"Exceptional leniency" for cannabis user

Wednesday 11 December 2019

A local man, who was caught growing cannabis in his house, has been given "exceptional leniency" by Guernsey's Royal Court because he is a single parent.

Venu Le Noury, 41, was arrested in March this year, when Guernsey Police searched his home and found the Class B drug growing in his bedroom, along with some herbal cannabis and resin.

When officers arrived, they noticed the defendant at the back of the house throwing a plant out the window. The plant landed on the roof and he later admitted it was cannabis.

Police found a further four plants in the house, weighing around 153g, along with a jar of 36g of herbal cannabis and four grams of cannabis resin.

In his interview, the defendant admitted growing the plants and said he had been doing so for the past couple of months, for personal use. He explained how he was the only one in the house that knew about it and had panicked when officers arrived.

Pictured: Police searched the defendant's home.

Le Noury described the drugs as "my painkiller" and said he was "hoping one day the world's going to change".

In his mitigation, Advocate Liam Roffey explained how the defendant has "stopped using cannabis and admitted his wrongdoing from the outset". Although he does have previous drug-related convictions, they date back to 2002 and Le Noury had not been before a court since then.

 Judge Russell Finch and nine Jurats heard about the "emotional turmoil" the defendant had been through since being charged, with concerns for his young child.

Pictured: The defendant's "unusual circumstances" mean he has not been sent to prison.

On sentencing, Judge Finch said they had considered the effect an immediate prison sentence could have on the child and subsequently decided to grant Le Noury "exceptional leniency".

Instead of going straight into custody, the defendant was sentenced to 240 hours of community service as a direct alternative to 18 months in prison, which he will have to serve if he does not complete the service order.

"You should have learnt your lesson," Judge Finch added. "You are lucky and you should have known better."

Pictured top: Guernsey's Royal Court.