Inferior Number Sentencing – grave and criminal assault –
malicious damage.
[2015]JRC010
Royal Court
(Samedi)
16 January 2015
Before :
|
W. J. Bailhache, Q.C., Deputy Bailiff, and
Jurats Nicolle and Milner
|
The Attorney General
-v-
Ricardo Jorge Encarnacao Dias
Sentencing by the inferior
Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charges:
1 count of:
|
Grave and criminal assault (Count 1).
|
1 count of:
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Malicious damage (Count 2).
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Age: 41.
Plea: Guilty.
Details of Offence:
On 10th September, 2014,
the defendant and the victim, a colleague, were cleaning gutters and windows at
a private house. The victim
criticised the defendant, saying he could not roll a hose correctly. The defendant then struck the victim
once to the head using a window cleaning pole, approximately 4 feet in length
and made largely of metal. The blow
caused a 6cm laceration to the victim’s forehead, and the continued
movement caused a further laceration to the forehead and another to the
forearm. The first injury required
suturing. The pole also smashed a
glass topped garden table belonging to the occupant of the house.
The defendant was arrested at the
scene and was cooperative throughout.
Details of Mitigation:
The Crown:
Guilty plea, cooperative with the
police (of particular value as the victim did not make a complaint).
The Defence:
Urged community service and
probation; letter of apology to victim; young family. Willing to comply with suggested
psychological treatment. Momentary
loss of control following days of goading from the victim.
Previous Convictions:
One previous conviction, for a
grave and criminal assault in 2003 involving a blow to the head of a colleague
using a scaffolding pole, causing serious head injuries.
Conclusions:
Count 1:
|
2½ years’ imprisonment.
|
Count 2:
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1 month’s imprisonment, concurrent.
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Total: 2½ years’
imprisonment.
Sentence and Observations of Court:
Count 1:
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15 months’ imprisonment.
|
Count 2:
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1 month’s imprisonment, concurrent.
|
Total: 15
months’ imprisonment.
Ms E. L. Hollywood, Crown Advocate.
Advocate J. M. Grace for the Defendant.
JUDGMENT
THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:
1.
In the
course of your employment one of your colleagues in the garden annoyed you and
you picked up a heavy weapon and struck him over the head with it. Fortunately there was no serious injury
and he has made no complaint to the police. It was the second time, however, that
you have committed an offence of this kind and the Court has considered
carefully the impassioned plea from your counsel that we should impose a
non-custodial sentence. Any assault
using a weapon of this kind is treated by these courts as very serious, and the
fact that it is the second offence leads us to the view that we have to impose
a custodial sentence upon you. We
think that custody is right in principle, given the fact that it is a second
offence and given the fact that a heavy weapon was used, and we have felt the
weight of the weapon ourselves.
2.
In many
respects it is a slightly odd offence.
It is as though you have completely lost your temper and yet maintained
a fairly clinical self-control immediately afterwards, and it is clear from the
psychological report which is before us, that you have some issues which really
do need to be addressed and we hope you realise that. It is possible for you to address those
issues in prison and we urge you to take advantage of the psychological
assistance you can get in the prison when you serve the sentence we are about
to impose.
3.
We have
taken into account that you have been fully cooperative and that you pleaded
guilty. We think that you are
genuinely remorseful; we noted that your letter of apology to the victim was a
long time before the court hearing, that you have a good work ethic and that
you are a good family man. We take
all those things into account and we think the Crown’s conclusions are
too long.
4.
We are
going to sentence you to a term of 15 months’ imprisonment for this
offence and we urge you to take the time in prison to address the psychological
issues which need to be addressed because this type of behaviour is worrying
and you need to learn how to control yourself. Count 2 is 1 month’s imprisonment,
concurrent, so that makes a total of 15 months’ imprisonment.
Authorities
Harrison
v AG [2004] JLR 111.
Camacho
v AG [2007] JLR 462.
AG
v Veloso [2014] JRC 162B.
AG
v Dias [2003] JRC 189.