Man seeking "security of custody" sent to secure mental health facility

Thursday 24 May 2018

A 31-year-old with a "dreadful record" and a history of self-harm has been put on probation for two-and-a-half years after a spate of offences in 2017, and will be sent to a secure mental health facility in the UK to seek treatment.

Luke Clint Cox, also known as Luke Clint McIntyre, appeared in Royal Court yesterday facing five charges: one of possession of cannabis resin, one of larceny, one of attempting to pervert the course of justice and one of breaking and entering with intent.

Cox had been found with 164 mg of cannabis resin on 10 July 2017. On 28 August around 15:30, two days before his appearance in Magistrate's Court and whilst on bail, Cox broke into a house on Poonah Road. He didn't take any belongings from the house but caused £500 in damage. He broke into the same house on 9 November, while still on bail. This time, the owner's teenage son was in the house and challenged Cox. He immediately left, without taking anything with him.

On 10 September 2017 at around 14:00, Cox snatched a 48 year-old lady's handbag as she was walking alone along Poonah Road. The victim told Police Officers the incident took place very quickly and that there was no struggle. "I was very upset and angry about what had happened,” she said. “I don’t know what would have happened if I had tried to keep hold of the bag which is a scary thought. It really has shaken me up and left me without my property and keys to get in to my own house."

Pictured: Cox committed all of the offences on Poonah Road.

Initially Cox denied all offences, except from the possession of cannabis. He admitted being a regular user. He was described as frequently challenging and abusive to interviewing Officers. At one point, he told officers he was a "career criminal" adding he was going to a mental hospital in the UK. He described this as "the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life." He said he had no reason to "throw a spanner in it" and get himself put in prison when he had spent years working towards this.

He eventually pleaded guilty in March. 

Crown Advocate Richard Pedley told Court that Cox had 144 offences on his record including 15 against property. He explained Cox had been assessed as being at a high risk of reoffending within the next 12 months due to “extended previous convictions” and lack of employment or constructive leisure activities. He also noted Cox had a history of “engaging in self harm.”

The Crown Advocate recommended a total period of imprisonment of five years.

Pictured: Crown Advocate Richard Pedley moved for a five-year prison sentence while Cox's Advocate urged Court to send him to a mental health facility. 

Advocate Lucy Marks, who was defending Cox, urged the Court to follow the recommendations of the probation service and opt for a 30-month probation order with very strict conditions. Advocate Marks said it didn’t mean Cox’s offences would go unpunished as he had already spent the equivalent of eight-and-a-half months in custody “in conditions far from ideal given his situation.”

Describing Cox’s background as horrendous, she added that a further period of custody “would do nothing to address the complex issues that cause (Cox) to offend.” She explained Cox seeks “security of incarceration” and “cannot function in the real work or cope with the trauma of his past.”  “In the past there have been instances where he offended deliberately with the objective of being caught and incarcerated,” Advocate Marks told the Court.

She explained that as per the recommendations of the probation order, Cox would be send to a locked mental health facility in the UK, where he would receive “intensive treatment and care” to address his issues. 

Pictured: The Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, heard the case with Jurats Collette Crill and Sally Sparrow.

The Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, noted that Cox’s record started when he was 12, with his first offending having occurred at the age of nine. “It is right to see, it seems to us, that if we impose a further custodial sentence, there is the likelihood that he will continue to offend when he comes out of prison.”

He told Cox he had the intelligence and ability to turn his life around. “This course you are about to take will be very challenging, it will be very difficult, you will have to work hard but the Court believes that you can. You should come away from the sentence today with some hope that you can and the determination that you will.” Cox replied: “It is challenging but I am very sure I can do it.”

The Bailiff added that Cox’s criminal record was down to a series of events in his upbringing which caused him “to need the psychiatric treatment he is going to get.” Thinking of the victims of Cox’s offences, the Bailiff said: “There are many other victims of the 144 offences committed by this defendant. We hope that the results of this rehabilitative sentence will mean that there will be none or fewer victims in the future.”

 “We don’t want to see you again,” the Bailiff said to Cox.