Man jailed for 'sleeper hold' assault

Saturday 03 July 2021

A 35-year-old man was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he placed a man who had ran away with his cocaine in a ‘sleeper hold’ and knocked him out.

Aaron Peter Le Gros was sentenced in Royal Court in early June for one count of grave criminal assault as well as six of possession of controlled drugs.

The judgment relating to his case was only published last week.

Le Gros, who was represented by Advocate Michael Haines, denied the assault and possessing cocaine but was convicted following a jury trial in February 2021. 

He had however admitted possessing steroids valued between £210 and £290.

Pictured: Crown Advocate Simon Thomas was prosecuting the case.

The Court heard that on 20 September 2019, Le Gros had invited a number of people at his home, including the victim and his girlfriend, with whom he had previously had a brief relationship. Le Gros was sat talking to the woman, with his back to the victim, which was said to have caused “tension”.

On a nearby table, there was a small bag of white powder which Le Gros guarded “closely” according to the judgment.

Fearing that Le Gros might encourage his girlfriend to take the cocaine, the victim snatched the cocaine and ran away with it. He eventually reached a car park, which was a dead end, where Le Gros caught up with him and assaulted him by placing him in a ‘sleeper hold’.

Le Gros held the man’s neck in the crux of his elbow and tightened his grip with his other arm. The man was lifted off the floor and struggled to breathe. He tried to call out but was not able to do so and collapsed on the floor, at which point Le Gros kicked him.

The incident was witnessed by someone living nearby who said they had heard a man shouting, “Where’s my cocaine, where’s my f****** drugs? What have you done with them?” whilst kicking another man on the floor. 

They called the police, who found the victim on the floor in a foetal position, not responding. 

The Court heard the victim had suffered cuts and bruising but no permanent injury. 

Pictured: Advocate Michael Haines was defending Le Gros.

After the incident, Le Gros went back to his address, told the victim’s girlfriend to leave and walked her to where the man was. When police officers searched him, they found a bag of cocaine, worth £30, in his shirt pocket.

They then searched his flat and found a brown box containing several vials of steroids, which were valued between £210 and £290.

Crown Advocate Simon Thomas told Court Le Gros has a previous conviction for affray in 2012 and for growing cannabis in 2015, and recommended a two-and-a-half-year sentence.

The case was heard by Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith OBE., as well as Jurats Rozanne Thomas and Robert Christensen. 

The Commissioner said they had taken into account the good character references provided on behalf of Le Gros as well as his psychological assessment. 

“We note the impact of his incarceration on his partner, his daughter, his mother and grandparents and his current circumstances in prison,” he added. “We take into account the delay that has taken place and the charitable works that he has undertaken.”

While the Commissioner said the Court had taken into account all the points of mitigation raised by Advocate Haines, he said the assault was a “serious” one in which the victim had been knocked out for some time. 

“In our view, it was by mere good fortune that the result was not considerably worse given the nature of the assault,” he added.

He concluded that the sentence sought by the Crown Advocate was correct and ordered for the drugs to be destroyed.