Jail for repeatedly breaking drugs laws

Saturday 16 March 2019

Importing cannabis, while already on bail for similar offences, means a local man with a troubled personal life will be serving longer in prison that he had hoped.

30-year-old Pierre Le Prevost has already been in prison since September last year, when he was remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing hearing before Guernsey's Royal Court yesterday.

The Judge, Deputy Bailiff Richard McMahon, and nine Jurats, jailed him for three years in total, meaning he'll be back behind bars at Les Nicolle for a while yet, despite his defence lawyer urging the court to consider a suspended sentence.

Pictured: Les Nicolles Prison. 

The Royal Court had heard that Le Prevost had been sentenced by the Magistrate's Court in April last year, when he was given community service for drug possession offences, but just days later he was concerned in the importation of cannabis.

In total, over the following few months, Le Prevost committed a number of further offences, including two counts of drug importation, two counts of drug possession, two counts of refusing to give Guernsey Police the PIN codes to four different mobile phones and failing to surrender to the Magistrate's Court on a specific date.

For the last charge, the Judge and Jurats accepted he had got the dates wrong, but all other charges were taken very seriously with a number of what the Deputy Bailiff described as 'aggravating factors'.

Pictured: Guernsey Post. 

Between April and May 2018, Le Prevost imported cannabis - using the postal system both times.

Initially he was caught after a parcel addressed to someone else was intercepted by customs for a random check. It was found to contain three small tins with a green herbal substance inside. Guernsey Border Agency staff visited the address the parcel was being sent to but there was no one of the intended recipient's name living there. Days later a man called the Post Office trying to track down the parcel, and he gave staff a telephone number which Le Prevost had previously given to Guernsey Police.

The his home was searched shortly afterwards, cannabis resin was found in Le Prevost's room, along with scales and other drug related paraphernalia.

While he was being investigated for those crimes, Le Prevost was again caught using Guernsey Post to try and get drugs delivered to him.

In July, customs intercepted another parcel - with a 'strong aroma' - for a spot check at Envoy House. This was addressed to a man at a different address - where Guernsey Police later found Le Prevost was living. Again he tried to track down the parcel after it had been intercepted, on one occasion talking to a postal worker delivering in the area where he was living, who later identified Le Prevost to Guernsey Police.

When his new address was searched amid this second enquiry, Le Prevost was found in possession of more cannabis resin and there were further traces of cannabis resin found on scales and other drug paraphernalia.

Pictured: One iPhone and three Nokia mobile phones were confiscated from Le Prevost (file image). 

Throughout both stages of the enquiries, Le Prevost repeatedly refused to give Guernsey Police access to any of four mobile phones they confiscated from him. 

This was explained by his defence lawyer as a way of ensuring his own privacy, as Le Prevost had photos and messages from his family he didn't want police officers to see. However, Advocate Sam Steel also told the court that Le Prevost has admitted that his local drug dealers details were on there and he didn't want the police to see conversations between them.

"He didn't want to be responsible for his supplier being brought to the attention of police," he said.

Advocate Steel also told the court that Le Prevost accepts he didn't help himself during his many police interviews, and that he had committed further offences just days after being sentenced by the Magistrate's Court.

Advocate Steel gave the Judge and Jurats a letter Le Prevost had written, and he also discussed his personal details briefly - saying that Le Prevost had not wanted his personal life laid out in open court.

"He has suffered more than his fair share of illness and trauma," he said, adding, "his personal trauma is related to his use of cannabis, in his words, 'to numb the pain'."

Advocate Steel also referenced a social enquiry report which was available to the Judge and Jurats to read, which said Le Prevost's cannabis use was nothing more than social, and that although he used fake names in his attempts to import the drugs, no one else was involved and that Le Prevost is no direct risk to the public.

It was argued that Le Prevost has now engaged with the help available to him, while he's been on remand at Les Nicolles prison and, "this is a man with a realistic chance of being rehabilitated back into the community," said Advocate Steel.

His later offences, committed while already on bail for the earlier offences, were "not a sign of disrespect to the criminal justice system, but a sign of his addiction," said Advocate Steel, who also said he is now ready to move on.

However the Deputy Bailiff said there were many aggravating factors in Le Prevost's case, meaning a further custodial sentence was imposed.

The Judge and Jurats agreed it was a relatively small amount of cannabis imported (a maximum street value of £1,140 in total) and a small amount possessed (a maximum street value of £180) but as there were multiple imports that was an aggravating factor. As was the use of the postal system. The fact Le Prevost broke the law within a matter of days of being sentenced by the Magistrate's Court was also seen as an aggravating factor and the fact he imported more cannabis after he had been caught the first time.    

"It is clear you failed to heed the warning bells ringing in your ears," the Deputy Bailiff said. While his refusal to give police officers any of the PIN codes to four confiscated phones was enough to "suggest to the court, you had something to hide."

In total, Le Prevost was jailed for three years - to run from 4 September, 2018, when he was first held on remand. Two and a half years is for importing the cannabis, with a six month sentence for failing to provide a code for the fourth mobile phone confiscated. Other sentences were given to run concurrently meaning a total inside of three years.

Pictured top: Guernsey's court building.