Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing  - malicious damage.

[2021]JRC054

Royal Court

(Samedi)

26 February 2021

Before     :

R. J. MacRae, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Ronge and Dulake

The Attorney General

-v-

Petrit Mark Bala

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

1 count of:

Malicious Damage (Count 2).

Age:  47.

Plea: Guilty

Details of Offence:

At the time of the offence, Sunday 21 June 2020, the defendant was renting a room at a St Helier ("the property").  Having spent the day out and about drinking with friends the defendant returned to the property drunk, just before midnight.  He awoke neighbours with his swearing, shouting and threats to kill another tenant at the property. The defendant was angered by the recent behaviour of one of the other tenants also living there who he regarded as a quasi-landlord. As he was shouting the defendant punched the hallway wall, leaving two holes in the wall following which he went upstairs to the other tenant's bedroom. 

 

The defendant banged on the bedroom door shouting, trying to find out where the tenant who had angered him was, and substantially damaged the door. On the arrival of the police he was aggressive and angry and continued to threaten the other tenant following his arrest and caution.

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea.

Previous Convictions:

Five convictions for eight offences, including being drunk and disorderly and battery.

 

Conclusions:

Count 2:

3 months' imprisonment (equivalent to time served).

Compensation Order Article 2 of the Criminal Justice (Compensation Orders) (Jersey) Law 1994. sought in the sum of £580 in favour of the victim.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

  Count 2:          £1,000 fine, 2 months' imprisonment in default.

Compensation Order made in the sum of £400, 1 month's imprisonment in default (consecutive).

Payment to be received in full within 7 days and expected to be paid from surety monies held by the Viscount.     

 

Mark Temple, QC., Attorney General.

Advocate L. Sette for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Petrit Bala, you are 47 years old and for to be sentenced for an offence of malicious damage to which you pleaded guilty.  We give you full credit for that guilty plea, noting that you expressed the wish to enter such a plea before the Magistrate's Court.

2.        The background to the offence is that you fell out with the man who you regarded as your landlord, in fact your co-tenant, in relation to premises that you shared in St Helier in June of last year.

3.        You came home to the property having drunk two bottles of wine and accordingly you were drunk on one Sunday night and you were swearing so loudly in the street that neighbours heard it and a   number of persons gave unchallenged evidence to the Jury in respect of your conduct; one was awoken by you shouting "I'm going to kill you, you bastard" repeated over and over and, "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to do you."  He heard crashing and banging and foul language, your voice was angry and irate.  He also heard crashing which sounded like a door breaking, presumably that was you in the property, and he was so concerned that he telephoned the police.   Such was the noise and your tone of voice he thought that someone was going to get killed. 

4.        Another neighbour who lived across the road was also awoken by you shouting "you motherfucker" repeatedly.  She said you sounded angry.  She heard you through closed windows and she telephoned the police straight away because she was worried.   

5.        As to the co-tenant, he was also awoken by you shouting "Zac, you motherfucker, I'm going to fuck you, I'm going to fuck your daughter."   He was panicked, he knew you were drunk, and he left the premises and another tenant who was also in the premises at the time was woken by you shouting, "I'm going to kill you Zac, I'm going to kill you".  You went upstairs to outside his room and banged on his door and you caused substantial damaged to his door, which we have seen in the photographs.   He described you as loud, angry and shouting.   He got dressed because he was worried his door was going to come to pieces.  He was frightened and also left the premises.  

6.        When the police arrived shortly afterwards, they described you as being aggressive and angry.  After you were arrested and cautioned you replied "Zac, I am going to fuck you" several times and the CCTV at the charge desk in custody recorded you as saying that if you were released you would beat up or stab the tenants.   

7.        This was an unpleasant offence and this behaviour does you no credit Mr Bala.  We note that you were charged with more serious matters which were said to have arisen at the same time but acquitted by the Jury, so we put those matters wholly from our mind. 

8.        We note from the report that you have committed offences in drink before, including a serious matter leading to a suspended sentence for imprisonment being imposed by the Crown Court in England in 2013 namely, battery and possession of an imitation firearm.  

9.        You are assessed at medium risk at conviction, the main area of risk being that you behave aggressively when under the influence of alcohol.  On this day you had drunk two bottles of wine. You are regarded as a potential risk to the public when you are angry.  

10.      We note that you were remanded in custody from the end of June until the end of August last year in relation to these and other matters, a period equivalent to sentence of imprisonment of three months.  The Crown invites us to impose a sentence of this length today in order to ensure that you are not punished further in relation to this matter but to reflect your conduct when you committed this offence.   An application is also made for compensation by the owner of the property in relation to the costs of repair undertaken by your co-tenant who you regarded in effect, as we have said, your landlord at the time.

11.      We take into account the time that you spent in custody.  We take the view that this offence is not so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified, but this is very unpleasant behaviour and a man of your age should not be committing this sort of offence at all. 

12.      The fine that we impose in relation to the offence of criminal damage is one of £1,000.

13.       In relation to the Compensation Order, we order you to pay £400, which in our view properly reflects the damage done to the door, having regard to the fact that the total costs of repair cover this and other matters. 

14.      That makes a total of £1,400 which you are ordered to pay within 7 days of today and we fully expect it to come out of the £4,000 that you put up for the purposes of surety so as to secure your bail.

15.      In relation to those sums, we fix a period of default of two months in relation to the fine and one month consecutive in relation to the Compensation Order.

16.      If you fail to pay the £1,400 within 7 days you will be liable to be returned to prison for a period of up to 3 months.   

17.      That is the sentence we impose, and we hope that we do not see you in the Royal Court again, Mr Bala. 

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Compensation Orders) (Jersey) Law 1994

AG-v-Opinca [2013] JRC 254.