Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - grave and criminal assault.

[2017]JRC127

Royal Court

(Samedi)

11 August 2017

The Attorney General

-v-

Rian Golding

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

Age: 19 but 18 at time of offending.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

At approximately 21:00 hours on 22^nd April, 2017, the defendant, the complainant (who was aged 14) and six or seven other friends had gathered in a field up Trinity Hill.  All those present were drinking alcohol and food had been cooked on a disposable barbecue. 

Later on in the evening, between 23:00 hours and midnight, the complainant and his friend moved away from the group to have a cigarette.  They sat down chatting and laughing when the defendant approached them.  The defendant said "Are you taking the piss out of me?"  The complainant replied that they were not.  The defendant then put his hand over the complainant's mouth and the complainant bit the defendant's hand to make him release him, which the defendant did.  The defendant then punched the complainant to the head.  The complainant fell to the ground and lost consciousness.  The complainant's friend saw that the complainant was "out cold" after the first punch and rolled him over onto his side.  The complainant was unconscious for approximately one minute.  Whilst the complainant was on the ground the defendant continued to shout but did not do anything else to the complainant or his friend at this stage.  The complainant regained consciousness, got to his feet and tried to speak to the defendant.  The defendant punched the complainant for a second time and the complainant fell back into a bush.  When the complainant sat up from the bush his friend saw blood on his face. 

As one of the punches connected with the complainant's face he recalled his tooth going through the left corner of his mouth. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea from an early stage, youth, cooperative with Police and remorseful. 

Previous Convictions:

Eight previous convictions for 26 offences including two grave and criminal assaults and four common assaults. 

The defendant was sentenced by the Magistrate's Court on 7^th April, 2017, following conviction for one count of grave and criminal assault and one charge of larceny.  He received 160 hours' Community Service, a 12 month Probation Order and a 6 month Exclusion Order.  The current offending places the defendant in breach of these orders. 

Conclusions:

Breach of Probation Order imposed by the Magistrate's Court on 7 April 2017: 6 months' youth detention, consecutive to Count 1 of the Indictment.

Total: 18 months' youth detention.

Discharge of the Magistrate's Probation Order and Community Service Order.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Breach of Probation Order imposed by the Magistrate's Court on 7 April 2017: 9 months' youth detention, consecutive to Count 1 of the Indictment. 

Total: 18 months' youth detention. 

Discharge of the Magistrate's Probation Order and Community Service Order. 

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

Advocate A. M. Harrison for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE commissioner:

1.        Mr Golding, on 7^th April this year you were sentenced to a 12 month Probation Order and 160 hours' Community Service Order for an offence of grave and criminal assault.  Given your record you were quite lucky to be given that chance and yet, only two weeks later, you committed the offence for which you are now before us.  That was another assault, caused by your temper coupled with the consumption of alcohol.  We accept that the assault in this case only involved two punches but it is more serious than that because the victim was unconscious for a short while after your first punch and yet you still punched him again when he got up. 

2.        Nevertheless, in mitigation we have taken note of what your advocate has said and what is in the reports and in the letters we have received.  In particular we do note the effect which the circumstances surrounding your father's death have had on you, but the pain which you are suffering from that does not give you any excuse to go around hitting people. 

3.        You are 19 and the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994 applies to you but we are quite satisfied that you do have a history of failure to respond to non-custodial sentences and you are unable or unwilling to respond to them and your advocate has very reasonably and properly on your behalf accepted that; so there is no alternative to youth custody in the present case. 

4.        We hope you will take advantage of what is on offer in youth detention and we are also pleased to read and to hear that you hope to start afresh with the help of your grandmother in England when you come out.  Ultimately the choice is yours.  If you carry on like you are at present, hitting people, attacking them, then you are going to spend more and more time in prison for longer and longer periods and that would be a terrible waste of your life.  So we hope you think about that and we hope you can turn away from the course you have been following so far. 

5.        But today there is no alternative to youth detention and we think the conclusions overall are correct.  But we do think that, given the offence for which you were dealt with at the Magistrate's Court involved a fracture, it is wrong to distinguish between the two.  So on the count before us we are going to sentence you to 9 months' youth detention and on the breach offence to 9 months' youth detention, consecutive, making a total of 18 months' youth detention in all.  I tell you that you may be subject to supervision when you are released and we discharge the Probation Order and the Community Service Order imposed by the Magistrate's Court. 

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.