, Faulkner telephoned the home of Ms A's sister.  Ms A's niece, Ms B, answered the telephone and heard Faulkner say "C it's Mally, A's not answering her phone so tell her she can have her precious fella."  Ms B stated that it was not Ms A's sister C and confirmed her identity to which Faulkner stated "Whatever - tell her I'm torching here precious flat, she's not having that as well."  Ms B could hear crackling noises in the background and heard a beeping noise which she believed was the smoke alarm.  Faulkner then left the flat but did not replace the handset therefore Ms B was unable to contact anyone using the house phone.  Ms B then heard firemen using breathing apparatus and water hoses down the phone before the phone cut off. 

As Faulkner left the flat he passed an open window of one of the neighbouring flats and stated to the occupant, Ms D "You'd better call the Fire Brigade.  I've torched the fucking place and she's not bringing her fella here."  Faulkner then walked down the communal stairwell and out of the building.  The residents of the other adjoining flats were notified and also evacuated the building.  The building's fire alarm was activated and the rest of the building, including the public and staff areas of New Look, was also evacuated. 

A number of witnesses telephoned the emergency services to report that they had seen thick black smoke coming out of the windows of the flat.  The Fire Service arrived shortly thereafter and, having established that there was nobody in the flat or the rest of the property, the area was secured and the fire was extinguished. 

Meanwhile, Faulkner had walked to the nearby Dog and Sausage public house where he was a regular customer.  Another regular customer, Mr E, who was also at the Dog and Sausage, described Faulkner as being very agitated and "talking ten to the dozen".  Faulkner said to Mr E "I've just torched the flat".  Mr E then bought Faulkner a pint of lager and started to try and get to the bottom of what had happened. 

Not long after his arrival at the Dog and Sausage, Faulkner left and started walking back towards Halkett Place.  Ms D was outside the building waiting for the fire to be put out when she saw Faulkner once again.  Faulkner admitted to Ms D that he had set fire to the flat. 

As a result of the fire, the contents of the flat have been destroyed by fire or smoke damage.  Fortunately, the structure of the building was not damaged.  In addition to the physical damage to the property, New Look suffered a trading loss of approximately £4,000 as a result of having to close for a number of hours. 

The Fire Investigation report details that there were at least five individual seats of fire within the property, that is, where the fires were stared throughout the flat and that these were stared deliberately using an accelerant (i.e. lighter fluid).  An empty tin of "Zippo" lighter fuel was located on the sofa which had been burnt.  It was noted by Ms A that such a tin was usually kept in a cupboard but it was missing.  The seats of fire include:-

(1)     soft toys belonging to Ms A on the sofa in the lounge;

(2)     the curtains in the lounge;

(3)     a dining chair in the lounge

(4)       an area by the bad in the main bedroom; and

(5)       clothing on a clothes horse in the spare room.

Also noted was that two of the rings on the gas cooker in the kitchen had been left on full.  The cooker is powered by mains gas which runs through the entire building.  In addition to the fire itself being at high risk of spreading to adjoining properties and putting the public in danger, the concentration of gas (from the cooker and the lighter fuel tins) within the building would have built up and ignited with explosive force causing windows to fail and fall in Halkett Place putting the Fire Service and the public at considerable risk. 

A number of "posters" that Faulkner had written about Ms A in the days leading up to the incident and which were stuck to the front door were located at the scene. 

Arrest and interview

Faulkner was identified to the Police near the scene of the fire.  It was put to him that it was alleged he had started the fire.  Faulkner replied "Yes I did it...I did the fires...he's not going to live in my flat."  Faulkner was arrested and cautioned to which he replied "No problems, I did it, I admit it" before asking "Did I do a good job?"  Whilst waiting to be conveyed to Police Headquarters Faulkner repeatedly admitted that he had started the fires. 

On arrival at Police Headquarters, Faulkner continued to make admissions to causing the fires stating things like "I just used Ronson everywhere and whoosh" and "I tell you, I've got a lot of satisfaction over this."  He also showed signs of remorse saying "I can't believe I let a woman get to me like this, I'm sorry."  Faulkner signed the record of all the comments he had made prior to and since his arrest.  Alcohol was smelt on Faulkner's breath but the impression was formed that he was not drunk. 

