Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - Motoring - Malicious damage

[2021]JRC003

Royal Court

(Samedi)

8 January 2021

Before     :

R. J. MacRae, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Ronge and Austin-Vautier

The Attorney General

-v-

Nicholas Paul Brown

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

3 counts of:	Using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, contrary to Article 2(1) of the Motor Traffic (Third Party Insurance) (Jersey) Law, 1948 (Counts 1, 4 and 10)
3 counts of:	Driving without a licence, contrary to Article 4(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956 (Counts 2, 5 and 11)
2 counts of:	Holding a telephone whilst driving, contrary to Article 50(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956 (Count 3 and Count 6)
1 count of:	Malicious damage (Count 7).
1 count of:	Dangerous driving, contrary to Article 22(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956 (Count 8).
1 count of:	Driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit, contrary to Article 28(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956 (Count 9)
1 count of:	Using a motor vehicle that did not comply with the requirements of Article 18 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998, contrary to Article 77(3) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (Count 12)
1 count of:	Using a motor vehicle that did not comply with the requirements of Article 27 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998, contrary to Article 77(3) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (Count 13).
1 count of:	Attempting to pervert the course of justice (Count 14).

Age:  32.

Plea: Guilty. 

Details of Offence:

The defendant was seen by police on 17^th December 2019 and 6^th July 2020 to be driving whilst holding a mobile phone.  On both occasions it transpired that he did not have a Jersey driving licence nor insurance for the vehicle.

 

On 22^nd August 2020, the defendant saw his girlfriend in her van and smashed her windscreen with a spirit level, whilst she was still in the car.  He pursued her from Stopford Road to Mont Felard in his car, repeatedly ramming into the back of her car and attempting to drive alongside her.  The van he was driving was found to have defective tyres and brakes.  He was also found to be driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit, with the reading being 113ugs in 100ml of blood.  He again did not have driving licence nor insurance for the vehicle.

 

Between 31^st August and 3^rd September 2020, whilst the defendant was remanded at HMP La Moye, he made various calls to the victim, attempting to persuade her to withdraw her statement.  On 3^rd September 2020 the victim made a retraction statement.

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty pleas. 

Previous Convictions:

The defendant has three previous convictions for eight offences.  These include relevant convictions for driving whilst uninsured, driving with excess alcohol, and using a mobile telephone whilst driving

Conclusions:

Count 1:	6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving.
Count 2:	£1,000 fine, 4 weeks' imprisonment in default.
Count 3:	No separate penalty.
Count 4:	6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 5:	£1,000 fine, 4 weeks' imprisonment in default.
Count 6:	No separate penalty.
Count 7:	3 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 8:	18 months' imprisonment and 3 years' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 9:	£1,600 fine and 15 months' disqualification from driving, concurrent.  2 months' imprisonment in default.
Count 10:	6 months' imprisonment & 9 months' disqualification from driving, concurrent
Count 11:	£1,000 fine, 4 weeks' imprisonment in default.
Count 12:	£500 fine, 2 weeks' imprisonment in default.
Count 13:	£250 fine, 6 days' imprisonment in default.
Count 14:	12 months' imprisonment, consecutive.

Total:  2 years and 6 months' imprisonment with a total fine of £5,350 and a 3 year disqualification from driving.

Application for forfeiture of the van under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders)(Jersey) Law 2001

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:	6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving,
Count 2:	3 months disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 3:	3 months disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 4:	6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 5:	3 months disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 6:	3 months disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 7:	6 months' imprisonment, concurrent
Count 8:	16 months' imprisonment and 3 years' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 9:	4 months' imprisonment concurrent and 2 years' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 10:	6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 11:	No separate penalty.
Count 12:	No separate penalty.
Count 13:	No separate penalty.
Count 14:	12 months' imprisonment, consecutive.

Total:  2 years and 4 months' imprisonment and a 3 year disqualification from driving.

Order made for forfeiture of the van under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders)(Jersey) Law 2001

Ms L. B. Hallam, Crown Advocate.

Advocate R. S. Tremoceiro for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Nicholas Paul Brown you are 32 years of age and fall to sentenced today for a number of motoring offences committed on three separate occasions and subsequently, whilst in custody, an offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice.  This latter offence is serious and practically always results in a prison sentence and practically always results in a consecutive prison sentence if there are other offences before the Court.  There is nothing about the circumstances of your case which warrants the Court adopting a different approach when sentencing you for that offence. 

2.        At the time of committing these offences, you had no driving license and you were uninsured.  You lost your UK driving licence when you were disqualified from driving in England in 2016 by the Crown Court.  You have not held a licence since, either in England or Jersey.  You never obtained a provisional licence in Jersey either, having come here to live for the first time two years ago. 

