Will I Go To Prison?

[dampbunny1]

Been charged with GBH s20. Going to Magistrates court tomorrow. Will be pleading guilty.

Man driving erratically in his car. Tailgating me, honking his horn. Overtook me in a 30 and slammed his brakes on in front of me causing me to emergency stop with 2 year old daughter in car. This made her begin to cry. Did this a further 2 times (but i gave him more room so didn't have to brake so hard).

He then drives 10MPH in a 30MPH zone for some time. Then stops his car in the road. I get out, approach his vehicle, his window is down. I have a good old shout at him. The essence of what I said was, you're an idiot, I have my daughter in the car, you could have killed us (I was shouting and swearing a lot at this point). I shouted for about 15 seconds or so.

I began walking back to my car and he got out of his car and approached me. I turned around and punched him once to the face. He fell forward and then I walked back to my car. He didn't lose conciousness. There was no blood. He immediately got back up. By the time I was back in my car he was stood up. I drove off and carried on my day. (I felt really sick to my stomach for the rest of the day). There is no dispute to this story other than the reasoning he is giving for getting out of his car was to take a picture of my car.

Unbenknown to me, he was 76. I didn't think that at the time as he was quite stocky, bald headed, no wrinkles really and lots of tattoos over his arms.

From that, he suffered 2 fractures in his cheekbone, 2 in his eye socket and 1 in his jaw. The doctor said he would benefit from a surgery but due to his age its not neccessary. (Due to risk etc).

From my understanding, he has recovered but there is no Victim Impact statement yet.

I have 1 previous conviction from 2009. I was 13 years old. It was for common assault. I am completely remorseful and have been throughout. I understand what I did was way way out of hand. All i can say is i acted on emotion and adrenaline/fight or flight in a weird instictual out of character moment.

I have character references from respectable people from where I work describing how this is not in my nature and it seems out of the ordinary for me. They describe me as hard working and reliable

I have a good career in the public sector and have worked in the public sector for 7 years. I have just landed a new job in the private sector working for a completely not for profit organisation.

My ex and I purchased a house in 2018. We broke up in 2021. She cannot afford to live there on her own, so since 2021 I have been paying the mortgage there so my daughter has somewhere to live. She only earns £800 a month and the mortgage and insurance (Which is what i pay) is £600 a month on its own before bills etc. As you can see, If i go to prison, my daughter will be evicted from her house.

Based on culpability, harm and my early guilty plea, it seems both me and my solicitor agree it is range to be suspended even in the worst case scenario.

What will the judge think about when determining wheather it should be suspended? I am hard working, pay taxes. I don't have so much as a speeding ticket on my record since 2009 (which was a stupid mistake as an immature youth). Will this sentence likely be suspended? Or is immediate custody more likely?

[Buenchico]

It's likely that you won't be sentenced tomorrow, as the Magistartes' Court will probably refer the case up to the Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.

The judge in the Crown Court will have this document in front of him when determining sentence:
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Assault_definitive_guideline_-_Crown_Court.pdf
(See pp 7-10)

My best guess is that the offence will be classed as 'greater' harm but 'lower' culpability, making it 'Category 2'.  As you'll see from my link, the sentencing range would then be between 18 months' and 36 months' custody but with that then being reduced by a third (to between 18 months and 24 months) due to your early guily plea.

Sentences of up to 24 months can be suspended though and my best guess is that yours is likely to be.

[JimF]

I sympathise with your predicament, but you surely must have a lawyer? What does s/he say?

[barry1010]

His solicitor says it is in the range to be suspended 

[dampbunny1]

My solicitor is on the fence. They believe a suspended sentence is possible.

The thing is how possible. They are not willing to answer that. Nobody is. 1% possible is still possible. I'm a man of logic and if someone said to me, the most likely outcome would be a suspended sentence then I could live with that. 

Not knowing what is going to happen for the past 5 months has been like torture. I feel sick, worn out. I have got this weird vertigo thing going on I think its stress related. I often wake up in the middle of the nigh vommiting due to panic and worry. All this is self inflicted ofcourse. I made the wrong decision and made a stupid mistake. I'd just like to understand what the most likely course of action is. 80/20 for suspended custodial? Is it just based on if the judge has had their morning coffee? It's really killing me here.

[ToraToraTora]

Sounds more like common assault to me, what did you do to annoy him in the first place?

[dampbunny1]

I didn't do anything to annoy him. He claims I pulled out on him. When he initially honked his horn, he was so far behind my vehicle I genuinely thought he was honking at someone walking down the street to say hello. He was at minimum 100 meters behind, maybe more. 

He admitted to driving like a dick before the incident. I genuinely have no idea why he did what he did. He just put my daughters life in danger. I should never have got out the car in the first place. I'm an idiot. Still does not excuse what he did prior to that though. 

[barry1010]

It's more serious than ABH.  He suffered 2 fractures in his cheekbone, 2 in his eye socket and 1 in his jaw. 

