North Plantation "considered a boxing ring"

Saturday 11 July 2020

Two men have been sentenced alongside one another, after a disagreement at the North Plantation got out of hand - an offence Judge Gary Perry sees as a "continuing problem" for the island.

Tyler Dodd, 22, and Adam Baker, 27, had both been out in Town separately in the early hours of Saturday 29 February.

They didn't know each other, but had met outside at the North Plantation, where their conversation had become heated.

At about 01:00, Baker was seen to push Dodd in the head, causing his head to jerk back.

They were seen talking to each other for a short while until Dodd punched Baker in the face, which led to a number of punches being thrown, until the pair were eventually separated. There was a short gap before Dodd walked back over to Baker and threw a 'haymaker' punch to his face, causing him to fall to the floor. The fight then began again and continued until others came in to separate them. 

Dodd was arrested following the incident, while Baker came to police attention slightly later.

Both had injuries as a result, but none were serious or in need of medical attention.

Advocate Sam Maindonald, who represented Dodd, explained to the court that, despite having numerous previous convictions, her client had "turned a corner" in his life. "There has been some maturing over the past few years," she said.

The defence advocate made it known that her client hadn't started the altercation.

"It's not as though there was some sort of 'beef' that spilled out onto the street, it came out of nowhere," she added.

While she noted that the incident would have been "unpleasant" for all the witnesses, Advocate Maindonald asked that Judge Perry consider an alternative sentence to prison, as time in custody could have a "negative and detrimental impact" on the changes Dodd has made in his life recently.

Pictured: Advocate Maindonald said time in prison would be "detrimental" for her client.

"He's at a better time in his life to be able to do work with him," she explained. "Prison would take him beyond the help that he needs and could undo all the positivity we're seeing."

Advocate David Thompson was next up, offering mitigation for Baker, who had never appeared before Guernsey's courts before.

He told the court his client had been going through "stressful experiences" at the time and that the incident was completely "out of character".

"He's not a violent or aggressive person," the Advocate said. 

Although the pair were sentenced together, their differing past experiences meant they were given very different sentences.

"For those that seem to consider the North Plantation some sort of boxing ring, there has to be a deterrent," Judge Perry told them. "The frequency of this sort of macho is a continuing problem. It is an area of the island that people should feel safe in, but it's because of people like you that many islanders feel unsafe walking through there at any time of the evening."

Pictured: The pair were sentenced in the Magistrate's Court.

Taking his previous good character into account, Judge Perry sentenced Baker to 120 hours of community service as an alternative to four months in prison, which he will have to serve if he doesn't complete the order of unpaid work.

"You're in a different category to your co-accused because you have a poor record of offending," he then told Dodd. "I'm told that you've turned a corner. You might not know this but I get told that by somebody at least once a week. Some people do but most people don't and I see them again."

Judge Perry told Dodd it's likely that he'll be back before the courts again soon.

He was given a four month prison sentence which will be suspended for two years, meaning he will have to serve it if he commits any other crimes within the next 24 months - no matter how small. It will also go on Dodd's criminal record as a custodial sentence. 

Pictured top: Judge Gary Perry referred to the North Plantation as "some sort of boxing ring".