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	England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions >> S, R v [2011] EWCA Crim 2860 (18 November 2011) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2011/2860.html Cite as: [2011] EWCA Crim 2860

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
CRIMINAL DIVISION

		Royal Courts of Justice Strand London, WC2A 2LL
		Friday, 18 November 2011

1. MR JUSTICE ROYCE: This applicant, JS, is aged 15. We grant leave in this case.
2. On 3 October 2011 in the Crown Court at Nottingham, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery and a second count of robbery. On 24 October he was sentenced to 8 months' detention and training order on each count to run consecutively - 16 months in all.
3. The facts are these. At about 11.10pm on 19 August 2011, five friends, Barrett, Shackford, Hogg, Gallagher and Hicks were walking to a bus stop at Nottingham after celebrating Barrett's birthday. After they arrived there, a car drew up alongside them and three individuals got out of it. They were Senior, Batt and this appellant. Batt and then Senior asked to borrow the mobile phones from one of the group in order to make a call. That request was refused. Batt punched one of them. A fight broke out, during the course of which Barrett was punched by Senior, and then the appellant kneed him in the face and punched him. Senior patted down Hicks, and at one stage Barrett heard one of the attackers say, "I'm going to shank you", although no knife was ever produced.
4. The group separated when one of the individuals involved shouted to everyone to stop. Nothing was stolen, but Barrett, Shackford and Hicks all received minor injuries. Those matters form the subject matter of the first count on the indictment.
5. At about 11.50pm the same evening a youth was walking home alone listening to music on his phone, when he was approached by the appellant and the other two. They engaged him in conversation and then took his mobile phone from his pocket, before punching him in the face twice. They then stole his wallet, JVC earphones and a house key. The attack took place very close to his home, so he ran there and then contacted the police. That gave rise to the second count on the indictment.
6. Callum Senior was born on 26 November 1990, and Reon Batt was born on 3 May 1992. They were both therefore substantially older than this appellant. They were both sentenced to 32 months' detention.
7. In relation to this appellant, the pre-sentence report set out his remorse, set out the fact that he came from a decent and supportive home, and that his parents had grounded him in consequence of his involvement in these matters. The report recommended a referral order with five conditions. He was assessed as constituting a low risk of re-offending.
8. The thrust of this appeal is that, for a young man of only 15, the Sentencing Guidelines Council's guidelines did not strictly apply, in that they are applicable to those aged 17 or over. It is argued that the judge should have adopted the recommendation in the pre-sentence report.
9. We do not agree. These were unpleasant offences, committed at night as part of a group. However, this is a young man with no previous convictions. He is said to be "as good as gold" at college, and these offences on this evening appear to have taken place as a result of him drinking vodka for the first time.
10. We take the view in these circumstances that the court can adopt a more merciful position. Whilst a custodial sentence is inevitable, in all the circumstances we propose to allow the appeal in part by ordering that the 8 months on count 1 and the 8 months on count 2 shall run concurrently.
11. The appeal succeeds to that extent. Mr Reynolds, you are entitled, in consequence, to a representation order.
12. MR REYNOLDS: Thank you very much, my Lord.