"Bully boy tactics" see local businessman in court

Friday 31 January 2020

A 78-year-old man, known locally for running businesses including the New Manor Hotel, has been sentenced by Guernsey's Magistrate for placing a 12-inch knife on the table during a heated late night business meeting.

Anthony Gover met with the complainant at his hotel at about 23:00 on 10 November to speak about an outstanding debt.

The pair had been in a business relationship for around two years.

Gover, who was captured on CCTV, was seen to become "irate" after the victim allegedly claimed there had been an error in the bills and he owed the defendant much less than previously thought.

The defendant then got up from the restaurant table and walked to the counter, where a number of staff members were stood. He demanded that one of them pass him a knife, which he took back and placed on the table, with the blade facing the victim.

Pictured: The New Manor Hotel (image from hotel's Facebook page).

On multiple occasions following this, Gover stood over the complainant and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck in a threatening manner. At one point he could be seen clenching his fist and holding it up, as if to throw a punch.

However, no injuries were caused and the meeting was eventually disbanded.

When he was interviewed by Guernsey Police, Gover said he had no intention of using the knife. He claimed the victim had been threatening to kill him and that he had fetched the knife to show he wasn't scared of the threats. But, in the island's Magistrate's Court, Judge Gary Perry agreed with Prosecuting Officer Crown Advocate Chris Dunford in reaching an "unavoidable conclusion that [the knife] was there to intimidate the victim".

In his mitigation, Advocate Chris Green said Gover would like to "sincerely apologise to all concerned". He had "become angry, upset and redness descended".

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

"This was very much a one-off incident," Advocate Green told the court. "Mr Gover is a man of hitherto excellent character and nothing of this sort has ever happened to him before.

He described the defendant as a "very well known and successful businessman in the island" with a "very low" likelihood of reoffending.

Advocate Green asked that the court take into account Gover's age, as well as his previous good character and early guilty pleas.

"The most important thing in your mitigation is the fact that you've reached 78 years of age without going before the court," Judge Perry told the defendant on sentencing.

"No amount of money is worth bringing a knife into a volatile argument. You should be fully ashamed of yourself for doing so. Bully boy debt collection tactics are not something we want to see in this island."

Judge Perry explained that, while Gover's age does not count as a "get out of jail free card", Guernsey courts usually avoid sending people of his age to immediate custody where possible.

The defendant was sentenced to 120 hours of community service as a direct alternative to four months in prison, which he will have to serve if he fails to complete the order.

Pictured top: The New Manor Hotel (image from New Manor Facebook page).