Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - larceny - larceny as a servant.

[2013]JRC102

Royal Court

(Samedi)

24 May 2013

The Attorney General

-v-

Patricia Louise Hamon

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

Age:  25.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Hamon was employed as a duty manager at the Hotel de Normandie from March 2012.  Her responsibilities included banking cash takings from the reception desk, cocktail bar and adjoining public house.  She was seen as reliable and diligent in her duties.  In early December 2012 no takings were banked for three days when Hamon was on duty.  After the employer tried to contact her by telephone she sent him a long text message admitting she had stolen the money to fund a drug habit she had concealed.  They met and the employer encouraged her to seek help during which he would continue her employment and she would repay the missing monies, giving her the chance to start afresh.  Hamon returned to work after a couple of days "cooling off" period.  A week later further monies went missing or were not banked, following which Hamon failed to turn up for work.  The employer contacted the police, following which Hamon attended at the police station.  Hamon was totally cooperative during interview and made full and frank admissions.  Initially "borrowed" monies from hotel safe, replacing them when paid.  "Borrowings" got out of hand - Counts 1, 2 and 3 related to cash stolen from the hotel safe which had been held on behalf of tour operators, Count 4 related to the hotel's cash takings.  Hamon was subject to a Magistrate's Court Community Service Order imposed on 21^st November, 2012, relating to the importation of the Class C drug Subutex. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty pleas; totally cooperative; while still employed at the hotel she assisted the accounts department to identify the takings she had to date stolen.  Genuine remorse; assessed at being at medium risk of reoffending. 

Previous Convictions:

November 2012 - Art 61(2)(b) Customs and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999 - importation of Subutex - 50 hours' Community Service.

Conclusions:

The Crown sought no separate penalty in relation to the breach of the Community Service Order by reoffending, Hamon having successfully completed the hours prior to sentencing.

The Crown invited the Court to consider compensation claims made by each of the victims in the sums charged. 

Breach of Community Service Order: no separate penalty.

Total: 12 months' imprisonment.

Compensation order sought in the sum of £7,088.61 in favour of:- Waverley Coaches Limited (£3,334), Coastal Cruises Limited (£227), Tantivy Blue Coach Tours (£596.36) and Channel Hotels and Leisure Limited (£2,931.25).

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

There being no evidence of any assets the Court declined to make any Compensation orders.

Ms E. L. Hollywood, Crown Advocate.

Advocate D. A. Corbel for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are here to be sentenced on four counts of larceny of cash and breach of trust in the sum of £7,088.61.  The theft took place over a period of 7 months.  You are of previous good character, other than a conviction for being concerned in the importation of a controlled drug, for which you received community service last November and, as you committed these offences, you are referred to us for breach of that order. 

2.        One of the counts of larceny took place despite an admission of wrongdoing to your employer, who specifically gave you a second chance.  This aggravates the offending although we recognise also that it illustrates how distorted your judgement was at that time. 

3.        The cash was stolen not for ordinary living nor for luxuries, but to feed your heroin addiction.  There was not anything very sophisticated about the offending which arose simply by your deliberately not banking cash which came into the business.  You have made immediate admissions; you have voluntarily gone to the police; you have pleaded guilty at the earliest stage.  The Court is in no doubt at all that you are remorseful.  We have read the letters in your support; we accept, and this is important, that the offending is out of character. 

4.        Unfortunately none of that mitigation is unusual for breach of trust cases like this.  You will have been told that the Court's policy in these cases is to impose an immediate custodial sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances, and there is nothing in this case which allows us to depart from that policy. 

5.        We think the Crown's conclusions are correct in principle and we sentence you to 12 months' imprisonment on Count 1, 3 months' imprisonment on Count 2, 6 months' imprisonment on Count 3 and 12 months' imprisonment on Count 4, and they will all run concurrently, making a total of 12 months' imprisonment.  We note that the Community Service Order has now been performed and there is no separate penalty in that respect. 

6.        There is no evidence of any ability on your part to pay a Compensation Order and we decline to make any such order. 

7.        This offending has arisen from your tragic addiction to heroin.  In prison you will be able to receive some help and some counselling for it.  You will also have time to break yourself of the habit, if you can and if you have the inclination.  You have a lot of support from your family and friends.  Today will feel like the blackest day of your life but it can, if you take it this way, be a new beginning from which you can emerge stronger and free of the addiction which you have.  And it really lies with you to make that positive step.  Your counsel has said absolutely everything on your behalf and we have considered it very carefully but that is the sentence of this Court. 

Authorities

Congdon-v-AG 2002/38.

Kirkland-v-AG 2001/200.

AG-v-Zielinski [2008] JRC 028.

R-v-Barrick (1985) 7 Cr. App. R. (S) 142.

AG-v-Pallot [2010] JRC 122.

AG-v-Oliveira [2012] JRC 018.

AG-v-Goddard [2004] JRC 105.

AG-v-Ogilvie and Brockwell [2007] JRC 023.

Criminal Justice (Compensation Orders)(Jersey) 1994.