3.        We note that at the same time that you were convicted of driving whilst disqualified in 2016, you were also found guilty of other driving offences including use of a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle, using a vehicle whilst uninsured and driving a motor vehicle with proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.  For this offence you were disqualified from driving until you had passed another driving test. 

4.        The facts of the offences before the Court today are as follows.  The first offences were committed by you on 7^th December 2019.  You were seen by the police driving a car, and as you did so you picked up your mobile phone and typed on it whilst driving.  You looked up and carried on typing whilst driving.  This is dangerous.  To use a mobile phone in this way whilst driving a vehicle risks the lives of others.  When the police stopped you you said that you knew that it was not ok to do it.  At the same time you were uninsured and driving without a licence.  When you were interviewed by the police you said that you had a driving licence in England, which was not true. 

5.        The second set of offences occurred on 2^nd July 2020 when the same police officer saw you driving a different vehicle but again holding a mobile phone in your hand.  You were stopped.  Again, you were driving without a driving licence and uninsured.

6.        The third and most serious set of offences occurred on 22^nd August 2020.  On that day you had argued with your partner, a woman with whom you were in a relationship.  You became jealous, quite wrongly it turned out, of a friendship she had with someone at work.  You threatened to "fuck up" one of her male colleagues when you messaged her on her phone.  After she left work she dropped two friends home and you telephoned her from nearby.  When she failed to answer her phone you approached her van and used a spirit level to smash the front windscreen, represented by a count of malicious damage to which you have pleaded guilty.  This must have been terrifying for your partner.  You attempted to swing the spirit level at her vehicle a second time but she drove off.  There then followed a pursuit all the way from Stopford Road to Mont Felard in which you followed your partner's van in your vehicle.  When you caught up with her in traffic in Gloucester Street you got out of your vehicle and approached her.  She was worried that you were going to pull her out of her vehicle.  You said "Do you think I'm a fucking mug?  You think that's bad?  You wait till I get home - I'm going to smash the fucking van to pieces".  When the lights turned green, she drove off.  Your reaction was to follow her and ram the back of her vehicle, near the Grand Hotel, jolting it forward.  Your partner telephoned 999.  As she did you rammed her vehicle again.  This caused her to hit her head on the shelf over the driver's visor.  She thought at this point that you were going to kill her.  The Crown have called this domestic abuse.  We agree.  On the Inner Road you drove alongside her.  She was scared that you were going to ram her again or that there would be a head on collision with vehicles travelling in the other direction.  She thinks that you rammed her again near the Checkers store at First Tower, and she went through a red light near St Andrew's park in the hope that you would not follow her.  You did.  Your partner then parked in the car park by Mont Felard Inn and it appears she went into the bar for safety.  You were arrested.  In addition to being again uninsured and driving without a licence you were also drunk driving, with a reading of 130 micrograms, against the limit of 80 micrograms, in your blood sample.  The vehicle you were driving was also in poor condition.  It should not have been on the road owing to the condition of the breaks and the tyres. 

7.        In interview, you answered "no comment" to most of the questions.  When you appeared before the Magistrate on 24^th August 2020 you were remanded in custody.  You were told that you should not contact your partner.  You ignored this and you and your partner had several telephone calls when you were in custody.  On 1^st September 2020 you said to her "Do you know what is going to send me to jail: your statement".  Your partner asked if she was going to have to retract her statement and you replied, "I don't know, I'm just saying that's what is going to fuck me up, the ramming".  On 3^rd September you were expressly telling her that she did need to change her evidence.  You told her she had to say "I didn't bang into the back of you.".  Later you said "You need to say I didn't bang into the back of you, because I will get out if not" a reference to you seeking bail.  Later the same day you spoke to your partner again from prison and you said "You have made me fucking feel like a fucking murderer and even the fucking solicitor said that's a bad fucking statement".  During the calls your partner told you how scared she had been as a consequence of all this pressure and she made a statement withdrawing her allegations at 8pm that day, 3^rd September, 2020.  Accordingly, whether or not, as is denied on your behalf, your phone calls led directly to your partner withdrawing her statement, you certainly achieved your objective as the chronology demonstrates.

8.        We give you credit for your guilty pleas and we have listened with care to all that has been said on your behalf.  We have had regard to the contents of the Social Enquiry Report and the principle of totality.  It would have been quite open to the Court to impose consecutive sentences in relation to all matters before the Court today, namely the three sets of offences involving driving, and the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice.  We note that you have lost a business that you were building up, together with your partner, as a consequence of your remand in custody, and we do note that you did try to help yourself by arranging counselling shortly before the commission of the third set of offences.  But these offences were dangerous, particularly those you committed in August 2020.  To drive without insurance is always putting the safety of others and yourself at risk.  The offence of dangerous driving in this case, repeatedly ramming your partner's car in an unroadworthy vehicle when you were over the drink driving limit is very serious and, on any view, so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. 

