Teen who minded MDMA for friend spared prison

Wednesday 08 December 2021

A 19-year-old, who was found with MDMA as he was arrested for kicking a man he thought had been communicating with underage girls, has been spared prison.

Joshua James Cauvain was ordered to carry out 480 hours' community service, and was put on probation for the next two years, by the Royal Court this morning.

He appeared before the Superior Number – a panel that only assembles for the most serious cases – to be sentenced for two counts of possession with intent to supply MDMA and one count of assault, all of which happened when he was still 18.

The Court heard that on 17 November 2020, Cauvain kicked a man in the back on Cattle Street before chasing him down Minden Place and Bath Street, where the victim ran into the Globe.

Pictured: When officers searched Cauvain's house they found MDMA powder and tablets.

On 9 December, police officers arrested Cauvain and found white powder in his wallet. They then searched his home where they found another package containing white powder and tablets. In total, they found seven MDMA tablets and just over 31.17g of MDMA powder in his wallet and in a safe. According to an expert, the drugs were worth between £2,620 and £3,930.

Crown Advocate Chris Baglin said neither scales or other drug associated paraphernalia, nor messages related to drug supply had been found in Cauvain’s home and phone. 

In interview, Cauvain admitted kicking the man as he thought he had been communicating with underage girls. He said he didn’t plan to assault him again and just wanted to scare him.

He said he didn’t know what the substances in his room were and that he had been told to look after it “for a mate of this who was being watched by the police” and offered to give him £200.

The Court heard Cauvain had been assessed at a high risk of reconviction due to “gravitating towards young people who engage in anti-social behaviour” and his lack of employment.

They also heard that a two-year probation order with a programme to address Cauvain’s offending behaviour, as well as regular contact with a ‘Back to Work’ adviser, had been identified as the most appropriate sentence.

The Crown Advocate said Cauvain’s offences could justify a prison sentence. However, given his “particular circumstances”, his youth and his early guilty plea, he instead recommended a total of 480 hours of community service - the equivalent of three years and two months in youth detention - and a two-year probation order.

Pictured: Advocate Adam Harrison was representing Cauvain.

Cauvain’s lawyer, Advocate Adam Harrison, urged the Court to follow this recommendation. 

He reiterated that Cauvain had been minding the drugs for another man on the basis he would receive £200 and because he was “afraid of reprisals if he refused”. He said Cauvain had received the drugs only two days before they were found by the police and thought he would only have them for a “short time”. 

Advocate Harrison said Cauvain was not “a major participant in the process of arranging the supply of drugs” and was instead “very much in the periphery” as he was not involved in the onward supply.

Regarding the assault, the lawyer said Cauvain thought the man had arranged to meet an underage girl and messaged her on social media. He said the situation had escalated and Cauvain delivered a single blow, adding that, “fortunately”, the man hadn’t suffered any injuries.

He told Court that Cauvain had no history of violence and had not been aggressive to police officers or professionals. Instead, he said his client had been described as “polite, quietly spoken and reserved” as well as “interpersonally anxious”, which he said was consistent with his own experience of Cauvain.

He explained Cauvain struggled to “conceptualise that, by minding the drugs, he was involved in the distribution of drugs” or that the drugs could be dangerous. This, according to professionals, was the result of his immaturity and difficulties in seeing matters in perspective, which were likely due to adverse experiences in Cauvain’s early life. He argued his client’s culpability was therefore reduced.

Advocate Harrison also noted the case had hung over his client for a year, despite Cauvain having admitted the offences - neither of which he said were complex - at the earliest opportunity. 

He also told Court Cauvain had signed up for a catering course at Highlands College and taken up hobbies to make better use of his spare time in the last year.

He added that Cauvain had engaged well with the Probation Service and maintained voluntary contact, which he said should give the Court’s assurance that he would engage with a community sentence.

Pictured: The Court warned Cauvain he would "almost certainly" be sent to youth detention if he doesn't complete his community service order.

Returning the Court’s sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Robert Christensen, Elizabeth Dulake and David Hughes, said he disagreed with Advocate Harrison’s view that the assault could be dealt with through probation, as it was a “nasty incident that could have resulted in serious consequences”. 

However, he concluded the Crown’s recommendations were correct and sentenced Cauvain to 480 hours of community service and two years of probation. 

He gave Cauvain two years to complete the hours and warned him that if he didn’t do so he would be brought back to Court and “almost certainly sent to youth detention”.

Before leaving Court, he told Cauvain: “We are very encouraged by the positive steps you have taken, we hope you embark on this course in catering and we hope we will never see you again.”

Cauvain replied: “You won’t.”

The court also ordered the destruction of the drugs.