Jersey Unreported Judgments

Superior Number Sentencing - Grave and Criminal assault.

[2024]JRC173

Royal Court

(Samedi)

20 August 2024

Before     :

Sir Timothy Le Cocq, Bailiff, and Jurats

The Attorney General

-v-

Aaron Dodd

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

2 counts of:

Grave and criminal assault.

Age:  21.

Plea: Guilty

Details of Offence:

Count 1

On 4 October 2023, the Defendant, whilst a serving prisoner at HMP La Moye, assaulted another prisoner, Mr Masterman, with a broken plate.  The Defendant approached Mr Masterman in a confrontational manner and punched him in the face multiple times.  Mr Masterman was crouched down.  The Defendant was removed from the area and a broken ceramic plate and black piece of fabric were located at the scene of the assault.

 

Mr Masterman sustained a c-shaped wound in front of his left ear, where the top of the ear meets the head.  The wound required suturing due to the depth of the wound.  He also sustained a deeper, wider puncture wound at the end of a linear, clean-edged slash wound on the right side of the back, over the scapula.

 

Count 2

On 27 November 2023, the Defendant assaulted another prisoner during food service.  The Defendant went to the food service area and immediately punched Mr Kennedy multiple times in the face, knocking him unconscious.  The Defendant then ran away from the scene.  As a result of the assault, Mr Kennedy had a seizure and blood was coming from the back of his head. 

Mr Kennedy sustained huge bruising and palpable crepitus over the left angle of the jaw and a 5cm laceration on the back of his head.  He also sustained a broken nose and a fractured left eye socket. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea and 20 years old at the time of offending.

Previous Convictions:

27 previous convictions, including for offences of violence and possession of an offensive weapon.

Conclusions:

Count 1:	3 years' imprisonment.
Count 2:	12 months' imprisonment, consecutive.

Total:  4 years' imprisonment.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:	3 years' imprisonment.
Count 2:	1 year and 6 months' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total:  3 years' imprisonment.

Crown Advocate L. E. Taylor.

Advocate C. R. Baglin for the Defence.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        You are to be sentenced today for two counts of grave and criminal assault committed on fellow prisoners at La Moye prison.  You were 20 years old at the time when you committed the offences and was serving a custodial sentence of 3 years' youth detention for drug related offending. 

2.        Your first victim was Mr Masterman, and you used a broken plate as a weapon and caused injury to his face and back that was in October of 2023, and although the prison officers sought to intervene and shouted at you to stop you continued to punch him as he was crouching down and bleeding.  He had to be taken to the hospital.

3.        On being interviewed under caution you simply said that you and he had had a fight.  You had both been injured and "it happens in prison".  We have of course had the nature of your victim's injuries confirmed to us and the wound to the front of the ear required a suture. 

4.        After that assault you then committed a second on another fellow prisoner Tyler Kennedy.  Your victim fell to the floor as a result of the blows that you struck him, and he then had a seizure whilst on the floor.  It is perhaps ironic that he could have suffered a very serious head injury with long lasting effects as a result of your assault, and he too had to go to hospital, and again on interview your response was "Its prison and this stuff happens". 

5.        The medical report indicates that he had huge bruising and a 5cm cut on the back of his head sustained by blunt force trauma resulting from a shearing and tearing of the skin and tissues.  The bruising on the left side of the face was indicative of the same type of trauma.  He sustained a nasal fracture as a result of your assault as well as a fracture to upper side of the left orbit.

6.        The Crown has referred to us the case of Harrison v AG [2004] JLR 111 and has applied the various criteria in assessing the seriousness of the assault.  With regard to the assault on Mr Masterman, clearly there was a weapon used in the form of a ceramic plate.  It appeared it was committed in cold blood.  It was clearly a forceful attack and he suffered significant injuries as indeed did Mr Kennedy.  Although a weapon was used on Mr Masterman no weapon was used on Mr Kennedy.  There did not appear to be any provocation offered by your victims in either case.

7.        You have a number of previous convictions including for offences against persons and possession of an offensive weapon and therefore you do not have the benefit of good character even leaving aside the fact that you are currently serving a sentence of imprisonment.  You do however, have the benefit of guilty pleas to both charges and had you been dealt with immediately we accept that you would have been subject to the provision of the Criminal Justice (Jersey) Law 2014.  Accordingly, we look to the sentence that you would likely have received had you been sentenced at the date of the commission of the offences. 

8.        We note that you suffered a head injury in 2022 which might have a relationship with the offences for which you now stand to be sentenced, but as the psychiatrist explained in his report, it would be misleading to consider that could be a complete explanation for your offending.  On the basis of the facts as we have simply set them out, in our judgment the offending can only be met with a sentence of imprisonment, and we see nothing wrong in principle with what is proposed by the Crown in connection with the sentence in its conclusions.  However, we have paid close regard to what has been said on your behalf and to the references that have been provided on your behalf and the communications from individuals including your victims in this case. 

9.        We take at face value what has been said, and we accept your remorse as genuine, and we accept that you are making real efforts to improve your life and we would very much expect that to continue.  Accordingly, we feel able to be merciful to an extent in dealing with these offences on the basis that you have seen the error in your ways and that you will be taking very real steps to improve your situation.  Naturally we cannot escape from the requirement of a significant custodial sentence.  You are sentenced as follows:

(i)        Count 1:  The grave and criminal assault on Masterman, 3 years' imprisonment.

(ii)       Count 2:  The grave and criminal assault on Tyler Kennedy.  We take the view that the Crown if anything, have underweighted the seriousness of this offence and you are sentenced to 1½ years' imprisonment.

(iii)      Both of these sentences will run concurrently in the light of our view of the totality making a total sentence of 3 years' imprisonment. 

10.     Mr Dodd, I wish to give you a warning.  Stand please.  You must take every opportunity afforded to you in prison to address your offending and to improve your circumstances in life so that you are never before us again, because the Court has taken a merciful view and has felt able to be even more merciful than was the Crown in the conclusions that it moved, and you should consider yourself fortunate.  It is far from a foregone conclusion that the sentence would not have been significantly more.  We are trusting you to deliver and we have as I say extended mercy.  If you are back before the Court again you should not look for the same mercy. 

11.     That is the sentence of the Court. 

Authorities

Harrison v AG [2004] JLR 111.

Criminal Justice (Jersey) Law 2014.

AG v Mallet [2023] JRC 167

AG v Hussain [2017] JRC 047

AG v Cameron [2008] JLR Note 44