Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2004]JRC208

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

26^th November, 2004

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

J.C.

 

 

 

2 counts of:

Breaking and entering and larceny (Counts 1, 2).

 

Breach of 2 years' Probation Order made by Jersey Youth Court on 18^th November, 2003, on guilty plea to escaping from lawful custody.

Breach of 12 months' Probation Order made by Royal Court on 17^th June, 2004, with 40 hours Community Service Order, following Guilty plea to possession of drugs and larceny from a shop.

 

Age:     15.

 

Plea:    Guilty.

 

Details of Offence:

Count 1:  In the early hours of the morning the Defendant and another broke into a small shop and stole several cartons of cigarettes.  Entry was achieved by kicking in the door.  Defendant denied all involvement until forensic tests showed that the imprints of the footwear taken from inside the store matched the imprints made by his trainers.

Count 2:  The Defendant and another were within the General Hospital building during the night.  The Defendant noticed the shutter was open to the snack bar in the hospital.  The Defendant was caught on CCTV leaning over the snack bar counter and taking £55 in cash from the till and putting it in his pocket.

 

Details of Mitigation:

The Defendant was identified from the CCTV and the cigarettes were later recovered from a fire reel hose located outside the Defendant's home.  The Defendant repaid £55 just before sentencing.  Defendant's father and brothers had left the Island on 18^th November, 2004, and so the only home available to the Defendant was with his mother, who was in very poor health and could not be expected to control him.  Defendant expressed remorse.  Offending placed him in breach of both Royal Court and Youth Court probation orders.  He had completed 40 hours' Community Service imposed in June 2004.

 

Previous Convictions:

Appalling record - "persistent young offender":  10 convictions comprising 61 offences, namely theft and offences against property.

 

 

Conclusions:

 

Count 1:	3 months' youth detention.
Count 2:	3 months' youth detention, concurrent.

 

Probation Orders to be discharged.

 

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

Sentences to be served concurrently so as not to trigger the provisions of Article 10 of the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 1994, which require a young person to be supervised when he is released after serving a sentence of 4 months' or more.

Defendant had no home to go to, no work, no interest in school and was assessed at high risk of re-offending.

 

 

 

Mrs S. Sharpe, Crown Advocate.

Advocate P Harris for the Defendant.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

THE BAILIFF:

1.        I am not going to waste my breath saying to you what this Court has said to you several times before.

2.        We are going to grant the conclusions.  You will be sentenced on Count 1, to 3 months' youth detention; and on Count 2, to 3 months' youth detention, concurrent, making a total of 3 months' youth detention. 

3.        In a sense you are fortunate, because you deserve to go to youth detention for a longer period than that.  You now have an opportunity to begin a new life.  When you leave La Moye you will be taken to the airport, and put on an aeroplane to England where you will have a chance to start again afresh if you wish to do so.  If you want to have a miserable future, spending most of your time in and out of custodial places then that is a matter for you.

4.        We hope that you make a different choice, and that you do something worthwhile with your life.

Authorities

A.G. -v- J.C. [2004]JRC107.

A.G. -v- C.T.K., L.I.M., and J.C. [2003]JRC199.

A.G. -v- J.C. (4^th October, 2002) Jersey Unreported; [2002/181].