Jersey Unreported Judgments

Superior Number Sentencing - Grave and criminal assault - offensive weapon - drugs - possession - Class B

[2020]JRC155

Royal Court

(Samedi)

4 August 2020

Before     :

T. J. Le Cocq, Esq., Bailiff, and Jurats Blampied, Ramsden and Hughes.

The Attorney General

-v-

Scott McCaffrey

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court, to which the accused was remanded by the Inferior Number on 29^th May, 2020, following a guilty plea to the following charges:

2 counts of:	Grave and criminal assault (Count 1 and Count 2).
1 count of:	Having in a public place an offensive weapon contrary to Article 43 of the Firearms (Jersey) Law, 2000 (Count 3).
1 count of:	Possession of a controlled drug, contrary to Article 8(1) of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law, 1978 (Count 4).

Age:  27. 

Plea: Guilty. 

Details of Offence:

The defendant and victims 1 and 2 were all known to one another.

 

On Christmas Eve 2019, victims 1 and 2, who were in a relationship at the time, had been drinking alcohol together in the early evening at an apartment they shared.  Following a disagreement victim 1 left the address.  Victim 2 went to meet the defendant at his home address.  The defendant had also been drinking alcohol.

 

At around 11 pm victim 1 asked to meet victim 2 to recover some of his property.  The defendant accompanied victim 2 to meet victim 1.  He took with him a black combat knife (Count 3).  They met victim 1 in the streets of St Helier.  An argument broke out and victim 1 became aggressive towards the defendant.  The defendant pulled out the knife and stabbed victim 1 to the chest, face and hand.  Victim 1 required surgery to insert a chest drain as the stab wound to the chest punctured his lung (Count 1).  During the altercation, he also stabbed victim 2 to the right buttock as she attempted to separate the defendant and victim 1 (Count 2). 

 

After the assault, he disposed of the knife by putting it down a drain before arrest.  He gave a false name on arrest and was found with a personal amount of cannabis (Count 4).

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea and good character.  Letters from family and GP indicated recent deterioration of mental health.

Previous Convictions:

None. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:	5 years' imprisonment.
Count 2:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent to Count 1.
Count 3:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	No separate penalty.

Total:  5 years' imprisonment. 

Order sought for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and knife.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:	4 years' imprisonment.
Count 2:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 3:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	No separate penalty.

Total:  4 years' imprisonment.

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and knife ordered.

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

Advocate J. C. Gollop for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

1.        On Christmas Eve last, you went with one of the victims in this case ("victim 2") to meet with her boyfriend, the other victim in this case ("victim 1"), who was arranging to collect his belongings from her flat following a disagreement.

2.        The Crown has set out in full the details of this matter and we do not need to repeat those details in these remarks.  Before going with victim 2 to meet up with victim 1 you had been drinking a substantial quantity of alcohol and according to you, you had have been taking Valium, and although you were accompanying victim 2 for support at her request, before you went out you picked up a black combat knife and took it with you.

3.        When the three of you met there was an argument which, in the words of the Crown, "became physical".  We accept that in the course of that you lost your glasses and that you have poor eyesight, but you drew the knife and again in the description of the Crown and the words of victim 2 "you just went for [victim 1].  [You] went to stab him, [victim 1] tried to punch him".  It seems clear that you stabbed at him on a number of occasions and the way the incident was described by victim 2 seems to us to be capable of being characterised as a frenzied attack.

4.        The injuries have been described in full and in our view it is extremely fortunate that there were not much more severe than in fact they were.  Nonetheless, victim 1 sustained injuries that required a significant amount of treatment including suturing, and a wound to his chest which punctured his lung.  Victim 2 also sustained a stab wound in the right buttock.

5.        We have considered the matter against the framework provided for in Harrison v AG [2004] JLR 111 and agree with the Crown's characterisation of the assault against those tests.  We also have in mind the Court's statement in AG v Lawlor [2009] JRC 150 also referred to by the Crown, concerning the serious view that the Court takes with regard to any assault with a knife and the more generalised comments AG v Cummins [2006] JRC 070 relating to drink fuelled violence in St Helier.

6.        We would add that anyone who takes a knife and uses it especially when they have taken alcohol but in any event, loses control over the consequences of their actions.  It could not be more dangerous.  There is no control over the outcome and it could have been much more serious than in fact it was.

7.        You have no previous convictions and that to us makes it all the more inexplicable that you should suddenly arm yourself with an offensive weapon and use it on this occasion.  The fact that you were intoxicated is of course no excuse at all.  But you are entitled to the benefit of your guilty plea which in our view is a valuable one, and we take that fully into account in reaching our conclusions.  As we have said you have no previous convictions and we therefore treat you as a man of good character for our purposes today.

8.        We note the observations in the Social Enquiry Report and indeed in the psychological report and we note that the substance abuse referred to in the reports and the alcohol that you consumed may well offer some form of explanation but no excuse for the behaviour.  We have read with care the letter from your sister which points to a positive individual and a relatively recent deterioration in your behaviour, presentation and outlook.  Both your sister and your mother tie this to the end of 2017 when, so they understand, your drug abuse began.  We also note the letter from your General Practitioner and that gives us a clearer understanding of the medical circumstances, it was a full letter and useful to us. 

9.        We note all of these things and all that has been said on your behalf by your counsel, including the expressions that you give us of remorse, of which we take to be genuine expressions.  We must, as you accept, deal with this matter by way of custodial sentence, but it seems to us that in the light of all the available mitigation the Crown's conclusions are slightly too high.

10.      Accordingly, you are sentenced with regard to Count 1, grave and criminal assault to 4 years' imprisonment; Count 2, grave and criminal assault, 12 months' imprisonment; Count 3, having the offensive weapon in a public place, 12 months' imprisonment; Count 4, possession of a personal amount of cannabis, there will be no separate penalty.  All of the sentences of imprisonment to be of concurrent making a total of 4 years' imprisonment.

11.      We order the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and of the knife.

Authorities

Harrison v AG [2004] JLR 111. 

AG v Lawlor [2009] JRC 150

AG v Cummins [2006] JRC 070. 

AG v Krawczyk [2008] JRC 219

AG v Livingstone [2010] JRC 028

AG v Williamson and Errais [2010] JRC 185A

AG v Freitas [2020] JRC 053A

Whelan's Aspects of Sentencing (Third Edition) (extract)