Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - grave and criminal assault.

[2016]JRC213

Royal Court

(Samedi)

18 November 2016

The Attorney General

-v-

Colin Anthony Trenear

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

Age:  49.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

In the weeks leading up to the incident, the defendant had been working with victim 1 on a building site.  That morning the defendant was due to meet victim 1 at the site, and had been told that victim 2 would be working with them. 

However neither victim turned up and the defendant was left waiting on site, which angered him.  The defendant sent a message to a friend, stating:  "I still coming at ten?  That old Cunt is getting it this morning."  The "old Cunt" was a reference to victim 1. 

The defendant then sent a text message to victim 1 stating: "Not waiting on u and your clown all day I'll come and get my wages..."

The defendant made his way to the home of a mutual friend, Miss W, where the victims were that morning.  He sent victim 1 a text message stating:  "I'm coming for u get to fuck the pair of u."

On arrival the defendant let himself in with a key he had previously been given by Miss W, and made his way to the living room where the victims were seated.  The defendant was annoyed that the victims had failed to show up for work.  As he entered the room he saw Victim 2 sitting on a sofa, and he became angry as he suspected that he was drinking alcohol.  He went to kick the drink out of his hand.  In doing so he recklessly kicked Victim 2 to the right side of his face (Count 2).  The kick caused swelling and a small bruise.  The defendant was wearing steel toe-capped working boots at the time, as he had expected to be labouring on a building site that morning. 

The defendant then turned to victim 1 who was sat on another sofa.  The defendant picked up a small wooden coffee table and brought it down on the back of the sofa above where victim 1 was sitting.  The table broke apart, and victim 1 later stated that he sustained an injury to his right forearm arm at this point (a 1 cm square abrasion and 3 x 4 cm bruise), as well as injury to his head (Count 1). 

There was then a general scuffle during which the victims took hold of the defendant to restrain him.  During the course of this struggle the defendant took out a plasterboard shaver (a tool used in the building trade to dress the edges of plasterboard sheets) and said words to the effect of: "If you don't let me go I'll do you."  The victims released the defendant, who then left the premises. 

At 11:15 the defendant texted his friend stating:  "I'm coming back in 20 min and if I ever see any of those cunts in your gaff I will do what I have to."

At 11:42, the defendant received a text message from another friend, stating:  "How's it going?  You not killed any oaps yet?!"  The Defendant replied:  ".it went off and the old Bill turned up as I left going back for more now."

The defendant texted Miss W, stating:  "They're not there door wide open so I'm going to the hospital just so they know exactly what the score is."

At 14:00, the defendant texted Miss W, stating:  "I should have done it last night.. A".

Details of Mitigation:

The Crown:  Guilty pleas; injuries caused were minimal. 

The Defence:  The defendant had expressed remorse; the offences were out of character; difficult background; long term addition to opiates. 

Previous Convictions:

The defendant had 68 offences mainly for larceny, drug and driving matters, but only one assault (from 1997).  He had also breached orders of the courts on seven occasions. 

Conclusions:

Total: 2 years' imprisonment. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Total:  18 months' imprisonment. 

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

Advocate A. M. Harrison for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE COMMISSIONER:

1.        This was an unprovoked attack on two men that you knew.  You kicked one of them to the right side of his face as he sat on the sofa, albeit that the Crown accept that you meant to kick the drink out of his hand.  You then brought down a wooden coffee table, which you picked up, on the back of the sofa where the other victim was sitting, causing injuries to his right forearm and a minor injury to his head.  You then threatened them both with a plasterboard shaver when they tried to restrain you.  Fortunately neither victim suffered anything other than superficial abrasions. 

2.        Advocate Harrison has urged that we impose a non-custodial sentence.  He has pointed to your guilty plea, to the letter you have written to us and the other letters indicating remorse, the effect on your life of your long-standing drug habit and the efforts that you wish to make to turn your life around, and generally to what is said in the probation report. 

3.        The fact is this was a nasty assault.  The texts which you sent show that you went there in a very angry frame of mind.  It was not a spur of the moment thing, and the texts afterwards suggest that you did not have any immediate remorse.  Now the Court's policy on offences of violence like this is clear.  Defendants must go to prison unless there are some exceptional circumstances.  We cannot see any exceptional circumstances in this case and we think that we cannot impose a non-custodial sentence.  We do this rather sadly; you are nearly 50 years old and it really is time you turned your life around, if ever you are going to.  So we hope very much that you take advantage of what is on offer in prison, and that when you come out you really try and get a grip of your drug habit and turn your life around. 

4.        Where we do agree with Advocate Harrison is that we think the Crown's conclusions were a little too long for this particular assault, given the nature of what happened.  The sentence is one of 18 month's imprisonment, concurrent on each count. 

Authorities

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.

AG-v-Shewan [1999] JLR Notes-13b.

AG-v-Shewan 1999/22.

AG-v-Williamson [2011] JRC 232.

AG-v-Laverty [2004] JRC 159.

AG-v-Chevalier and Riant 1999/150.

AG-v-Freguson and Graham 1995/243a.

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