A 21-YEAR-OLD man who brandished a kitchen knife and hammer, threatened to kill a teenager, assaulted a woman, resisted arrest and admitted a string of traffic offences has been spared prison.
Tristan Grihault was told yesterday that Jurats of the Royal Court had decided “by a very fine margin” to impose a 190-hour community service order instead of a custodial sentence.
The court was shown the hammer and knife that Grihault had used to smash a window and threaten people inside, with Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, saying the threats and malicious damage were the last in “a spree of offending” which took place over a five-month period from April to August.
The assault on the woman, on 5 April, happened after Grihault had refused to buy her two chocolate eggs.
The court heard the pair argued but she got into his car before he drove off, with Grihault stopping in Halkett Place and ordering her out of the vehicle. The court was shown CCTV footage in which he then pushed her and hit her with the car door.
The first of the traffic offences happened on 13 June, when Grihault crashed the motorcycle he was riding into a road bank. He was found not to have insurance or a valid licence for the bike and had failed to register with DVS as its owner.
Six days later, he was caught driving a black Peugeot car without a licence or insurance.
Advocate Hallam said that on the evening of 23 August, two teenagers made derogatory comments about Grihault’s partner, after which he armed himself with a knife and hammer, went to the home of one of the teenagers and shouted: “I’m going to shank you, I’m going to kill you.”
The Advocate explained that “shank” was a slang term for stab.
Grihault then smashed the lounge window before being arrested and charged with affray as well as possession of offensive weapons and making threats to kill.
The court heard that Grihault was deemed to be at moderate risk of reconviction, with Advocate Hallam recommending a 15-month prison sentence and a year-long driving ban.
Grihault has already been in custody for the equivalent of three months and Advocate Greg Herold-Howes, defending, argued that he should be released.
He said his only previous convictions were for speeding so said: “He can be considered a man of previous good character.
“He is remorseful for his actions and is ashamed to be before you.”
Of the carrying of weapons and threats to kill, Advocate Herold-Howes said: “He is disgusted with himself. He has made no attempt to minimise or shy away from what he has done.”
He also pointed out that Grihault had suffered a serious head injury from a baseball bat when aged 17, which “could have affected his state of mind”.
However, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae told Grihault: “That is no excuse for this behaviour.”
He added: “You are still a young man. You are being given a chance. If you fail to comply with the order, you will be back in the Royal Court and you will almost certainly be sent to prison.
“We earnestly hope that we will not see you in the Royal Court again.”
Grihault was also been banned from driving for a year and put on probation for 18 months.
The Jurats sitting were Steven Austin-Vautier and Mike Berry.
