Man attempted armed robbery of jewellers "in order to be sent back to prison"

Thursday 06 January 2022

A 20-year-old man with mental health difficulties has been sentenced to three years of youth detention, after he attempted to rob a jewellery shop with a broken bottle, in an effort to be put back in prison.

Sean Downey appeared in the Royal Court yesterday before Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, sitting with Jurats sitting with Jurats Jerry Ramsden, Joanne Averty, and Gareth Hughes.

On the morning of 21 July last year, Downey entered Stott and Willgrass Fine Jewellers in St. Helier, ordering the shop owner to "get your watches out, open the counter", while threatening him with a broken glass bottle.

The owner said he was terrified the bottle would end up in his neck, and so distracted him by looking out towards the door and saying, "Who's that?" Whilst Downey was distracted, he pressed the panic button.

After this, Downey gave the owner a plastic bag to put the watches in and stand behind the desk, which he did. The owner then shouted for help when he saw others outside.

Pictured: Downey was sentenced in the Royal Court on Wednesday afternoon.

A woman stopped outside the doorway, and Downey then moved the broken bottle towards her through the closed doorway. Once she had moved away, he left the shop and ran away.

At approximately 9:25 that morning, police then received an anonymous call from a mobile phone - this was in fact Downey, according to the Crown.

The caller said he had just witnessed a robbery at the jewellers, and knew the suspect to be Downey. He said he had followed him to Windsor Court where he witnessed him getting changed.

He called again at 9:32 to tell them the clothing had been dumped there, and that he had followed Downey to the Shelter accommodation he was staying at.

At 10:00, officers went to the shelter to arrest him on suspicion of armed robbery. In response, he stated: "I've done something stupid."

Prosecuting, Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam noted Downey's difficult childhood, and a report detailing multiple mental health issues which a psychiatrist said could explain his offending.

Advocate Hallam said that, "in light of the seriousness of the offending", the Crown would recommend three years in youth detention.



Defending Downey, Advocate Allana Binnie said that it was "accepted" that a custodial sentence was appropriate, and said three years was "correct" in her opinion.

She described how he had "suffered a great deal in his short life", and that he had felt "desperate" enough to do something with the intention to be sent back to prison, having only just been released from his previous sentence, suggesting it was an environment where he felt "safe".

She called it a "cry for help", and noted how, upon release, he had no permanent accommodation and felt he had little support for his mental health at the time, with "continued instability" regarding an admission to Orchard House.

"...The fact my client saw prison as his best option is extremely sad," she remarked.

She added that he had committed himself to seeking help for both his problem with substance misuse and mental health issues at the prison.

Summing up, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae noted the "difficult start in life" Downey had, and acknowledged that the "trauma" he had faced had interfered with his emotional development.

Concluding, he addressed a comment by Advocate Binnie made about the "hopes" Downey had for his future, noting his ambitions to sit his GCSEs in prison, his interest in forensic psychology and his ambition to help children in care one day.

He said: "You are still a young man, and there is no reason you cannot achieve one or all of these things once you are released, do you understand?"

Downey responded: "Yes, sir."

Giving him full credit for his guilty plea, he said the Court agreed with the Crown's argument for three years' youth detention, saying that "a non-custodial sentence cannot be justified in this case and an offence of robbery involving a weapon will result in a custodial sentence of some length in every case."

Following the incident, Detective Constable Sam De La Haye issued a statement saying: "This was a very serious offence and although no one was injured during this incident and nothing was taken, the whole experience must have been terrifying for the employee involved.

"Thankfully thefts involving weapons are rare in Jersey but sadly they do happen from time to time and States of Jersey Police are committed to finding these offenders and putting them before the courts."