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Sentence cut for 'gun' teen
A TEENAGER who brandished a gun-shaped cigarette lighter and threatened to shoot two bouncers after they refused to let him into a nightclub has had his sentence more than halved.
Alan Price, 19, of Jevington Gardens, Eastbourne, was jailed for two years on February 26 at Brighton Crown Court after being convicted of having an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
But judges sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court today said the sentence was excessive and reduced it to eight months.
Mr Justice Holman, sitting with Mrs Justice Rafferty, told the court the incident took place on February 14 – Valentine's Day – last year.
Price had gone to TJs nightclub and was refused entry by the door staff because he was wearing casual clothes.
The court heard he "became agitated" and told them he was in the Army, not realising the club has a policy of giving free entry to members of the armed forces.
When one of the bouncers asked to see his identification, he became aggressive, saying he had a gun and was going to shoot her.
He then showed her the cigarette lighter, which looked like a genuine gun, and said: "I've got a Colt 45 and I am going to come back and shoot you."
When the other bouncer stepped in to help his colleague, Price shouted racist abuse at him before threatening to kill him.
The court heard Price committed an offence of having a bladed article while on bail for the TJs incident, by taking a flick knife into the same nightclub in September last year, for which he was sentenced by magistrates to a 12-month community order.
He also has previous convictions for assault and criminal damage.
Lawyers acting for Price argued the judge who sentenced him hadn't given enough consideration to his youth or "difficult" background when she set the two-year term.
They also highlighted comments made in psychiatric reports that Price was "ill-equipped" to deal with custody, shown by his history of struggling to cope with being in care homes as a child.
The appeal judges said although the offence was serious, they were concerned he may have been punished twice for the flick-knife offence, because of comments made by the judge when sentencing him.
Mr Justice Holman said: "Although what was employed in this case was a cigarette lighter, the fact is that it realistically resembled a gun and the door staff were not to know that it wasn't real.
"Very serious threats were made to each of them that he would shoot them with it. This was undoubtedly serious offending.
"But we are very clearly of the view that a sentence of two years was disproportionate and manifestly excessive in this case."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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