Alps mystery deepens as pair jailed for guns and drugs

Friday 31 August 2018

Two men have been sentenced to 18 months in prison, for together acquiring and going on to sell 150g of cannabis resin in December 2017.

One of the men was also sentenced for possession of two double-barrelled shotguns and shotgun shells, for which he did not have the certificates.

Those shotguns belonged to the late Mikus Alps, who asked the man to collect them just days before he was found dead at Petit Bot, in a burnt out wreck of a car.

Pictured: Mr Alps fighting as a rebel in the Ukraine. 

Neil MacDonald, 39, and Jack Falla, 30, both appeared before the Royal Court together, although Falla only faced one count, while MacDonald faced five charges in total.

The first count they both faced was for the supply of cannabis resin, then MacDonald's additional charges were for possession of LSD, possession of a shotgun, shotgun ammunition, and a firearm in the form of a sawn-off shotgun. 

They appeared together because the drugs charges only came to light following the police investigation into the firearms charges, which all came to light when Guernsey Police seized MacDonald's phone. 

Pictured: A media conference regarding the missing, and at that point, possibly deceased, Mr Alps.

MacDonald was initially arrested on the 10 January 2018, when police officers attended his house to enquire about the whereabouts of a reported missing person - Mikus Alps.

MacDonald was a "good friend" of Mr Alps, and two nights earlier, on the 8 January, had received a strange call from him, asking MacDonald to travel to Mr Alps' workshop to collect two bags early in the morning.

As a friend, MacDonald went to the workshop, following specific instructions, and collected the bags, without checking what was inside them - MacDonald's defence advocate said Mr Alps had told him the contents of the bags were "clean" and that he had not checked because sometimes it was better to not know the answer to some questions.

MacDonald then returned the bags home and put them in the boot of his Mini, leaving it unlocked, expecting Mr Alps to come and collect them soon. 

It was two days later when MacDonald had not heard from Mr Alps that he began to grow concerned. He contacted Mr Alps' mother, whom he found to be distraught over a report that her son was missing. MacDonald met with Mr Alps' mother, who was with police at the time and he told the officers if they wanted to ask him any questions, they could visit him at his home address.

Later, when police attended MacDonald's house, he told them about the two bags, and showed them then. Upon inspecting the bags, the police found the shotguns and the ammunition, and subsequently arrested MacDonald for unlawful possession of firearms and shotguns. They then seized his phone, and searched his house, which contained a number of documents Mr Alps had given MacDonald days before - one of those documents is believed to have been a suicide note from Mr Alps.

MacDonald's defence advocate argued that his client was not aware of the contents of the bags, and while the situation had been suspicious, he had been "stupid and naive" rather than "willingly blind". As a friend, MacDonald felt he owed Mr Alps and wanted to help him with the bags, and he was also reassured the contents was clean. MacDonald's advocate said he would not have touched the bags with a barge pole if he knew the contents were illegal, nor would he have left them easily accessible in his unlocked car, where his family could find them, and then show the police officers the bags.

Pictured: File image

MacDonald had been friends with Mr Alps' for 10 years, the court heard. They had met as neighbours, and grown close, with Mr Alps at one point quitting his job to act as a driver for MacDonald when he was banned from the roads, in order for him to be able to continue his career as a grave digger.

In interviews with Guernsey Police, MacDonald said Mr Alps had told him he was worried for his life in the weeks leading up to his death. MacDonald knew Mr Alps was involved with Ukrainian rebels, and said Mr Alps had said he thought he was being hunted, with him talking about incidents of his car being rammed on the roads, and another car he owned being burnt out while on the continent. 

MacDonald also said the last time he heard from Mr Alps was when he confirmed he had collected the bags, and during that phone call, another person could be heard with Mr Alps, and he sounded nervous. 

The subsequent cannabis supplying charges came to light when police searched MacDonald's phone.

Pictured: File image

They found messages between MacDonald and Falla discussing an offer they had been made for "a whole one" and "a half", which the court accepted was 100g of cannabis and 50g of cannabis respectively. The court then heard at length a long conversation over a number of weeks between the two men, which revealed Falla had acquired the drugs from a third party, and passed them on to MacDonald to sell.

The two men then discussed how successful the sales were, and the pressure Falla was under to pay back his supplier. Allegedly, he owed the supplier £2,500, and also wanted to see the money to "buy things for Christmas" during December 2017.

When arrested, Falla initially denied knowledge of the operation he had with MacDonald in interview, saying he was talking about needing to pay back a decorator, however he eventually admitted some knowledge. The prosecution alleged, however, that Falla continued to downplay his role, having said he made no financial gain, though the messages made out he was expecting to make money.

The two defence advocates put it to the court that it was for them to decide if either Falla or MacDonald played more of a role in the supply operation, or if they were equal.

In putting forward mitigation, both advocates also spoke of the hardships both men have faced in the last year. MacDonald has had to deal with a number of family tragedies since being remanded in custody in January, and was also repeatedly described as a well meaning, and nice family man.

Medical evidence was presented to show that Falla had been tackling depression for two years, while also dealing with difficult family circumstances.

Pictured: Guernsey's Les Nicolles Prison 

While it was argued both men would be suited to community service orders, Judge Russell Finch said the court was bound by law to follow guidelines on the supply of drugs, that said anything below 2kg of cannabis should be given between three and six years.

In total, Falla was given 18 months for the supply of cannabis resin, and MacDonald the same, plus an additional one month for LSD found in his home, and a total 14 months for the firearms charges - however those are to be served concurrently with the 18 months. So both men will serve 18 months in prison, with MacDonald's sentence having started when he was remanded in custody in January.