9.        We have said that we accept, as the Crown say, that this was an offence of domestic abuse.  We have considered the decision of the Royal Court in AG v Coelho [2020] JRC 216 and note from that decision that general guidance was given by the Superior Number in relation to sentencing for cases of domestic abuse, and we further note the reference to the 2018 Sentencing Council guidance in respect of domestic abuse which provides in respect of assessing seriousness:

"The domestic context of the offending behaviour makes the offending more serious because it represents a violation of the trust and security that normally exists between people in an intimate or family relationship. Additionally, there may be a continuing threat to the victim's safety, and in the worst cases a threat to their life or the lives of others around them."

And on this point, we note that you have accepted in your letter to the Court that you are lucky that no one was badly hurt on 22 August 2020.

10.      The Sentencing Council also list aggravating and mitigating features and we note the presence of an aggravating feature in this case, namely steps taken to prevent the victim reporting an incident, which of course is encompassed by the last count on the Indictment.  But also, we note by way of a counterbalance as submitted by your counsel that there is evidence of you obtaining help prior to committing the offence on 22^nd August 2020.

11.      In respect of the attempt to persuade your partner to withdraw her statement and change her evidence, the Court has repeatedly held and holds again today that attempts to intimidate or persuade victims of crime, and your partner was a victim of your offending in August last year, will be dealt with severely by the courts and will, absent exceptional circumstances, result in a consecutive custodial sentence.

12.      The sentences that we impose are as follows. 

(i)        For the offences on 7^th September 2019; Count 1, no insurance, 6 months' imprisonment and 9 months' disqualification from driving.  Count 2, no driving licence, disqualification for a period of 3 months.  Count 3, holding a telephone whilst driving, disqualification for a period of 3 months. 

(ii)       The offences on 2^nd July 2020; Count 4, no insurance, 6 months' imprisonment and 9 months disqualification from driving, concurrent.  Count 5, no licence, disqualification for 3 months.  Count 6, holding a telephone whilst driving, disqualification for 3 months. 

(iii)      For the offences on 22^nd August 2020; Count 7, malicious damage, 6 months' imprisonment, concurrent.  Count 8, dangerous driving, we pause in relation to this sentence to note that we agree that the sentence for the most serious offence before us, dangerous driving, needs to reflect the many aggravating features in this case, intoxication, the unroadworthy vehicle, the absence of valid insurance and driving licence and the appalling manner of the driving.  But nonetheless, we take the view that the sentence moved for by the Crown did not sufficiently reflect your guilty plea and the other matters urged upon us and accordingly we reduce the Crown's conclusions to 16 months' imprisonment and order that there be a 3 year disqualification from driving, concurrent.  Count 9, excess alcohol 4 months' imprisonment and 2 years' disqualification from driving.  We note here that we take into account the fact that you were disqualified from driving for a drug driving offence in England in 2016 and had that been a Jersey conviction then you would be liable to a 3 year minimum disqualification, pursuant to the provisions of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956..  But, owing to the fact that this was a foreign conviction, you are not liable to such a disqualification period but nonetheless we take into account the fact of that similar recent conviction when deciding upon the length of disqualification.  Count 10, no insurance, 6 months' imprisonment and 9 months disqualification from driving, concurrent and in relation to Counts 11, 12 and 13, although we regard the Crown's fines that they seek as right in principle, in view of the custodial sentence that we have imposed upon you we do not impose any separate penalty in relation to those matters. 

(iv)      In relation to Count 14, perverting the course of justice, we grant the Crown's conclusions and you will be sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, consecutive. 

13.      That makes a total of 2 years and 4 months' imprisonment.  All sentences of imprisonment and all periods of disqualification to run concurrently. 

14.      We also make an order for the forfeiture of the vehicle that you were driving on 22^nd August 2020.  That vehicle was a Vauxhall Combo van registration J114447.  It was registered in 2005 and in poor condition, as we have said, and accordingly the value of the vehicle is low.  We forfeit the vehicle under the provisions of Article 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders)(Jersey) Law 2001 on the basis that the vehicle was used for the purpose of committing an offence.  It was used to ram your partner's car and we have no doubt that it is proper for that vehicle to be forfeit in the circumstances.  At the time the vehicle was not registered to you although you had paid for it.  Subsequent to the commission of the offence we note that it became technically owned by your partner but only, we are told, for the purpose of her recovering items from it. 

15.      Those are the orders that we make.

Authorities

AG v Coelho [2020] JRC 216. 

Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956

Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders)(Jersey) Law 2001. 

AG v Nicolle [2020] JRC 201. 

AG v Furlong [2019] JRC 089. 

AG v Dias [2017] JRC 114. 

AG v Carboulec [2015] JRC 196A