Man who fled scene after speeding sentenced to prison

Saturday 23 June 2018

A 29-year-old man who fled the scene after being caught for speeding in St. Mary, leaving his passengers behind in the car, has been jailed.

Joshua Peter O'Brien was sentenced to 18 months in prison and disqualified for three years in the Royal Court yesterday for driving his sister's car, without her consent, whilst being disqualified and under a Probation Order. He also had no third party insurance.

He was convicted of four charges - taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, using a vehicle without third party insurance, driving whilst disqualified and driving in excess of the speed limit - after a Magistrate's Court trial. Having missed several appointments and reoffending, O'Brien was also found to have breached h of a Probation Order and Community Service Order.

The Court heard that on 7 July last year, O'Brien took his sister's Lexus without asking her permission. He was stopped by Centenier Chris Bunt on la Rue des Buttes in St. Mary after driving 30mph while in a 20mph zone. 

O'Brien gave a false name and date of birth to the Centenier, who then asked for a breath sample. O'Brien asked if he could go to the toilet, and the Centenier allowed him to go behind some bushes in a nearby field. O'Brien ran from the scene, leaving his passengers in the car. They refused to give O'Brien's name. 

Pictured: O'Brien got stopped on Rue des Buttes and ran from the scene.

O'Brien was later identified as the driver after officers carried out a forensic analysis of the car. Officers established he had been disqualified from driving for two years on 26 October 2016, after he had taken a vehicle without the owner's consent, drove whilst disqualified and without insurance.

During his interview, O'Brien remained silent. He later pleaded not guilty to all charges and was eventually convicted at a trial in March 2018. 

HM Attorney General, Robert MacRae, described O'Brien's record as "appalling", with 92 previous offences, including 32 motor offences which he described as "very dangerous for other road users" and with potentially severe consequences.

He said that O'Brien had initially engaged with the Probation Service but that from mid July 2017, his attendance deteriorated and he missed meetings.

The Attorney General said that O'Brien was not learning from his experiences and that a custodial sentence was the only realistic option. He moved for a total of 18 months in prison and to disqualify O'Brien from driving for three years.

Pictured: The Attorney General described O'Brien's record as "appalling."

Advocate Alison Brown, defending, said that O'Brien apologised for his behaviour on the day, adding that the car he took was his sister's and that there had been no damage caused.

She told Court that O'Brien had lived a difficult life, having been brought up by his grandparents. He was extremely close to them and was devastated when they died, his grandmother in 1996 and his grandfather in 2004. Advocate Brown described the period as traumatic, adding that O'Brien had found himself homeless after the death of his grandad.

"For a whole year he lived in his grandfather’s car. There was nobody parenting him or taking interest," she added. "After that, he survived by living with his girlfriends, moving between households and his friends." 

She said that O'Brien was now in a proper home for the first time since the loss of his grandfather and had a positive relationship with his partner and his child. "If you give him custody today there will be some harm made to that family unit, he will lose employment," she told Court. "While it will punish him, it will not rehabilitate him..." 

The Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, who was sitting with Jurats Elizabeth Dulake and Robert Christensen, noted that O'Brien had absconded from the scene, was not cooperative during his interview and did not plead guilty. 

He also noted that O'Brien's criminal record was lengthy, adding: "The Attorney General describes it as appalling and indeed it is."

He continued: "It is clear that after an initial engagement with the Probation Service, you missed appointments with greater and greater frequency... You also have to note the fact that you are on any analysis at high risk of reconviction."

The Deputy Bailiff added that the references provided on behalf of O'Brien spoke eloquently of him and that the Court hoped he would continue to put his family at the centre of his life in the future. He accepted that O'Brien had had a difficult start to life but added, "these factors were taken into account before, they are not new."

He said that they did not carry into the most recent offences and that the Court found there was no alternative to a custodial sentence. "The chances the Court has offered before have been squandered," he told O'Brien before following the Attorney General's recommendations and sentencing him to 18 months' imprisonment and disqualifying him for three years.