"Give me your meds now or I’ll plug you"

Wednesday 11 March 2020

A 34-year-old man is on trial in Jersey's Royal Court, accused of stabbing a man he met in his teens in the arm, and both legs, before making off with his prescribed medication.

James Christopher Power (33) is facing one count of grave and criminal assault, which he denies.

The case opened yesterday, with Crown Advocate Julian Gollop summarising the facts for the jury, before they heard live evidence from the alleged victim, who claimed he didn't recall how he sustained stab wounds in August last year, and that he didn't want to send anyone to prison.

He also made claims that contradicted an earlier Police statement, which he denied making.

Crown Advocate Gollop explained that Mr Power and his alleged victim, who is in his 50s, had known each other since 2006.

The man had weekly prescriptions for painkillers and anxiety medication, including Valium, which he took on a daily basis. The Court heard that he would normally keep this in a padlocked bag, except when he was in the house, such as on the day of the alleged attack.

Pictured: Crown Advocate Julian Gollop is leading the prosecution.

The Crown Advocate said Mr Power and the alleged victim had been drinking and watching TV on the day in question.

The man had recently purchased a Spanish knife with a 18cm blade and a wooden handle, which Mr Power asked to look at. Mr Power took it out of the leather sheath and thrusted it, three or four times. 

One thrust came close to the man’s face, after which he fell backwards on the sofa, telling Mr Power to "take it easy."

Mr Power, the jury heard, then allegedly stabbed the man in the back of both legs. He then allegedly tried to stab him in the chest, but the man deflected the hit, and the knife went in his arm instead.

A struggle then ensued during which Mr Power was said to have grabbed the man’s left arm, telling him: “Give me your meds now or I’ll plug you.” 

Pictured: The incident took place in a property on Beach Road. (Google Maps)

The man was then reported to have pointed to his medication bag and Mr Power picked it up before leaving, the knife still in his hand. Crown Advocate Gollop said before he left, Mr Power said: “If you grass me up, you’ll be killed. Trust me.”

The man then called 999, saying he had been attacked by a man in a balaclava.  

Mr Power was arrested the following day, while the medication bag was found in a bin in Howard Davis Park and the blade half-buried. Mr Power suggested to the police that the man had caused the injuries to himself and repeated he had not been hurt when Mr Power had left the flat.

Mr Power initially denied stealing the man’s medication bag but later admitted it, on the basis that he had expected to receive drugs from him and had taken them in a hurry. 

“This is not a case of self-defence, the defendant was at all times the aggressor,” Crown Advocate Gollop said. “[Mr Power] knew he had prescribed medication, he wanted it for his own use… When [the victim] was not as generous and forthcoming as he thought he might be, he resorted to violence and stabbed him before taking the medication he wanted.”

The victim was called as a witness and told the jury he “knew of” Mr Power. “I spent 17 years of my life in prison so of course I know him,” he said.

Pictured: The man said he didn't remember making any statements to the police.

He said he neither remembered what had happened on 17 August or having made a statement about the incident. He said he had phoned the police and told them he didn’t want anyone in prison on his behalf.

“I didn’t make a statement to the police,” he added. “I was shocked to have it posted to me. At no point did I make a statement or go to the police.”

Crown Advocate Gollop presented him with a copy of two statements from August 2019 but the man kept repeating he didn’t remember making them and denied their contents were true. 

He kept repeating a man in a balaclava had stabbed him. He denied having told the police he wanted Mr Power prosecuted as he “could have killed me stabbing me in the thigh." 

When the Crown Advocate told the man Mr Power had admitted stealing his meds, he replied : "Well that was silly of him." 

Mr Power’s defence lawyer, Advocate Francesca Pinel, questioned the man, who repeated he had never made a complaint or a statement about anyone. 

The man suggested he had been put under pressure to come to court and threatened with prison. He also claimed his statement might have been made up for him.

Pictured: Advocate Francesca Pinel is representing Mr Power.

He also denied sharing vallium with Mr Power on the night of the incident. 

At one point, the man said, all he remembered was “getting plugged, stopping it and someone asking about my meds”.

He denied having told Mr Power, “I should have finished you off years ago,” or having suffered his injuries as a result of Mr Power defending himself. 

Advocate Pinel suggested it wouldn’t be hard for the man to lie under oath, as he had previous convictions for perverting the course of justice.

The case which is being heard by a jury of seven women and five men, under the direction of the Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, is expected to conclude tomorrow.