12 January 2021
On 8 January 2021, the Royal Court (Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae assisted by Jurats Ronge and Austin-Vautier) ordered the forfeiture of a van used by Nicholas Paul Brown to commit multiple motoring offences, including dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.
Brown pleaded guilty to fourteen offences, six of which related to an incident in which he pursued his partner’s vehicle, repeatedly ramming it from behind, and attempting to drive alongside her on two-way roads. His blood alcohol level was 113mg per 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 80mg. He was uninsured, did not have a driving licence, and the van had defective tyres and brakes.
The order was made under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders)(Jersey) Law 2001, which allows the sentencing court to deprive an offender of his or her rights in any property that is used for the purpose of committing or facilitating the commission of any offence, or that the offender intended to use for that purpose.
Brown was also sentenced for further motoring offences, malicious damage, and for an offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice relating to his attempts to persuade his partner to withdraw her statement.
Brown received a total sentence of 2 years’ and 4 months’ imprisonment and was disqualified from driving for 3 years.
Attorney General Mark Temple QC commented: “I am grateful to the Royal Court for its use of the Criminal Justice (Forfeiture Orders) (Jersey) Law 2001 to forfeit the Defendant’s van in this case. The van was effectively used as a weapon against Mr Brown’s partner whilst she was driving her car. As far as I am aware, it is the first use of the 2001 Law to forfeit a motor vehicle in Jersey, at least in recent years. The prosecution will in future make applications to the Court to forfeit motor vehicles in other cases involving serious motoring offences, such as offences involving dangerous driving or grossly excessive speeding.”
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