He was facing one charge of affray and five related to drugs – all of which were committed whilst he was supposed to be carrying out community service orders.
The orders had been imposed by the Magistrate’s Court on 6 May and 29 June 2020 for other drugs offences.
Crown Advocate Chris Baglign told the Royal Court that on 16 May 2020, Bolton was with a group of friends on the slabs near La Fregate café when tensions arose with another group sat nearby. Bolton shouted and swore aggressively at a female amongst the group of friends and threw beer which landed on her.
By the time police arrived, Bolton had left the scene and he initially denied he had been involved, claiming his name had been put forward maliciously.
Pictured: Bolton was sentenced for five charges for offences that took place while he was meant to be serving community service orders.
On 23 January 2021, police seized Bolton’s phone along with varying amounts of controlled drugs, including THC and cannabis, and £918 in cash.
Analysis of Bolton’s phone showed he had offered to supply “commercial quantities” of controlled drugs to two people who were “very well known to him”. According to a Drugs Expert, Bolton had “all of the hallmarks of a person engaged in street dealing class A, B and C controlled drugs”.
Bolton said he had earned the money from working and claimed some of the people who were in his flat on the day of the search had left the drugs there.
He said he knew people who had drugs but did not sell them himself. He added that whilst he may have been found in possession of drugs, he was not intending to supply them to anyone.
The Court heard that Bolton had 32 previous convictions for offences such as assault and breaches of court orders.
Bolton’s lawyer, Advocate Sarah Dale, urged the Court to impose a further period of community service on his behalf. While Bolton acknowledged such a request would “raise an eyebrow”, she said he believed going to youth detention would negate the progress he had made in recent months.
Pictured: Advocate Sarah Dale was representing Bolton.
She said that Bolton’s actions at La Frégate were impulsive and that he maintained not all of the drugs that had been found in his home were his.
She said there was no evidence that Bolton was fixing the prices for the drugs as opposed to him passing the information to others and suggested there was an “element of bravado and showing off” about him offering to supply the drugs.
She noted that the community service orders Bolton had breached had been imposed following offences he had committed at 17. “These offences are reflective of who he was then not who he is now,” she said.
Advocate Dale told the Court Bolton had experienced many difficulties in his childhood and experienced significant bereavements.
She said he had mental health struggles, and a history of drug and alcohol use, and that his criminal activity had escalated when he went into care and was “left to his devices” at a time when he was “extremely vulnerable”.
She said Bolton and his family felt he had been let down by various services, as recommendations had not been implemented and the Children’s Services had refused to pay for a specialised ADHD facility in the UK that could have helped him.
However, she noted that he had abstained from heavy drugs in the last 10 months, managed to sustain employment and had grown in maturity.
She urged the Court to “give him a further chance” and allow Bolton to continue in “this journey to turn his life around”.
Royal Court Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, who was sitting with Jurats Robert Christensen and David Hughes, said the Court had taken into consideration Bolton’s “difficult background”, the “long delay” in his case, as well as the recent progress he had made.
Pictured: Royal Court Commissioner Sir Michael Birt said the Court didn’t feel they could impose a non custodial sentence.
He said they had concluded they had to impose a youth detention sentence in light of his “repeated failures to respond to community service orders”, noting he had breached six in the past, as well as committing various offences whilst on bail.
Sentencing Bolton to a total of 18 months in youth detention, as recommended by the Crown Advocate, the Royal Court Commissioner said the Court hoped he meant what he had told his lawyer about “trying to turn his life around”, warning him he might be spending increasing periods of time in prison if he didn’t.
He urged him to take advantage of the services available in youth detention, including counselling, help to address his drug use and courses which would improve his employment prospects.
The court also ordered the destruction of the drugs found in Bolton’s flat.