Father behind sophisticated cannabis-growing facility given second chance

Wednesday 17 March 2021

A 34-year-old man, who has "turned his life around” since being caught growing cannabis worth £27,000 in a hidden basement operation, has been given a chance by the Royal Court to support his young family.

Although Oliver Samuel Hall admitted setting up a sophisticated growing facility under his garage, the Court sentencing him on Tuesday concluded that it was not in anyone’s best interests to send him to prison.

Accepting the arguments of Hall’s defence lawyer and various reports that concluded he had put his criminal past behind him, the Court sentenced him to 210 hours of community service.

Although the 13 well-maintained plants found last May at Hall’s home in St. Lawrence could have yielded up to 1.1kg of usable cannabis, which would usually mean a prison sentence, the Court deemed his mitigation “exceptional”.

An earlier hearing had accepted that the crop, which could have reached a street value of up to £27,300, was only for personal use. 

Defending, Advocate Julian Gollop said that Mr Hall had matured greatly since committing the offences, which included possessing a personal amount of cannabis and an anabolic steroid, and was building a new life with his fiancée and their four-month-old son.

He had also put his criminal past, which included being sentenced to seven years in prison in 2013 for supplying cannabis, behind him, Advocate Gollop added.

“This is a new Mr Hall; not the one we see from his previous record or attitude to community service in the past, when it appeared that he wanted to do the bare minimum,” he said. 

“This is a new, positive Mr Hall, who has new employment and prospects to build on. He has a new home and a new family, with all the responsibility which goes with that. This is a new vastly improved and mature Mr Hall.”

Advocate Gollop urged the Court to show “compassion and mercy” by passing a non-custodial sentence.

Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, who was sitting with Jurats Olsen and Austin-Vautier, agreed.

“We have heard substantial evidence from Advocate Gollop and from reports and references before us that the defendant is at a turning point and determined to turn his life around,” said Sir Michael.

“He has employment and is providing vital support to fiancée and their son. She is also in need of a particularly high level of support at the moment. 

“We have also heard that the defendant has rebuilt a relationship with his ex-wife and their son and he is now being prescribed medicinal cannabis, which reduces the chance of him growing it.

“It is not in anyone’s best interests to send him to custody, which would run the risk of undoing the progress that has been made and the real prospect of it being maintained.” 

Addressing Hall directly, Sir Michael said: “You have been fortunate, but let me be clear: if you reoffend or you do not complete the community service properly and fully, you can be brought back to this Court. 

“And if you do, we can only foresee one outcome, which is prison.

“You clearly have much ability, if only you can apply it in the right direction. So far, you have applied it in totally in the wrong direction but we hope that that has changed.”