Later the same day, Faulkner was interviewed.  From the outset Faulkner admitted to having started the fire and admitted making the unsolicited comments following his arrest.  Faulkner then proceeded to explain that he had been living with Ms A for the last ten years with them both sharing the rent and the cost of any new items for the flat.  Faulkner stated that he had recently found out that Ms A had been seeing another man and had not been returning to the flat at night.  This has caused him a great degree of upset and resulted in him smashing up the flat on a previous occasion.  On the day in question Faulkner had opened a cupboard to get the phone book out but had seen a tin of Zippo fuel.  He had then "flipped" and deliberately spread the fuel around the flat, including to the sofa, curtains and bedroom, and set fire to it before shutting the door and leaving.  He also admitted turning on the gas on the cooker hob but did not recall whether he lit the gas.  As he passed a neighbour's flat he told her he had set fire to the flat.  He then walked to the Dog and Sausage where he had a pint and a half before walking back toward the fire and admitting he had started it.  Faulkner denied having drunk any alcohol in the morning before starting the fire but admitted to having a lager and brandy the night before.  He also admitted to writing abusive notes regarding Ms A the night before and prior to that.  Further, that he had made the alleged phone calls to Ms A and her niece prior to and on starting the fire.  Faulkner agreed that he was stupid, reckless and that he did not think about the neighbours or the consequences of his actions when he started the fire but that he had done it to stop Ms A living in the flat with her new partner. 

Faulkner was presented to the Magistrate's Court on 8^th September, 2010, reserving his plea.  The matter was adjourned for committal and Faulkner indicated a guilty plea in the Magistrate's Court on his interim remand date. 

Faulkner entered a guilty plea at Indictment on 19^th November, 2010. 

The aggravating features of the case were that:-

1.        This was a deliberate act which was the culmination of apparently increasing aggression on the part of Faulkner against Ms A;

2.        In order to light the fires around the flat, Faulkner used lighter fuel as an accelerant in order to ensure that the fires took hold quickly and caused maximum damage;

3.        Faulkner deliberately turned on some of the rings on the gas cooker so that the kitchen would fill with gas and even greater damage would be caused.  The gas was fed through a supply that ran through the entire building.  The potential explosion which might have followed could have had catastrophic results;

4.        He showed a callous disregard of the others who were or might have been affected; and

5.        The financial implications of the offence were significant. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea; no evidence that it was premeditated; immediately notified a neighbour of his actions; low risk of re-offending; emotional difficulties, although these were noted by the Court as amounting to no excuse; remorse; delay resulting from the need to postpone the sentence hearing. 

Previous Convictions:

Faulkner had "spent" previous conviction for malicious damage (from 1988) which was not taken into consideration by the Crown. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:

4½ years' imprisonment.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Deputy Bailiff noted comments made by the sentencing court in the case of AG-v-Dewhurst [2007] JRC 098 as to how arson is always serious and unexpected.  The Court noted that Faulkner's actions endangered innocent occupiers and businesses below.  The Court took the view that the emotional reasons given were no explanation.  The Court had regard to all matters said by Faulkner's counsel on his behalf and to his assessed low risk of re-offending and the fact that he was originally expecting to be sentenced on 28^th January, 2011. 

Count 1:

4 years' imprisonment.

D. M. Cadin, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. W. R. Bell for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Mr Faulkner, you are here to be sentenced for one Count of arson and as the Court said in the case of AG-v-Dewhurst [2007] JRC 098:-

"Arson is always a serious offence because of the risk of the fire getting out of control"

The court went on to say:-

"There are so often unexpected and uncertain consequences because fires can so easily get out of control."

Here there was a situation where you set fire to a flat where there were innocent occupiers of flats nearby and of the commercial premises below. 

2.        The Court treats the turning on of the gas as an aggravating factor and I add that we do not consider the emotional problems which you were suffering at the time to be sufficient or indeed any substantial mitigation. 

3.        The end point or tariff for offences of this kind is set between 3 and 5 years' imprisonment and having regard to all the circumstances of this case, but in particular we have regard to the many things that were said on your behalf by your counsel and your guilty plea, your good character, we treat you as being of good character, and the references which show that this was indeed out of character as far as you are concerned.  We take into account the low risk of re-offending and the remorse which you have expressed.  We also take into account the fact that you were expecting to be sentenced on the 28^th January and had an adjournment forced upon you as a result of a listing problem.  Taking all these matters of mitigation into account, we sentence you to 4 years' imprisonment. 

Authorities

AG-v-Dewhurst [2007] JRC 098.

AG-v-Coutanche [1989] JLR N 11b.

AG-v-Corbel [2010] JRC 151B.