Sentence extended for man who faked illness after night-out

Thursday 26 April 2018

A 25-year-old man has seen his community service order increased by 60 hours after he missed a session due to nausea - the morning after he was seen by police officers outside a town nightclub.

Harry Michael Woolley had been sentenced to 150 hours of community service on 26 January after he repeatedly punched a man during an argument outside the Havana Club in August 2017.

But Woolley appeared again in the Royal Court this week facing an allegation of breaching that community service order.

Presenting the facts for the prosecution, Crown Advocate Conrad Yates told the court that the 25-year-old did three weeks worth of community service but then failed to report on 24 February. He tried to call the Probation Service around 08:30, but no one answered, and he didn't leave a message. He later called his doctor and made an appointment, telling his GP he had been vomiting, and had nausea.

On 26 February, the probation officer received information from the police that Woolley had spoken to officers outside the Havana Club at 02:00 on 24 February and that he appeared "under the influence" of alcohol. Woolley went to the Probation Service later that day and provided a doctor's note signed by his GP on 24 February, indicating he had nausea.

When the Probation Officer asked Woolley if he had been out early on 24 February, he said he had been unwell and unable to go out, which he later admitted was untrue. 

The Court heard that the Probation Officer considered the certificate to be "untrue and invalid" and reported the matter. Crown Advocate Yates said that Woolley had "deliberately misled" the Probation Service with a medical certificate, adding that Woolley hadn't told his doctor he had been drinking the night before. 

Pictured: Woolley had been sentenced to 150 hours of community service in January after a grave and criminal assault outside Havana Club.

Pc Lee Scotland, who spoke to Woolley on 24 February, told Court that he was "bragging and gloating" about having received community service following the grave and criminal assault. 

Pc Holly Bertram, who was on duty with Pc Scotland the night of 24 February, said that Woolley had told the Pc Scotland "You didn't think I would get off with it... You didn't think I would get Julian Gollop as my lawyer." She said Woolley appeared to be drunk and that his eyes were glazed.

Woolley also gave evidence in Court. He explained that he started feeling sick in the evening of 21 February and that he progressively got worse. "I was sick, I had been a few days before but the Saturday was the worse of the three days." He said he woke up around 08:00 on 24 February, adding "with me being sick, I was up most of the night." Woolley said he called the Probation Service shortly after "to let somebody know I was rather sick and would be attending to my doctor." 

When his advocate, Stephen Baker, asked him why he had lied to the probation officer, Woolley said: "I thought if I told him the truth, he would raise eyebrows and not believe I was sick... I didn't want to put thoughts in his head. I was actually sick."

Woolley told Court that he and his girlfriend had planned to go out with her friends on 23 February but that due to him being sick, she went out alone. She called him shortly after 00:00 on 24 February to ask him to pick her up from the Havana Club. "While waiting for her, someone bought drinks and one was put in front of me. Because my girlfriend was out with new friends, I didn't want to be rude and to save face I had one drink."

Pictured: Woolley had only carried out 15 hours of community service when he missed a session.

Woolley also explained that he had been taking some previously prescribed antidepressants to help with his sleep in the days before he missed community service. Although they had made him feel sick in the past, he said that he didn't think they caused his nausea this time around.

Woolley denied he had been gloating in front of the police officers and explained he was instead saying how lucky he was to be given community service and to have had Julian Gollop as a lawyer. 

Pictured: Woolley was defended by Advocate Stephen Baker.

Woolley explained he didn't tell his doctor he had drunk alcohol because he felt it had no relevance to his sickness. He denied having obtained a certificate to avoid community service saying he simply knew he had to have one. Crown Advocate Yates said: "The truth is that you made a conscious decision to drink when you knew you shouldn't have done that. That's why you didn't tell your doctor or the probation officer." 

Advocate Baker said that Woolley had obviously been up early in the morning as he had called the probation service. "There are not many occasions where someone accused of a breach tried to contact the community service." He described Woolley's decision to go for a drink in town as a "stupid" thing adding: "Sometimes people are ill and do silly things like going in Havana to pick up their girlfriend and have drinks." 

Pictured: The Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache was sitting with Jurats Collette Crill and Anthony Olsen to hear Woolley's case.

The Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, and Jurats Crill and Olsen decided to revoke the first community service order and to replace it with a new one, worth 210 hours, disregarding the 15 hours Woolley had already done. Woolley will also have to pay the victim £400, as ordered by Royal Court in January.

The Bailiff told Woolley: "You must learn that when the Court makes an order, it expects the order to be performed... If there is any breach this time around, - I am talking for myself here - it would be extraordinary that a prison sentence wouldn't be imposed. You have come very close to a prison sentence twice now... If you come back to this Court for any reason, you can expect to be sent to prison."