“You’re not a child anymore”

Tuesday 15 January 2019

A 29-year-old has had his community service order extended after he drunkenly punched someone for chatting up his sister, while he was on probation.

Jake Langlois appeared in the Magistrate’s Court last week to be sentenced for grave and criminal assault after he punched another man in St. James’s Wine Bar last month “to protect his sister."

The Magistrate's Court heard that the incident took place on 7 December last year when Langlois was at the bar watching live music with his sister and other friends. 

The offence, which Langlois admitted, put him in breach of a previously imposed community service order and 12-month probation order.

Appearing for the prosecution, Legal Adviser Simon Crowder explained that the incident took place around 01:30 when Langlois hit a man who was chatting to his sister. Mr Crowder explained that Langlois “punched him once with a closed fist” and that the punch “connected with his left cheek."

Pictured: The incident took place on 7 December at St. James's Wine Bar. (Google Maps)

Langlois was reportedly asked to leave the premises and he “left without protest”, but a further altercation between the two men ensued outside the bar as the man Langlois had punched followed him out onto the street.

The court heard that Langlois had “drank about six pints” of beer prior to the assault.

The 29-year-old was represented by Advocate Luke Sette, who addressed Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris, presiding, saying that Langlois, “...acted impulsively to protect his sister from unwanted and persistent attention."

The Advocate emphasised that his client had entered a ‘guilty’ plea and that the offence consisted of a “single punch," which caused, “...no injury to where the punch had landed."

Advocate Sette acknowledged that Langlois’ behaviour was “entirely inappropriate” and that he “did not think through his actions”, but he urged the Assistant Magistrate not to jail his client, given that he had “clearly opened up to probation." He added that “some real progress can be made” if he continues to work with these services. 

Having heard both sides of the case, Assistant Magistrate Harris spoke directly to Langlois, advising him that “punching someone... can’t be an instinctive reaction."

Pictured: Jake Langlois appeared in the Magistrate's Court and his community service order and probation order extended.

“You’ve got to get it into your head that you do not go around punching people when you don’t like what’s going on,” Assistant Magistrate Harris continued.

He then indicated that he was going to “allow the existing community service order to stand”, but with an added “penalty of 20 hours for the breach", meaning that Langlois now has 155 hours of community service left to complete. Assistant Magistrate Harris also imposed an order to stop Langlois from entering bars, pubs and nightclubs, and extended Langlois’ probation order to run for 12 months.

Before Langlois was dismissed, the Assistant Magistrate warned him: “You will not have another chance to avoid prison... You’re not a child anymore... It’s you who has to be responsible for your own actions.”