Jersey Unreported Judgments

 2001/206A

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

19^th October 2001

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

Sean Patrick O'Shea

 

 

1 count of:

robbery.

 

Breach of a 12 month Probation Order, with 70 hours' community service, made on 15^th August, 2001 in the Magistrate's Court following guilty pleas to 2 counts of tampering with a motor vehicle and 2 counts of possession of a controlled drug (the Probation Order was made only in respect of the drugs offences).

 

Age:     21.       

 

Plea:    Guilty; breach of Probation Order admitted.         

 

Details of Offence:

O'Shea, a heroin addict, entered De Faye's the Chemist in David Place carrying an iron bar measuring about 1 metre in length.  He walked into the dispensing area and demanded that the pharmacist hand over some diconal tablets.  When the pharmacist refused O'Shea lifted the iron bar and held it out to his side in a threatening gesture towards the pharmacist.  O'Shea again demanded that the pharmacist hand over the drugs and when the pharmacist again refused O'Shea grabbed six boxes of diazepam (valium) tablets from the shelf and ran out of the chemists.  The accused was apprehended by the police a few minutes later and found to be in possession of six packets of diazepam containing a total of 144 tablets.  The wholesale value of the tablets was £5.04.  Had he intended selling them, they would have had a street value of between £1 - £2 each, although the prosecution did not allege that this had been his intention.  Diazepam tablets are taken by drug addicts as a substitute for heroin and the prosecution case was that O'Shea intended to take the tablets himself.  At the time of interview O'Shea admitted stealing the tablets but denied being in possession of an iron bar.  The iron bar was later found at the scene and was produced in the Magistrate's Court when O'Shea entered a guilty plea to the charge of robbery.

 

Breach.  O'Shea had been placed on probation by the Magistrate's Court in respect of two offences of being in possession of heroin a matter of days before committing the robbery.  The total amount of heroin found in O'Shea's possession had a street value of approximately £200.  It was considered to be a personal amount.

 

Details of Mitigation:

The Crown was influenced by O'Shea's youth and the fact that no violence was used.  O'Shea had one conviction for grave and criminal assault and one for being in possession of an offensive weapon.  There were no other prior convictions for violence.  A guilty plea had been entered at an early stage; he was remorseful and a letter to that effect was produced to the Court.  Although he had a poor criminal record, he was only 21 years of age.  The robbery was considered to be at the lower end of the scale as he used no physical violence and the degree of fear experienced by the pharmacist was minimal.  This was a desperate offence committed by a heroin addict who had been refused treatment by the Drug and Alcohol Service and by general practitioners who had been visited by O'Shea.

 

Conclusions:

Indictment: 2 years, 6 months' imprisonment.

Breach of Probation Order: 3 months' imprisonment on each drugs count, concurrent, but consecutive to indictment sentence.   Breach: the offences were considered by the prosecution to be unexceptional.  Although this consisted of two offences, the Crown regarded these as comprising of a single incident of possession and moved for sentences of three months' imprisonment to run concurrently with each other but consecutively with the sentence imposed in relation to the robbery offence.

TOTAL:  2 years 9 months' imprisonment.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted.

 

 

 

A.D. Robinson, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate N.J. Chapman for the Defendant.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

THE BAILIFF:

1.        Robbery at any time is a serious offence.  In this case the chemist and his assistant were caused to feel threatened by the accused who was holding an iron bar about 1 metre long when he made his demands for drugs.  The chemist reacted with great courage but he must nevertheless have felt intimidated.

2.        O'Shea had been placed on probation by the Magistrate only days before the offence in question.  The Court has no doubt that an offence of this type must be punished with imprisonment.

3.        We have noted in mitigation that the accused pleaded guilty from the very start and has expressed remorse by apologising to the victims of his offence.  He is aged 21 and is still only a young man.  He is addicted to heroin.

4.        O'Shea  we have noted that you claim to want help but you have so far failed to take advantage of the opportunities of help which have been given to you.  If you are not going to waste your life you will have to find the strength within yourself to want to change.  We hope that you will do that.  The conclusions of the Crown Advocate seem to the Court to have taken into account all the mitigating factors and indeed to be moderate in the light of the offence which you have committed.

5.        We accordingly sentence you, on the count on the indictment, to 2½ years' imprisonment.  So far as the breach of probation is concerned, on the two charges of possession of heroin, we discharge the Probation Order and sentence you to 3 months' imprisonment concurrent on each of those charges, but consecutive to the count on the indictment, making a total of 2 years and 9 months' imprisonment.

 

Authorities

AG-v-Whiteley (18^th June, 1998) Jersey Unreported; [1998/126].

Stevenson-v-AG (15^th June, 1999) Jersey Unreported CofA; [1999/109].

Gill-v-AG (29^th September, 1999) Jersey Unreported CofA; [1999/160].

Thomas: Principles of Sentencing (2^nd Ed'n): Totality Principle: pp.56-61.