Teen who faked drug deal to steal money has sentence reduced

Sunday 13 June 2021

A teenager who feigned a drug deal to steal money from another youth has had his sentence reduced by the Royal Court.

‘Y’ was sentenced to 240 hours’ community service for larceny by the Court’s Inferior Number – a judge and two Jurats – in February but this has now been reduced to 180 hours following an appeal to the Court’s Superior Number, which is this case was another judge and three Jurats.

The Superior Number also reduced a driving ban from 12 months to six months.

Last May, at St Lawrence football pitch, the 17-year-old, along with another youth of the same age referred to a ‘Z’ in court, snatched £380 from a 14-year-old who was meeting them to buy cannabis.

When this happened, the 14-year-old’s older brother, who was hiding out of sight, intervened, and Z was seen to brandish a knife and thrust it towards the brother’s chest.

Y and Z then left on a moped, being chased by the older brother.

Y’s sentence was reduced because the Superior Number judged that the Inferior Number had not applied the correct scale in reaching their conclusions on community service.

The Court also ruled that the period of disqualification was “manifestly excessive” for someone being sentenced for driving offences for the first-time, and inconsistent with Magistrate’s Court Guidelines, which are an “extremely valuable tool” for the Courts.