Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2011]JRC120

Royal Court

(Samedi)

24 June 2011

The Attorney General

-v-

Mark Samuel Duncan

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

Age:  21.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

The defendant had been out in town with friends to celebrate a birthday, having started the evening at a house where he had drunk a few glasses of alcoholic punch.  He assessed himself as being quite drunk. 

The victims were out with another friend who was not involved in the incident.  They had also been drinking.  Victim 1 said that they had been dancing in Platinum nightclub at about 01:00 when they were separated on the dance floor.  He remembers being pushed by two men while they were dancing.  The defendant said in interview that he and his friend had been dancing "like idiots" and it was possible that they were pushing people.  Victim 1 was annoyed by this and went to speak to them and told them to calm down.  He says that they pushed him again and the defendant said that he had a "blade" with him.  The second male then pulled the defendant away.  The defendant did not recall this in interview. 

Victim 1 received a call from Victim 2 who had been looking for him in the club and they met near the entrance.  He told him about what the defendant had said.  The defendant was near the entrance as well and Victim 2 asked why he had threatened his friend.  CCTV from the club then shows the defendant walking out of the club and as he does he takes a bottle from the counter and conceals it behind a top he is carrying. 

Victim 1 describes how the defendant and another male were just outside as they left the club.  There were further verbal exchanges at which point the defendant said words to the effect "While I don't have a knife I do have a bottle".  He produced the bottle from underneath the top he was carrying and smashed it on the side of Victim 1's head cutting him and requiring four stitches.  Some glass fragments also hit Victim 2 and he said that this caused a small cut to the side of his neck and minor scratches to his arms.  He then said that the defendant punched him once in the face.  A police van passed soon after and was stopped by Victim 2, who told them that his friend had been hit with a bottle.  The defendant was arrested and cautioned.  He said "I just pushed them away". 

The account the defendant gave in interview was incomplete due to his level of intoxication.  He admitted punching one of the victims with a bottle in his hand and said it was because he believed that he was about to be attacked.  He said he was unsure where the bottle came from as he does not drink beer.  He did not recall punching the other man. 

Victim 1 will have a small permanent scar on his temple. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, residual youth, remorse, support of family and partner. 

Previous Convictions:

None relevant. 

Conclusions:

Total:  210 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 15 months' imprisonment. 

Compensation Order in the amount of £105.98 sought.

Exclusion Order from 1^st, 4^th and 7^th Category premises for a period of 12 months sought. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted. 

Compensation Order to be paid within two weeks.

R. C. P. Pedley, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. M. Grace for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are here to be sentenced on an Indictment containing two counts of grave and criminal assault.  In a drunken state you picked up a bottle and you hit a man over the head with it causing him injury and scarring which may well be with him for the rest of his life.  It could have been much worse; you could have caused him really serious injury. 

2.        The Court has said on many occasions that offences of this kind will generally call for a custodial sentence.  In your case we have looked very carefully at all the mitigation which has been put before us by your counsel and only because of the package of that mitigation, in particular the guilty plea and the remorse, the fact that we see this is not in your character generally, that we are prepared to deal with the matter not by custodial sentence.  But you should be very aware that you have come very close to receiving a sentence of imprisonment for this offence. 

3.        We are going to impose a sentence of community service in accordance with the Crown's conclusions.  You must perform that community service and if you do not, you will be brought back to this Court and it is very likely indeed that you will then be sent to prison.  You should not regard community service as any form of let-off.  It is a substantial period of community service that is being ordered, but it is a constructive way in which you can make amends for the offences which you have committed and for which you are now being sentenced, and in the meantime it does mean that you will be able to retain your employment and get on with your life.  You have let your parents down, and your mother particularly is going to suffer as a result of your conduct and that is an additional penalty which you have to bear because you are responsible for that. 

4.        We are going to make the Compensation Order as suggested by the Crown in the sum of £105.98 in favour of the victim and you will have two weeks in which to pay.  You are also to be the subject of an Exclusion Order.  That means that you must not go into 1^st, 4^th and 7^th category premises for a period of 12 months as from today.  That, in a sense, is for your own good and hopefully in a year's time you will both be that much better able to avoid putting yourself in this sort of position again. 

Authorities

AG-v-Ferreira [2009] JRC 087.

AG-v-Pereira [2009] JRC 060.

AG-v-Saldana [2009] JRC 032.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JCA 046.