"Lucky" teens spared custody

Wednesday 12 February 2020

Two 18-year-olds will have to carry out lengthy community service orders for assaulting a man, who ended up unconscious on the floor.

Kailum Bougourd and Edward Unden were out in Town on 31 March last year, where they ran into the victim.

Both the defendants and their victim had been drinking alcohol.

After sporadic contact throughout the night, Unden had an argument with the victim, who was known to him. They decided to cross the road from the North Plantation to the pathway on the seaward side of the wall by the Crown Pier. At this point the defence lawyer said there was no plan to use violence.

Pictured: The incident began near the North Plantation.

However, Bougourd, who had a "misplaced loyalty" for his friend, decided to hit the victim twice.

According to witnesses, the complainant laughed these two blows off but then Unden got involved, hitting the victim again. The third blow made him fall to the ground, where he hit his head and fell unconscious for a short time.

An ambulance was called and the victim was treated, and suffered no lasting injuries.

In Unden's mitigation, Advocate Alan Merrien said he was "normally a responsible individual, sticking to his group and not getting in trouble".

He explained how the defendant was hoping to pursue in the army, and had already gone through some aspects of the selection process. He was concerned that a violent conviction would have a detrimental effect on his application - "something he has been working towards for years".

Pictured: One of the defendants would like to pursue a career in the army (file image).

"Certainly, he did not wish harm on anyone," Advocate Merrien added. "He is therefore apologetic and, looking back, realises it never should have happened."

Meanwhile Advocate Liam Roffey, who represented Bougourd, told the court how "he is not the sort of person that goes out looking for trouble". He said the defendant has since addressed his alcohol usage and has not come to Guernsey Police's attention over the last year in relation to alcohol.

Although Judge Graeme McKerrell took the defendants' mitigation into account, he noted that it did not excuse what they did.

"This was a serious incident with a serious injury that could have been considerably worse," he told the pair.

Bougourd was sentenced to 120 hours of community service for his conviction, while Unden will have to complete 140 hours. They have also been ordered to pay £235 in compensation, to cover the costs of the ambulance and a follow up dental examination.

"You both got away very lucky this morning," Judge McKerrell added.

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