Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2010]JRC050

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

5^th March 2010

Before     :

Sir Philip Bailhache, Kt., Commissioner and Jurats Le Cornu and Nicolle

The Attorney General

-v-

Oliver Munks

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

1 count of:	Taking and driving away a motor vehicle without have the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, contrary to Article 53(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (Count 1).
1 count 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 (Count 2).
1 count of:	Larceny (Count 4).

Age:  31.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

ON 23^rd August, 2009, a red Peugeot was stolen by persons unknown from premises on Wellington Road in St Saviour.  The following day the registration plates J108458 were stolen from a similar Peugeot in Vauxhall Street. 

At around 6:20pm on 25^th August, 2010, the defendant was seen on CCTV driving onto the forecourt at Checkers petrol station at Five Oaks.  He was driving the stolen Peugeot which had been fitted with the stolen plates (Count1).  It is known that he was not insured to drive the said car (Count 2).  An unidentified male was in the passenger seat. 

The defendant was then seen to fill two fuel cans with approximately £30 of fuel before driving away without paying for the same.  The police were called and subsequently identified the defendant from the CCTV footage. 

The defendant was arrested at the home of his ex-girlfriend, and was found to be in possession of the key to the Peugeot and two five-litre cans.  His brother Lawrence Munks was also arrested. 

During the interview the defendant was vague and unco-operative, and answered many questions "no comment".  Ultimately, however, he acknowledged that although he had not initially taken the Peugeot or the number plates, he had subsequently driven the car in the knowledge that they had been stolen.  He also accepted that he was uninsured and admitted to stealing the fuel. 

The offending placed the defendant in breach of an Order made a matter of 2 months earlier by the Court in June 2009, sentencing him to 12 months probation and a total of 120 hours community service on that occasion in relation to 4 drugs offences. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty pleas. 

Previous Convictions:

Eight previous convictions comprising 27 offences. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:	15 months' imprisonment plus 2 years' disqualification from driving.
Count 2:	12 months' imprisonment, concurrent, plus 2 years' disqualification from driving.
Count 4:	3 months' imprisonment, concurrent.

Breach offences

Count 1:	6 months' imprisonment, consecutive to Count 1 on the current Indictment, plus 2 years' disqualification from driving.
Count 2:	6 weeks' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 3:	6 months' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	2 weeks' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total:  21 months' imprisonment, plus 2 years' disqualification from driving.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court decided to give the defendant a chance, and departed from the Crown's conclusions, instead placing him on probation for a period of 2 years.  It also disqualified him from driving for 2 years. 

Count 1:	2 years' Probation Order and 2 years' disqualification from driving.
Count 2:	2 years' Probation Order, and 2 years' disqualification from driving, concurrent.
Count 4:	2 years' Probation Order, concurrent.

Breach offences

Count 1:	2 years' Probation Order, concurrent to Count 1 of the current Indictment.
Count 2:	2 years' Probation Order, concurrent to Count 1 of the current Indictment.
Count 3:	2 years' Probation Order, concurrent to Count 1 of the current Indictment.
Count 4:	2 years' probation Order, concurrent to Count 1 of the current indictment.

Total:  2 years' Probation Order plus 2 years' disqualification from driving.

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

Advocate J. W. R. Bell for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE commissioner:

1.        You seem to be an intelligent young man and the Court finds it really sad that you appear to be unable to take advantage of all the abilities which nature has given you and to make something of your life.  The Court is disappointed that, having placed you on probation in June 2009 and trusted you to comply with the Probation Order, you broke that trust and you committed further offences.  We have had no reason given to us as to why you committed those offences; we assume that there was some sense of excitement which drove you to do it. 

2.        On the other hand we have been encouraged by the words in the probation report, particularly from the prison counsellor whom you have been seeing, who is very complimentary about you and says that you have been working hard and complying with the regime and trying to make sense of what has gone wrong.  We are going, although we understand that it is a risky thing to do, to give you another chance. 

3.        We are going to place you on probation for 2 years, subject to the usual requirements that you live and work as directed by your probation officer and be of good behaviour during that time and comply with the courses which the Probation Service will work out for you.  It is also a condition that you live at Roseneath where they will give you support and encouragement and although I have said this before, we hope that the Court will not see you again.  We are also going to disqualify you from holding a driving licence for a period of 2 years. 

Authorities

Whelan on Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Court of Jersey.