Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2010]JRC104

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

4^th June 2010

Before     :

W. J. Bailhache, Q.C., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Tibbo and Nicolle.

The Attorney General

-v-

Morris Horn

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

1 count of:

Grave and criminal assault (Count 1).

Age:  52.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 21^st February, 2010, the victim collected horn from the area of Trinity Hill at approximately 14:30.  Horn had been drinking from 10:30 that day, initially with friends, and later in the Robin Hood public house.  Horn stated that he had consumed four pints of best bitter before being met by the victim.  The victim took Horn to the former matrimonial home, where he fell asleep on a couch in the living room. 

At approximately 16:30, Horn had woken up and was warming some food when the victim's daughter, sought assistance from Horn getting dressed.  This irritated Horn and he said he was "just about to start eating my fucking tea".  This remark caused an argument with the victim. 

Horn then went into the kitchen and pulled a large butcher's knife, approximately 18 inches long, from a block of knives.  Horn began waving the knife around shouting "I'll fucking kill the lot of you, I have nothing to lose".  The victim was situated approximately five feet away from Horn, with the kitchen table between them and was extremely frightened, and feared for her safety and that of her daughter.  The victim was too petrified to speak and her daughter was crying. 

The victim's sister contacted her on her mobile phone during the assault which caused Horn to calm down and put the knife back into the block.  The victim was able to send a text message to her sister from her daughter's mobile phone, which asked her sister to telephone the police. 

Horn was conveyed to Police Headquarters and formally detained.  Horn explained that he had snapped and did not want to hurt the victim but intended to scare her.  Horn admitted that the assault, incorporating a large butcher's knife would have scared both the victim and the daughter. 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea, co-operation, significant remorse, troubled past involving an addiction to alcohol. 

Previous Convictions:

Four unrelated previous convictions at the Jersey Magistrate's Court, three of which date back to the 1980's. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:

Starting point 18 months' imprisonment.  1 year's imprisonment.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

The Court explained that it will not tolerate domestic violence offences, especially those offences incorporating the use of a weapon.  The Court commented that Horn has caused considerable distress to both the victim and his young daughter.  The Court noted the recommendations in the social enquiry report but considered custody in this instance to be an appropriate deterrent sentence. 

Count 1:

9 months' imprisonment.

N. M. Santos-Costa, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. M. Grace for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are to be sentenced for an offence of grave and criminal assault.  You had drunk about four pints of beer, and at 4:30 in the afternoon, after an argument at home with your daughter you went into the kitchen, pulled out a large butcher's knife, 18 inches long, and threatened your wife and your daughter with it.  You threatened that you would "do you all in, and then I'll do myself".  You were in a state where you had lost your temper, ranting and raving whilst waving the knife around, "I'll fucking kill the lot of you I have nothing to lose".  Your wife was sufficiently frightened and feared for her safety and that of her daughter that she was too petrified to speak. 

2.        Much of what has been said in Court today, and is contained in the probation report, is centred upon you, and the Court takes, of course, all that into account but also thinks that the focus should be on the victims, your wife and your daughter. 

3.        We have taken into account that you brought yourself back into control very quickly and that this was a relatively short incident.  Nonetheless your wife and your daughter must have been extraordinarily frightened by what took place. 

4.        The Court has found this a very difficult case because we have looked at the references which you have shown, which show the offending to be out of character, and we have given full weight to your guilty plea and to the other matters which your counsel has raised before us, particularly having regard to the nature of the offence and having regard to the fact that tensions existed between you and your wife at the time.  Nonetheless there are two clear messages that need to be sent out, not just to you but also to the Island community and there is an element of deterrence therefore in the sentence that we are about to pass. 

5.        First of all the message is that knife crime will be dealt with severely even though no injury is caused, and secondly, domestic violence is similarly a crime which will be treated severely.  A person's home, however big or small it is, is their refuge and if the person with whom the home is shared uses violence the victim suffers a double violation; a violation by a person that they have trusted and a violation in their own home.  People who commit these offences can expect the Court to focus on the victims and not on their hardships and on their difficulties. 

6.        Nonetheless, having regard to all the mitigation there is, although we think a custodial sentence is the right sentence, we consider that 12 months is too long and we therefore impose a sentence of 9 months' imprisonment.  We direct that the month that you have spent in custody will be set against that period. 

Authorities

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.

AG-v-Williamson [2009] JRC 248.

AG-v-Bree [2005] JRC 177.

AG-v-Brolly 1998/230.