Knife thief spared prison in "exceptional circumstances"

Monday 23 March 2020

A man who committed a slew of offences during a period of particularly poor mental health has been spared prison, and given a lengthy community service order instead.

Connor Falla, 21, appeared before Guernsey's Magistrate's Court last week, charged with two counts of assaulting police officers, theft, resisting arrest, behaving in a disorderly manner, harbouring stolen goods and criminal damage.

But many of those offences had come about after a family member called Guernsey Police because they were worried for Falla's safety. 

After carefully considering the long list of facts, Judge Graeme McKerrell sentenced Falla to a 140 hour community service order in direct alternative to three months in prison, and also a two year probation order which included a condition which will see him have to submit to a drug and alcohol test twice a week. 

Falla's charge of theft came about after he stole four brief cases of chef's knives from the back of a Range Rover near Delancey Park. While the car was not locked, it was on private property, and the Court heard how Falla had been walking in the area considering the fact he was more than £1,000 in arrears on his rent, and decided he would find something to steal and sell. 

That took place on the evening of 3 December last year. 

Pictured: Falla stole the knives because he needed to sell something to pay his rent -saying the cost was too high after his relationship had broken down. 

Around the same time, a friend came to Falla's house and gave him a bike. Falla soon realised the bike had been stolen, but didn't call Guernsey Police because he didn't trust them. When he spoke to the friend about it, he was accused of being a grass.

Police only became aware that Falla had committed these crimes when they attended his home on 5 December, because of the welfare call the family had made. They knocked on the door but got no answer, and then when they looked through windows into the property, saw Falla trying to move a bike. 

He eventually let them in, and officers could see he had very recently self harmed. After talking to him, the officers arrested him on suspicion of stealing the bike, but Falla became agitated, grabbed his own throat and made threats about his own life. He threw himself against a fridge, and tried to headbutt the wall. 

In a drawn out attempt to arrest him, the officers found themselves being grabbed and spat on. They eventually used their PAVA spray, but Falla continued to try and hurt himself. When more officers arrived and Falla was brought under control, he was escorted outside but continued to shout threats and swear despite members of the public being nearby. 

Pictured: After a number of hearings, Falla was sentenced on Thursday 19 March. 

Upon searching the property, the officers found the bike in a number of broken pieces, and also found the briefcases of knives under Falla's bed. In interviews with police he explained why he had stolen them, and said he hadn't sold them because he knew they were too valuable, and had planned on returning them to the owner. He had drunk one litre of cider before police arrived, and so was intoxicated during the incident. He didn't remember all of what had happened.

After all of this, Falla appeared in the Magistrate's Court on 6 January and pleaded guilty to all counts, and he was then bailed. 

But then on 12 February, Police received another call from someone worrying about Falla's welfare. Officers again went to see him, and again saw he had been self harming. He was taken to the hospital, where he became abusive toward A&E staff while they were trying to help him. He was violent and kept swearing, and was eventually arrested and taken to a cell. 

There, he urinated against the door, creating a pool of urine both in the cell, and in the corridor outside. 

Pictured: After being bailed for his first set of offences, Falla went on to be abusive toward ED staff. 

Speaking on his behalf, Advocate Sam Steel said the help Falla had received since being remanded in custody following his second arrest had really helped. He had been seen by doctors, and had been relieved to read a psychologist's report into his mental health, where a formal diagnosis had been made.

The Court was told Falla had his family's full support, and his father had arranged to have Falla work with him when the incident was dealt with to "keep him on the straight and narrow". Falla had also written letters to all of the officers involved to apoligise, to the court, to staff at the hospital, and to the owner of the knives. He accepted he should have told police about the bike.

Falla had repressed trauma from his childhood that he was finally getting help to work through.

In sentencing, Judge Graeme McKerrell said it was commendable that Falla had taken steps to apoligise with his letters, but said he never should have been in the situation where he had to write them. He did, however, say this case was exceptional, and so the usual course of action of immediate custody for assaulting police officers would not be appropriate. 

Alongside his 140 hours of community service and the probation order, Falla was also told to pay £500 to the owner of the bike, as it had been broken beyond repair. 

Pictured top: Falla was facing a slew of charges, including the theft of a number of knives, all of which have since been returned to the owner.