Man sentenced for driving at dangerous speeds

Monday 26 October 2020

A 19-year-old has escaped being sent to prison for driving at 75mph along Portinfer Coast Road while just three months into a suspended sentence.

Jack Le Couvey, 19, was sentenced to 120 hours of community service for driving at a dangerous speed, however the Royal Court decided that it would be "unjust" to activate his suspended sentence from May this year.

Earlier this year, Le Couvey was handed a two-year prison sentence by the Royal Court - suspended for three years - for his involvement in the postal importation of more than 200g of cannabis.

Three months later, at around 21:15 on Sunday 16 August, Le Couvey was caught speeding by a police officer who was carrying out checks at Portinfer, near the entrance to Gillingham Pools.  

The officer reportedly heard Le Couvey's Alfa Romeo before they saw it and clocked it going past at between 75 and 76mph.

Pictured: It was Le Couvey's second appearance in the Royal Court in the last six months. 

Crown Prosecutor Fiona Russell said there were two pedestrians walking to a property in the road - which has no public footpath - shortly before Le Couvey drove past. 

Defence Advocate David Thompson said his client was driving alone at the time and had no reason to be in a rush. "It was a stupid and foolish piece of driving, even more so because there was no need for it."

It was Le Couvey's first conviction for driving offences and Advocate Thompson contended that his reading was only marginally above the 70mph threshold beyond which speeds are classed as "dangerous".

"The implications of that slender margin have had significant consequences," he said. "[Without the suspended sentence] this matter would usually be dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court."

Advocate Thompson said much of his personal mitigation from earlier this year still applied - the defendant's youth, previous good character and supportive family.

He insisted that, despite the dangerous driving offence, that suspended sentence had served as a "wake-up call" and that it would be "tragic" to lose the progress his client had made in those few months since appearing before the Royal Court in May. 

"He is still a teenager and as we all know teenagers don’t necessarily transform overnight into responsible, pro-social adults."

The main choice in front of the Judge, Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland, and the nine Jurats, was whether to activate the suspended sentence in full, to vary it, or to make no order in relation to it.

Pictured: Le Couvey narrowly avoided being sent to Les Nicolles Prison. 

Advocate Thompson said they were not bound by any legislation as the matter of "unjust" punishment for breaching a suspended sentence is not set out clearly in law. 

"The law does not provide a statutory definition of unjust to assist us," he said. "The equivalent legislation in England and Wales is framed in very similar terms.

"I would submit [this offence] is considerably less serious than the original offence - and of a completely different nature - and would not usually on its own justify a prison sentence."

Following a lengthy deliberation, Mrs Roland reprimanded Le Couvey for the dangerous driving, but decided against sending him to Les Nicolles.  

"Only luck meant that no pedestrians, who had to walk along that road because there was no pavement, were there at the time. Driving at the speeds you were is inherently dangerous."

Le Couvey will have to carry out 120 hours of community for the offence, as a direct alternative to six months in prison. The 19-year-old has also been disqualified from driving for two years. However, the Court decided not to activate the suspended sentence, which would likely have resulted in a lengthy stay of imprisonment. 

"On balance, but only just, we have decided it would be unjust," Mrs Roland told the defendant. "We will make no order in relation to the suspended sentence."

The suspended sentence remains in place and Le Couvey was told, in closing, that another breach would be "very unlikely" to result in anything other than a spell in youth detention.