Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - grave and criminal assault.

[2013]JRC230

Royal Court

(Samedi)

22 November 2013

The Attorney General

-v-

Lee John Anderson

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

Age:  46.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

The defendant had been in Nikita nightclub.  CCTV footage showed him coming on to the street at half past midnight with a number of other men.  He appears to be confronting one man in the road, and later confronts the victim.  The defendant crossed the road to put down his bag and coat, then returned in an agitated state to confront the victim.  He was ushered away by other men present, and collected his bag and coat.  Six minutes after emerging he again dropped his bag and coat on the other side of the street, crossed back at speed and, while the victim was facing him with arms lowered and palms open, punched him twice to the head.  The victim fell against the wall of the club and then to the floor, where the defendant punched him ten to twenty times, before being pulled away.  The victim stood but lost his balance and fell again.  The defendant returned, kicking him and aiming a stamp to his head, although it is not clear whether this connected.  The victim sustained minor injuries to his head, but some facial marks remained at sentence several months later. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, offence was out of character. 

Previous Convictions:

17 convictions, one for GBH in 1996. 

Conclusions:

Exclusion Order from 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd,4^th, 5^th and 7^th category premises for a period of 12 months taking effect from the day on which the defendant is released from prison, but should the Court impose a non-custodial sentence the Crown asks that the Exclusion Order run for a period of 18 months from today's date sought.  Excluding Multiplex Cinema, the Jersey Arts Centre, Jersey Airport, the ferry terminal at Elizabeth Harbour, the Opera House and his place of employment. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Exclusion Order from 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th category licensed premises for a period of 2 years commencing from today's date excluding the Multiplex Cinema, the Jersey Arts Centre, Jersey Airport, the ferry terminal at Elizabeth Harbour, the Opera House and his place of employment made. 

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

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

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        CCTV recorded what happened in this case.  You punched the victim twice so that he fell to the ground; you then punched him or attempted to punch him a further ten times or so before being pulled off by some peacemakers.  The victim got up but it is clear that he was dazed or disorientated so that he crumpled back down to the pavement, at which point you ran at him, kicked him and aimed a stamp at his head, although it is not clear whether you connected and, as Advocate Bell has pointed out, the victim was not lying prone on the ground, he was on all fours.  You were then pulled off again by others.  Fortunately you were wearing soft shoes and the victim's injuries were confined to bruising and swelling.  It is clear from the CCTV that the victim offered you no physical provocation whatsoever.  We are willing to accept, as put forward by your advocate and as you alleged at the time, that he had offered some verbal provocation but that does not excuse what you did and it is time that men in the streets of St Helier learned that verbal insults or threats do not justify physical retribution. 

2.        In your case it is not the first time you have committed an offence of violence.  You have a previous conviction for wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm but that was many years ago in 1996 in Liverpool when you were sentenced to 2½ years' imprisonment, and you have no offence for violence since then and the Court takes that into account.  You have however some other convictions and it was only in February of this year that a Probation Order for an offence of dishonesty was discharged early because of your apparent good progress.  It is disappointing therefore that within a short time of a Probation Order you are back before this Court. 

3.        Advocate Bell has spoken on your behalf.  He has referred us to your guilty plea at an early stage and we agree with him that you should be given a full discount for that.  He has pointed to your remorse and we have read your letter.  He has pointed to your regret that this will affect your two children because you have regular contact with them; he has also referred us to the report from the social worker at the Adult Mental Health Service which has been given to us and which we have read carefully, and the other reference.  We have listened carefully to what he said but the Court has repeatedly said that offences of this nature will, save in exceptional circumstances, attract a custodial sentence.  We can find nothing exceptional about this case and we consider that a non-custodial sentence is simply not possible.  Indeed the Court was considering whether, for an offence of this gravity, a sentence of 2 years' imprisonment was not required; but we have been persuaded by Advocate Bell that the conclusions of the Crown are sufficient.  He indeed, of course, was urging a lower sentence but we feel ourselves unable to accede to that. 

4.        The sentence of the Court for the one count you face is one of 18 months' imprisonment. 

5.        We must also consider the question of an Exclusion Order.  We have been advised that some difficulty has arisen as to when exclusions orders which are expressed to begin on the date of release from prison, take effect because of the practice nowadays of early temporary release for one or more periods.  Is the exclusion order in force or is it not during such periods?  We decided therefore that the better course is to express the order to take effect from now but to lengthen it so as to allow for it to take effect and have some effect after your release, whether it be on temporary release or following the expiry of two-thirds of your sentence.  So we are going to make an Exclusion Order for 2 years from today's date which, in effect, will be one therefore of 12 months from when you are formally released, assuming that you are released after two-thirds of your sentence.  And the terms of the Order are as requested by the Crown, in other words, from all 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th category licensed premises except for the Multiplex Cinema, the Arts Centre, Jersey Airport, the ferry terminal at Elizabeth Harbour, the Opera House and any place of employment. 

Authorities

Whelan on Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Courts of Jersey.

AG v De Barros [2013] JRC 079.

AG v Miller [2013] JRC 011.

AG v Umlauft [2012] JRC 150B.

AG-v-Aubert [2011] JRC 004.