[New Judge]

I'm not so sure the Magistrates will send you to the Crown Court for sentencing. If you look at their guidelines here:

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/inflicting-grievous-bodily-harm-unlawful-wounding-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-gbh-unlawful-wounding/

I would not be surprised to see them place the category into "Lesser Culpability" and would certainly see the offence in "Category 3" of harm. The "starting point" for such an offence is 26 week's custody, which is within the range that Magistrates can impose. A discount must be allowed for a guilty plea and I see no particular aggravating features. There is strong personal mitigation (no previous convictions as an adult, remorse and the realisation that this is a situation that got out of hand).

As always, the devil is in the detail. However, it should be realised that even if the sentence is to be suspended, six months is the maximum the Magistrates can impose.

It is my guess that at the first hearing the Magistrates will order a probation report whilst not ruling out the option to send you to Crown Court for sentencing if they think fit. Many courts have a probation officer in attendance and the report may be prepared on the day. If I had to guess I would plump for a suspended sentence of around four months with possibly an accompanying unpaid work order.

[dampbunny1]

When sentenced, I'll let this thread know of the outcome just so anyone else looking who is in a similar boat to me knows what to expect. Ofcourse every case is different but hopefully what I've described can give a benchmark for what others might expect. 

If I dont respond to this thread and its been years, just assume I went to prison for somewhere between 12-24 months.

[Ringlet]

I sympathise with your predicament.  It would be difficult not to lose control in those circumstances.  

However, i would be relieved to know that your 2 year old daughter is receiving some kind of help with the trauma that she experienced. 

The child must have been terrified, first by the stop/start experience of the cars, then by the open verbal and physical aggression shown by both parties. 

Please talk to a GP about therapy for the child.  This will surely come back to haunt her in years to come.  

[dampbunny1]

Today, I went to the magistrates court and it got passed to the crown court after pleading guilty. Sentencing date is 5th of December.

The prosecution seem to think this case falls into the A2 category of the sentencing guidelines found here:

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/inflicting-grievous-bodily-harm-unlawful-wounding-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-gbh-unlawful-wounding-for-consultation-only/

I strongly disagree, but this can be discussed in crown court what the actual harm and culpability is. They say because of his age, its high culpability. However in the guidelines it says "Victim obviously vulnerable due to age or other characteristics."

It was not obvious. I had no idea who he was. I had no idea his age. He didn't look as old as he is, or act it. I had no way of knowing he was vulnerable. Secondly, 2 traits from the lower culpability are present, that being "No weapon used" and "Impulsive/spontaneous and short-lived assault". Assuming that the court takes the side of the victim was obviously vulnerable, even then because there are factors in both, I firmly believe it cannot be above a B category for culpability.

Ofcourse, this will be discussed. Will keep this thread updated. If come mid December I haven't updated this thread. Assume I went to prison.

[Abstract1]

Should you go to prison there might be a course in brevity. Also, it's not a good to assault people.

[jno]

if I'd being followed on foot by someone who'd just been trying to run me off the road, I'd have been inclined to plead self-defence. I suppose this sort of thing points to the usefulness of dashcams.

[dampbunny1]

What I did was a stupid, out of hand emotional response which was unacceptable and I hold my hands up to that.

I don't go around doing this stuff. I'm incredibly sorry for the harm i've caused, its genuinely made me sick. Everyone makes mistakes. Violence is never the option. I knew that before but now its scorched into my brain. Assaulting people is not right, but i'd also like the sentencing to be correct and everything to be taken into account. I need a punishment for this, but I honestly believe making me jobless, homeless and completely screwed for any future tax i might pay or compensation for the victim is not really beneficial. Give me lots of unpaid work, fines and a suspended sentence and let me prove I'm not a menace to society!

[jno]

have you got someone to represent you in court? Sometimes a good lawyer is a great asset.

[Neveracrossword]

JNo, the OP mentions his solicitor yesterday, at 16.42. I think the OP wanted a definite answer - to 'will I go to prison', but  solicitors would seldom say 'Yes, definitely' or 'No, not a chance'.

[Canary42]

Has he been charged ?  If not, why not ? He was obviously driving dangerously.

[jno]

solicitors aren't necessarily great performers in court, and I think the OP may need someone to present his case forcefully (he may be able to do it himself, of course).

[New Judge]

I must say I am a little surprised. In particular, based on your description, I am surprised the prosecution put the culpability into Cat A (mainly for the reasons you mentioned). 

Thanks for keeping us informed.

[Mike25]

I was in a similar situation years ago only I pleaded not guilty. We all can do stupid things in a split second of madness.

Not good that it's been sent to Crown Court. I assume when he approached you using foul language, you felt venerable, intimidated etc especially with your little girl screaming/crying in the car.....

You need to play the game! No one can predict what a judge will sentence, different judges give different verdicts, you'll need a bit of luck.