Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - affray - motoring - driving whilst under the influence of alcohol - driving without a licence - driving without insurance.

[2015]JRC080

Royal Court

(Samedi)

24 April 2015

The Attorney General

-v-

Grzegorz Frankowski

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

Age:  35.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 30^th November, 2014, in the early hours of the morning the police received a call from a member of the public in relation to a suspected drink-driver.  The defendant was identified on CCTV and consequently arrested at his home.  He was identified on CCTV getting into a car parked opposite the Halkett Pub, reversing up a one way street, past the junction to Beresford Street, mounting the pavement outside the market where nearly the entire width of the car was on the pavement before turning up Halkett Place and driving off the correct way.  The defendant was placed into Band C when tested (Count 2).  Initially the defendant denied driving the car and told officers that it must have been his friend for he had walked home from the pub.  He later confessed to driving that evening and also admitted that he did not hold a valid driving licence or any insurance for his wife's vehicle (Count 3 and 4). 

On 16^th December, 2014, the police received two calls from the manager of Longueville Food Hall.  The first call was to inform the police of a drunken customer who would not leave the store and the second to inform them the defendant was in possession of a knife.  The staff had refused to serve the defendant alcohol as they told officers he was intoxicated.  After several minutes the defendant revealed he had a knife.  The knife's blade was covered by a sheath.  The defendant remained in the store drinking until the police arrived with the three members of staff waiting outside except for when one of the staff members re-entered to serve another customer.  He had been verbally abusive towards the staff during the whole offence calling them "bitches" and "bloody Portuguese" (Count 1). 

The defendant in interview admitted to being very drunk and that he was feeling extremely low as a result of losing his job.  He explained that the staff refused him the sale of the vodka although he had given them money and therefore he revealed the knife.  He told officers he was in possession of the knife to harm himself rather than anyone else and that he had told the staff to call the Police so he could 'save himself'. 

Details of Mitigation:

Previous good character, stable background, history of helping others in the Island and benefit of a guilty plea.

Previous Convictions:

None.

Conclusions:

Total: 18 months' imprisonment and disqualification from holding or acquiring a driving licence for a period of 18 months. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Knife crime is treated extremely seriously and almost invariably it leads to a custodial sentence and would have done had the defendant not already served 4 months in custody.  The court also found there was a considerable amount of mitigation such as the fact that the blade was covered by a sheath and that it was clear that it was not an emergency, for a staff member felt able to renter the store and serve another customer.

Total: 180 hours' Community Service Order, together with a 12 month Probation Order and disqualification from holding or acquiring a driving licence for a period of 2 years. 

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

Advocate L. V. Marks for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        You are here to be sentenced on an Indictment which contains one count of affray and three counts involving driving offences; driving whilst intoxicated, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.  Of these the affray charge is the most serious and I am going to deal with that first. 

2.        You went into Longueville Food Hall; you had clearly been consuming alcohol and you were aggressive.  The staff refused to serve you and you took out a knife from your fleece pocket; you kept the sheath on the blade and, after showing it to the three members of staff at the till, you returned it to your pocket.  Two of the three members of staff were very frightened.  Perhaps, rather strangely, during the course of this incident a customer entered the store and the remaining shop assistant re-entered to serve that particular customer. 

3.        You need to know that knife crime is treated extremely seriously in this Island.  Almost invariably it leads to a prison sentence being imposed and it would have led to a prison sentence in this case had you not already served approximately 4 months in prison.  But because you have, and because there is a considerable amount of mitigation, the Court is going to avoid a prison sentence in this case.  Because it is so unusual I just want to set out some of the reasons so it is clear as to why we have taken this decision. 

4.        The first, and one of the most important, is that the knife remained sheathed and you did not threaten with it.  The second is that it is clear that the incident cannot have been perceived as an emergency or the third shop assistant would not have re-entered the shop to serve another customer.  The third is your personal mitigation that you are aged 35, not only previously of good character, but clearly from a stable background and have helped others in the Island in a number of different ways, all as set out in the reports.  And so the Court accepts that this incident was completely out of character and was exceptional but suddenly you, to use the English expression, "have gone off the rails".  Even so, I have to tell you that had you not served 4 months in custody it would have been a custodial sentence. 

5.        In the circumstances on Count 1 we are going to sentence you to 180 hours' Community Service Order and the alternative would have been 12 months' imprisonment.  I must warn you that if you do not perform the community service then you will be liable to be brought back to this Court and sentenced again. 

6.        I come next to the driving offences.  Normally these offences would, in our judgment, have resulted in a financial penalty.  It is clear from your personal circumstances and those circumstances were indeed part of the reason, we think, for the offending, that you cannot afford to pay a fine and in those circumstances we have to find some other sentence.  Because we do not think that these driving offences would have merited a custodial sentence, we do not think community service is available to us and accordingly, we intend to place you on probation for each of the driving charges, Counts 2, 3 and 4 for a period of 12 months.  In the probation report there are a number of suggestions from the probation officer as to how the Probation Order could be used constructively and we have taken that very much into account in deciding that this is the right sentence to impose so that the combination of the time which you have served already and the Community Service Order and the Probation Order in the context of the charges on the Indictment provides proper punishment as well as something constructive for the future. 

7.        In addition to the Probation Order you will be disqualified from holding a licence for a period of 2 years.  The Probation Order means that you must act in accordance with the directions of the probation officer and, again I must warn you, that if you breach the terms of the Probation Order you are liable to be brought back to this Court when you can be sentenced again. 

Authorities

AG v Heard [2012] JRC 132.

AG v McDougal [2010] JRC 072.

AG v Bree [2005] JRC 177.

AG v Bailey [2009] JRC 077.