"It appears I have nicked a car"

Sunday 19 January 2020

A 20-year-old university student turned himself in to Guernsey Police, after he got into an unlocked car on the Albert Pier following a night out and drove it home.

The owner of the VW Polo had left it in the public car park at about 22:30 on 7 August.

She planned on leaving her car there until the following morning, but didn't want to take the keys into Town with her, so left them under the driver's seat.

Marcus Buchanan, who had been out for a friend's birthday but claimed he had not been drinking too much, came across the car in the early hours of the following morning. Feeling "alone, cold, in a depressive state and unable to walk home", the defendant got into the car for warmth.

Pictured: The car was parked on the Albert Pier. 

When he tried to adjust the seat for comfort, he found the keys on the floor. At first he thought he would put the keys in the ignition to turn the heating on, but eventually he decided to drive it home.

Buchanan claimed he had a head injury that evening which had clouded his judgement and blurred his memory, although there is no medical evidence of this.

He woke up at around midday the following day and, when he looked out the window and saw the Polo, realised what he had done.

The defendant didn't know what to do, so contacted the police and told officers, "I appear to have nicked a car".

"[Buchanan] does understand the seriousness of the offence he has committed for which he is remorseful," Advocate Sam Steel said in his mitigation.

The defendant denies being unfit to drive through alcohol consumption, and Advocate Steel noted there was "no evidence of any substandard driving or damage to the vehicle". 

Pictured: The defendant was sentenced in the Guernsey Magistrate's Court.

"This is Mr Buchanan's first time in court and he never wants to find himself in this position again," he added. "Mr Buchanan effectively handed himself in and he does have a very low risk of reoffending."

Advocate Steel asked the Magistrate's Court to consider the defendant's young age and the fact that he has been missing out on university studies to appear in court in Guernsey.

"It's a matter of considerable concern that you have no or little recollection of what happened that night," Judge Graeme McKerrell told Buchanan on sentencing. "You say that you had a head injury, but there is no medical evidence to support that.

"Taking a vehicle without consent is a serious offence and one that we thankfully see very rarely in Guernsey. Dishonesty offences are less frequently committed here than in other jurisdictions and long may it be that way."

Judge McKerrell did give the defendant credit for handing himself into the police though, saying "if it were not for that you would most likely be on the sharp end of an immediate custodial sentence".

Buchanan was sentenced to 60 hours of community service which he will have to carry out outside of university term time. He was fined £400 and will have to pay a further £200 in compensation to the owner of the car. Buchanan has also been disqualified from driving in the island for 14 months.