Herm Chef jailed after drunken rage

Saturday 10 November 2018

Growling in a barmaids face, threatening to pour petrol on someone and pushing a colleague over were just some of the things a man did in Herm during a drunken rage.

And now he will serve four months in prison for his actions.

After just a couple of weeks working at the White House Hotel, Daniel Rothwell, 27, was drinking in the Mermaid Tavern on the 16 April this year,

He had arrived at the bar at midday, but then at 20:00 suddenly got up and got in the face of a barmaid, growling at her and barking in her face while she was talking to someone else. Soon after, he swung a punch at her, although was too far away for it to ever connect.

Rothwell first started acting out at the Mermaid Tavern. 

Following this, Rothwell returned to the White House Hotel's grounds, where his work colleagues tried to calm him down. But the defendant was witnessed pushing one of these colleagues over, and shouting "I'll slit your throat" to them. At this point, the island's special constable was on the way, and while Rothwell's colleagues briefly restrained him, he then returned to staff accommodation - threatening to pour petrol over someone on the way - where he was later arrested when police had traveled to the island. 

In June, after Rothwell had been arrested and bailed until his next hearing, he was also caught stealing bottles of alcohol from shops twice, one on the 19 and one on the 21. Following his second arrest, he asked to be remanded in custody, and not bailed again.

Overall, he was charged with two counts of theft, one of assault and one of threatening behaviour. 

While Rothwell has had no previous convictions in Guernsey, he does have a criminal record with a number of offences in the UK. 

The defendant's advocate told the court his client was not expecting anything but a prison sentence, and was hopeful he would be able to use the opportunity of being imprisoned to tackle his alcohol problem, which had "been the root of all of his problems in life".

Guernsey Police had to travel to Herm to arrest Rothwell, then escort him back to the island.

In sentencing, Judge Graeme McKerrell pointed out that Rothwell would have to leave the island when he is released, because he will not be able to get a right to work license. 

"I have no confidence that you will complete a community service order were I to give you one - I think we all acknowledge that my hands are tied, so the sentence has to be one of immediate imprisonment," he said.

"As far as the assault and the threatening behaviour are concerned, they might not have been of the highest order, but they were no doubt out of order, and the two thefts were committed while you were on bail."

In total, Rothwell will be at Les Nicolles for a total of four months. He was given two months for the assault, and two months for the section four (threatening behaviour), to be served concurrently, and then consecutively to that, two months for each of the thefts, to be served concurrently with each other.

Pictured top: Daniel Rothwell and the White House Hotel.