A 24-YEAR-OLD man who tried to bring drugs into Jersey while halfway through a community service order for other drugs offences has been jailed for 13 months and two weeks.
Fabio Andre Geraldo Gomes was told that he had “betrayed the trust” the courts placed in him when they had previously given him a CSO – and only a period in custody was now appropriate.
The Royal Court heard that Gomes returned to the Island on the morning of 4 January on a flight from London.
Following a routine search by police officers at the Airport, Gomes was found to have small quantities of cocaine, herbal cannabis and cannabis resin on him.
The quantities were small enough for the offence to have been dealt with at the Magistrate’s Court.
But the Royal Court was told that the breach of the community service order made the incident serious enough for the higher court.
Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, said that in December 2021 Gomes was sentenced to 312 hours of community service – as a direct alternative to two years in youth detention – for bringing cannabis and ecstasy into Jersey.
He completed almost half of the hours, but then failed to turn up, saying he had overslept or claiming he had been unwell – yet providing no evidence to support the claims.
Advocate Hallam said: “He failed to make a reasonable effort despite being given the benefit of the doubt.”
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending Gomes, said that, aged 24, her client still qualified for some allowance for his “residual youth”.
And she added: “He fully accepts that this is not acceptable. He knows how serious his actions are.
“He understands the importance of complying with probation orders.”
The Jurats decided to replace the remainder of the community service order with a year in prison and add a consecutive month and two weeks for the recent drugs offences. They also ordered him to pay £1,500 in court costs.
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae said that at his previous court appearance three years ago a judge told Gomes he had had “a pretty close shave” in avoiding a jail sentence.
But he told him: “The community service team gave you a lot of leeway but they understandably lost patience with your non-compliance.
“The court had put its trust in you and you went on to betray that trust.”
Jurats Averty and Cornish were sitting.
