Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number sentencing - grave and criminal assault - assault - resisting arrest - breach of community service order.

[2014]JRC165A

Royal Court

(Samedi)

4 September 2014

The Attorney General

-v-

Joshua James Crabtree

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, after conviction at Assize trial on 8^th July, 2014, and after guilty pleas on the following charges:

Age:  21.

Plea: Not guilty to Counts 1 and 2. Guilty to Counts 3 and 4.

Details of Offence:

Victim 1 and victim 2, both 17, were walking through St Helier late at night when they came across the defendant and his girlfriend.  Victim 1 knew the defendant's girlfriend who was crying and spat blood.  Victim 1 attempted to lead the girlfriend away.  The defendant attempted to punch victim 2 in the head (Count 2). 

When victim 1 remonstrated with him, the defendant threw five or six punches at her face, one of which connected.  He then strangled her until she lost consciousness momentarily (Count 1). 

Later, the defendant forcefully stamped on the toes of an arresting officer (Count 3) and resisted arrest by kicking his legs out and making threats as he was carried down three flights of stairs (Count 4). 

In interview he admitted stamping on the officer's foot and denied the other allegations.  He later admitted merely shoving victim 2 which was not accepted. 

The defendant was unanimously convicted of Counts 1 and 2.  Both victims gave evidence at the trial. 

These offences constituted a breach of a Royal Court order of 180 hours' Community Service of which he had completed 95 hours. 

Details of Mitigation:

Youth. 

Previous Convictions:

Bad record including four grave and criminal assaults, five common assaults, robbery and assault on police. 

Conclusions:

Breach of Community Service Order: 6 months' imprisonment, consecutive to Counts 1, 2 and 3.

Total: 3 years and 2 months' imprisonment.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Breach of Community Service Order: 5 months' imprisonment, consecutive to Counts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Total: 2½ years' imprisonment.

Previous Community Service Orders and Probation Orders discharged.

D. J. Hopwood, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate M. P. Boothman for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE commissioner:

1.        I start with the offences of which you have been convicted.  Those were nasty attacks on two young people who had intervened because they, completely understandably, thought that your girlfriend had been attacked.  What had happened to her was not clear in the trial and is not any part of the sentencing process but it was absolutely clear that their sole reason for coming across to where you were was their concern for her as she lay on the ground.  You then chose to set about them, seriously in the case of the young woman, happily less seriously in the case of the young man.  You still deny that.  It was for the Jury, of course, to decide what the truth of the matter was and they convicted you.  I note from their new witness statements that each of the two victims has found it particularly distressing to be accused of lying in Court and for that reason, and that reason only, I add this: although finding the facts was no part of my task, I fully understand why the Jury were satisfied so that they were sure that the witnesses were telling the truth.  It was clear I think to all observers that they were doing so.  Then when the police come to arrest you, you react violently.  That is obviously in itself a seriously aggravating matter. 

2.        So far as your record is concerned, you do not need telling it is a bad one, you have had chances, you have had custodial sentences and then you were given a really good chance in October of last year.  This is what the Deputy Bailiff said to you:-

"5.      We hope, from the background `reports, that you are turning the corner.  It is very important that you should because you are rapidly running out of the days when you can rely upon your youth and on the 1994 Law.  (That is the law dealing with sentencing of young persons).  In the sense that today you have a job, in the economic circumstances of today when so many young people do not have jobs, that is a very significant plus which you would be very foolish to jeopardise.  So we add those words of warning to the sentence which we are about to impose, and we add to the warning this, that you have got to realise that the law is there to be respected."

3.        We fully understand why you were given that chance.  You threw it away by your behaviour on this night.  Regrettably we have come to the conclusion that there is no alternative to a custodial sentence in this case, both for the seriousness of the offences and also for the fact that you are in breach of orders passed only a very short time before these offences were committed.  You must learn to control your anger, you must learn to deal with the problems that drink, perhaps also drugs, give you.  If there are anger management courses available to you in La Moye, or substance abuse courses, you would be very well advised to take advantage of those because until you deal with those problems we fear you will be back in Court again and again. 

4.        We think so far as the length of the sentences concerned that the conclusions of the Attorney General are somewhat too long and the sentences will be reduced somewhat to give effect to that. 

5.        So far as the offences for which you are convicted by the Jury are concerned: on Count 1; 2 years' imprisonment, on Count 2: 1 month's imprisonment, concurrent making 2 years for the offences before the Jury. 

6.        It is a matter of clear principle that if a defendant being arrested chooses to fight with the police and resist arrest, he will get something extra on his sentence and so as the Attorney General rightly submits, there should be a consecutive sentence for those two counts so Counts 3 and 4; 1 month's imprisonment, concurrent to each other but consecutive to the 2 years. 

7.        So far as the breaches of the Community Service Order and Probation Order are concerned we discharge those orders and resentence you for the offences.  We think the total sentence appropriate for all of your offending is 2½ years', we therefore impose a sentence not of 6 months but 5 months for those breaches, consecutive to the other sentences, making 2½ years in all.  The time you spent in custody on remand will, of course, count towards that sentence so that is 2½ years in all. 

Authorities

AG-v-Crabtree [2013] JRC 196.

Harrison-v-AG [2014] JLR 111.

AG-v-Andrade [2013] JRC 191.

AG-v-Hinds [2014] JRC 012B.

AG-v-Barnes [2011] JRC 150.

AG-v-Smale [2011] JRC 156A.