Jury backs man's 'self-defence' plea with not guilty verdict

Tuesday 19 December 2023

A Royal Court jury has backed a man’s ‘self defence’ plea and acquitted him of assault following a two-day trial.

Jamie Shotbolt (25) had faced one charge of grave and criminal assault in relation to an incident in Halkett Street, St Helier during the early hours of Saturday 11 March. He had pleaded not guilty.

During the opening day of the trial, the court heard that the alleged victim had been walking home from a night out when he intervened in what he believed to be an altercation involving Mr Shotbolt and a group of friends.

Mr Shotbolt admitted his group had been "boisterous" after a night out, but that he had been acting playfully in pushing his friend, which sparked the intervention by the alleged victim.

Giving evidence on Monday, the alleged victim described being punched to the ground and kicked in the back before he could get up. He said he had suffered injuries to his face and back, experiencing trouble with his vision for around three weeks after the incident, and described how, as he lay on the ground, he feared he would be "severely injured".

Questioned about the incident, which was captured on CCTV and shown in court, Mr Shotbolt said that he had punched and kicked the other man in self-defence because he felt threatened by the intervention of someone he did not know.

Having been sent out by the Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, the jury of eight women and four men returned to the court after 75 minutes' deliberation and delivered a unanimous verdict of not guilty this afternoon.

Advocate James Bell was defending during the trial, and Crown Advocate Luke Sette appeared for the prosecution.