Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - drugs - possession with intent to supply - possession - class B.

[2016]JRC067B

Royal Court

(Samedi)

18 March 2016

The Attorney General

-v-

Laurie Ian Murphy

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

Age:  25.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 27^th October, 2015, police officers saw the defendant and another man cycling through a town park and into the rear courtyard of John Wesley Apartments.  The defendant was carrying a satchel.  The officers approached the men and defendant threw both the satchel and his bicycle to the ground before running off.  The police pursued and apprehended the defendant, who was extremely fidgety, had pinpoint pupils and appeared "spaced".  A search was carried out under the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978.  No controlled substances were found on the defendant, although a used syringe and an iPhone were seized.  The Police then searched the bag dropped by the defendant.  Inside they found six and a half bars of cannabis resin, weighing a total of 613.27 grams (Count 1).  The defendant was arrested. 

A search of the defendant's home address was carried out under the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003.  A number of items were seized including one complete and two partial tablets of Subutex (buprenorphine) tablets (Count 2), three mobile telephones, a tablet computer, a SIM card, and £420. 

The defendant was interviewed and initially answered "no comment" to all substantive questions.  He then told the interviewing officers that he had visited an unnamed friend that morning and had injected an unknown drug that he had been given for free.  He claimed that the next thing he remembered was being in a police cell.  He then claimed that he had found the bag, but refused to say where.  He accepted that the subutex (buprenorphine) tablets were his and that he had bought them the previous day for £100.  He claimed that the cash found was his and had been given to him by his parents in anticipation of his impending fatherhood.  On Indictment the defendant subsequently entered a guilty plea to possession of the cannabis with intent to supply, and accepted that "his role comprised of him collecting he bag from one address and dropping it off to another.  His involvement would have ceased at this point.  He had no knowledge of what would happen to the content of the bag after he dropped it off and was not involved in any supply other than moving the drugs".

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty Plea.  The defendant's son was also born on 3^rd November. 2015.  Bail granted for the birth had been extended and the Social Enquiry Report stated that the defendant was a devoted and hands-on father. 

Previous Convictions:

113 previous convictions, although none for drug offences.  His most recent conviction was in 2013, when he was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment for three offences of robbery. 

Conclusions:

Total: 150 hours' Community Service Order or 9 months' imprisonment in default, together with a 12 month Probation Order.

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs sought.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted. 

C. M. M. Yates, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate S. E. A. Dale for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are being sentenced for one count of possession with intent to supply cannabis and one count for possession of subutex.  The subutex was for your own use and the cannabis, some 613.27 grams was to be collected by you from one address and delivered to another.  Your role was therefore one of courier. 

2.        The Crown acknowledges and we agree, that your role was towards the lower end of trafficking offences.  We agree with the Crown's assessment of the appropriate starting point in this case as being one of 15 months' imprisonment. 

3.        Your record is, as I am sure you will acknowledge, extremely poor but you have no previous convictions in connection with drugs and you have the benefit of your guilty plea. 

4.        The Court is impressed by the fact that there are signs that you are now moving in the right direction; that you have a new purpose in your life and you seem to have assumed the responsibilities of fatherhood and are acting responsibly towards your son and towards your stepson.

5.        We have read with a great deal of care the letters that have been put forward on your behalf.  They speak eloquently for you and we accept that you are important in the life of your family.  We are prepared to afford you this last opportunity to get it right.  You must assume that if you offend again in the future the Court will not albeit in exceptional circumstances be able to deal with the matter as leniently again. 

6.        We adopt the conclusions of the Crown and you are sentenced in respect of Count 1 to 12 months' Probation with 150 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 9 months' imprisonment, and on Count 2 to 12 months' Probation Order with 45 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 2 weeks' imprisonment, concurrent. 

7.        We also order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs. 

8.        We hope very much indeed that we do not see you here again and that you will take the opportunity that this disposal has offered to you. 

Authorities

Campbell, Molloy and MacKenzie v AG [1995] JLR 136.

AG v Roslan, Whitcombe and Lagadu [2015] JRC 030A.

AG v Phillips [2013] JRC 036A.