Teen jailed after “mini crime-wave” ends in £4,000 luxury thefts

Wednesday 21 March 2018

A 16-year-old boy has been sent to youth detention for 40 weeks after he went on a "mini crime-wave" which culminated with him breaking into De Gruchy's and stealing £4,000 worth of toiletries and perfume.

The boy appeared in Youth Court yesterday facing seven charges relating to possession of cannabis and ecstasy and malicious damage.

Director of the Criminal Division at the Law Officers’ Department Howard Tobias told the Court how a police officer approached a group of youths near Grand Marché on 20 February after smelling cannabis. The boy then handed him a lump of cannabis resin. Police were later sent to his accommodation, where they found just over a gram of resin, while a sniffer dog located seven MDMA tablets, which the boy admitted belonged to him. 

On 6 March, the boy caused £1,500 of malicious damage to a Mini Cooper Convertible parked on Rue de l'Est. He smashed windows and cracked eggs in the car, and took items out of the glove box which he then left on the passenger seat.

On 15 March, the teen broke a pool cue at Jersey Bowl and became aggressive towards staff. Later that day, he used two pieces of granite to break De Gruchy’s window, before kicking the hole and climbing through. He then stole £4,083.50 of cosmetics.

The boy admitted to the vehicle damage, explaining that he was “f***ed up” at the time and didn’t intend to steal anything, only “to smash it up.” He also admitted possession of drugs, which he said were for personal use.

He said the De Gruchy break-in had been done to gain money, but not for drugs.

 Pictured: The teenager broke into De Gruchy at around 19:30 on 15 March.

Defending the teen, Advocate Julian Gollop explained that the catalyst for the “mini crime-wave” had been an assault against him, which led him experiencing anxiety and depression. 

He said the youth believed a period at Greenfields was what he needed to break free of the influence of his friends: "This boy sees himself as mixing with the wrong circle, some of them older. He owes drug debts to two dealers. For a young 16-year-old, this means he has been using illegal substances for quite some time and indeed he has, to cope with feelings of anxiety and depression.”

Advocate Gollop added that custodial would allow him "to mature, get away from his circle of friends, break his drug habit and use his time at Greenfield in a positive and constructive manner." He added that the boy had showed a positive desire to understand his anger and quick temper. The Court also heard that the boy's long term goal was to "leave the island and start afresh."

Advocate Gollop said Court couldn't allow the boy to continue on the "mini crime-wave he has been on since September." With no one able to look after him currently, Advocate Gollop said that a probation order would set the boy up for failure, adding that the Court was “pushed inevitably to a period of custody.”

Pictured: The Youth Court panel sat in the Magistrate's Court.

Magistrate Bridget Shaw, who was sitting with Jean Cross and David McFadzean, said that Court makes "every effort not to send young offender to custody" but that it sometimes has to.

She told the boy that the Court had been very worried about him, adding that she agreed a Greenfields sentence was the right move to both assist his rehabilitation and “protect the public.”

“We hope that the rehabilitation will help you change your behaviour and that changing your behaviour will protect the public in the future and stop you from offending and being involved in drugs,” Magistrate Shaw said.

The Youth Court panel sentenced the boy to six weeks in custody for a previous break-and-entry at Waitrose and in a property at Val Plaisant. They also imposed a further 12 weeks for a grave and criminal assault committed at the bus station. 

The Court added 12 weeks for the De Gruchy break-in, six weeks for the damage caused to the Mini Cooper and four weeks for the drugs offences, bringing the total to 40 weeks.