CRIMINAL CASE NO. 195 OF 2010
COURT: I have to sentence you for trafficking in dangerous drugs and for the possession of a stun gun.
The drug in question was “Ice”, and the amount was 225 grammes. The drugs were found in your own premises. There was evidence that you consumed “Ice” there, and given your previous convictions where you have been to DATC, I accept the fact that you are addicted to “Ice”.
It will have been explained to you that sentencing for drug trafficking is based on the nature of the drug and its quantity, and guidelines are followed.
The amount in your case falls into the bracket that runs from 70 grammes to 300 grammes, attracting a starting point after trial of imprisonment of 10 to 14 years. Mathematically, you are towards the top end. You are beyond halfway through that bracket, but I will accept that you would have consumed some “Ice” out of this amount yourself. But given the large quantity which obviously indicated trafficking, that self-consumption can only play a small part in the consideration of the starting point.
I judge that a starting point of 12 years is appropriate, in the middle of the bracket.
Your plea of guilty earns you a discount of one-third, and accordingly, the sentence on Count 1 is one of 8 years' imprisonment.
As regards the possession of the stun gun, I accept that the facts reveal nothing sinister beyond possession of the item. There is nothing to indicate any particular nefarious use of the weapon. The weapon itself could discharge 30,000 volts. Some stun guns are more powerful, some less powerful. This is in the mid-range.
There is no particular tariff or guideline like there is for the drugs for the possession of the stun gun, but a review of the cases, looking at other instances where there has been little more than simple possession of a stun gun revealed that a sentence of 12 months on a plea of guilty is fairly standard.
Accordingly, the sentence I impose on Count 2 is one of 12 months' imprisonment. That takes into account a one‑third discount for your plea.
The final question in determining the overall sentence is how those two sentences should relate to each other. The stun gun represented separate offending from the possession of the drugs, so I doubt whether you could successfully complain if the sentence was wholly consecutive. However, the fact is that you were co‑operative right from the beginning and you pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court, and Mr Marray makes the point that if that year had stood alone, part of the impact of the sentence is the loss of liberty as punishment for the crime, but that in your case, the longer drug sentence will in fact duplicate that.
If that were always logically sound, it would mean that you would never have a wholly consecutive sentence, I appreciate that; but on the other hand, I appreciate the point that is made, and as a matter of mercy in your case, bearing in mind the early plea, I shall order that 6 months of that 12 months run concurrently and 6 months consecutively.
The overall sentence is 8 years and 6 months. In the circumstances, I do not think you could realistically have hoped for anything less.