AG v Facchino (Royal Court : Sentencing (Criminal) : MacRae) [2025] JRC 199 (1 August 2025)

JUDGMENT THE DEPUTY BAILIFF: 1. Peter Facchino, you are 43 years of age and of previous good character. You have admitted two offences of drink driving, one offence of driving whilst disqualified and one offence of driving without insurance. You appear in the Royal Court because the second offence of drink driving was committed so soon after the first and whilst you were awaiting sentence for that earlier matter.

2. Just before 5pm on 20 February 2025, a member of the public reported that you had driven away from a shop in Queens Road when you smelled strongly of alcohol, were swaying on your feet and struggling to stay still. The police traced your vehicle, a BMW motorcar, to your home and you were found there only 10 minutes after the member of the public had reported you. You claimed that you had been drinking at home and that you had last consumed alcohol 30 seconds prior to the arrival of the police.

3. You failed a breath test, were arrested and then taken to the police station. There, the lowest breath alcohol reading was 108 micrograms against the limit of 35. This was a high reading.

4. When you were interviewed you told the police you had been drinking between midday and 2.30pm that day and you had drunk more alcohol when you had returned to your home.

5. You pleaded guilty to this first offence on 15 April 2025. On that day the Magistrate made you subject to an interim disqualification from driving and released you on bail for a pre-sentence report to be prepared prior to your sentencing date which was fixed for 27 May 2025. The Magistrate would have warned you on that occasion of the fact that a custodial sentence was either likely or possible in view of your level of intoxication when committing the first offence.

6. You ignored the interim driving ban and the fact that you were on court bail. These are both significant aggravating features in this case, and you committed a further offence of drink driving on 18 May 2025. Again, you were seen by a member of the public trying to get into another vehicle near a shop - this time the vehicle was a Range Rover - at just before 7am. You were seen stumbling and struggling to open the passenger door of that car. The police arrived again very quickly - some 14 minutes after you were seen - and the police are to be commended for their very swift attendance on both occasions. They arrested you for driving whilst disqualified. Again, you failed the roadside breath test and at the police station the lowest reading was 95 micrograms as against the limit of 35 - another high reading.

7. When you were interviewed you said that you had been drinking heavily between 7.30pm the night before and 1am. You knew that you were driving whilst disqualified and furthermore you had had reason to contact your insurers on 22 April and you told them that you had no intention of driving the Range Rover as you were going to return it to the finance company that owned it. But of course you did. Further during that contact with the insurers you failed to tell them of your interim disqualification from driving or indeed your recent conviction for drink driving.

8. You pleaded guilty to the second offence of drink driving and the offence of driving whilst disqualified the following day on 19 May. You were then remanded into custody and sent to this Court for sentence, and today you pleaded guilty to driving without insurance on the second occasion.

9. The pre-sentence report indicates that you were unable to apply for Legal Aid as you are said to have investments overseas that you cannot access but you have spoken to us eloquently on your own behalf today and Advocate Dale has also addressed us as amicus to assist you.

10. You claimed to the probation officer that you believed that you were fit to drive on both occasions. In view of the readings, we reject this. On both occasions you had drunk a significant amount of alcohol - probably a lot more than you admitted in your police interviews - and you chose to drive to shops that were so close to where you lived that you could have walked there. Indeed in mitigation before us today you prayed in aid the fact you did not travel far on either occasion. Well that cuts both ways does it not, because you really should not have been driving at all. You also mention, which we accept, that there is no evidence that you were driving at anything other than a low speed and on the second occasion there was no traffic. But the fact is you consciously chose to drive your car to nearby shops purely to buy alcohol or cigarettes and there was no reason to do so at all.

11. You have pleaded guilty and will receive full credit for those pleas.

12. You plainly have a problem with alcohol, and you have a long record - some 27 years you say - of driving without an accident or a previous conviction.

13. Unfortunately, your marriage broke up some three years ago. Your former partner lives in England with your three-year-old daughter who you have not seen since last year. You were living in the United Kingdom until you returned to Jersey last year. At the time you were committing these offences you were drinking very heavily - you told the author of the PSR about 1½ bottles of wine every day.

14. Since your remand in custody, you have engaged with Alcoholics Anonymous and indeed you were taking steps to battle your addiction even before committing these offences - you had seen your GP, you had undergone counselling, you had self-referred yourself to the alcohol and drugs service. All those things are to your credit. In relation to your remand in custody, we are pleased that you have continued to tackle your addiction and you have told us today that your remand in custody has amounted to treatment for you. Several of the pillars to recovery are present in the custodial environment including a regular diet, exercise, security and of course an absence of alcohol. You have said that you hope that you will continue your journey of sobriety in custody.

15. Nonetheless you are at high risk of re-conviction, and you present a significant risk of harm towards members of the public in the event that you get behind the wheel of a car in the future.

16. There is no option for the Court but custody in this case. The first offence was serious, and the custody threshold was passed. The second offence, even though the reading was lower, was even more serious because you were offending whilst convicted and whilst on bail and whilst disqualified. In the judgment of this Court you represent a risk to other motorists and pedestrians when you have been drinking and that needs to be marked by a significant custodial sentence.

17. The sentences that we impose are as follows: (i) Count 1, 6 months' imprisonment. (ii) Count 2, 8 months' imprisonment, consecutive. (iii) Count 3, 4 months' imprisonment, consecutive. (iv) Count 4, 3 months' imprisonment, concurrent to Count 3 but consecutive to Counts 1 and 2, making a total of 18 months' imprisonment.

18. As to disqualification, on Count 1 you are disqualified for a period of 2 years. On Count 2, 3 years concurrent, making a total of 3 years and you will be unable to drive a vehicle at the end of those periods until you have successfully passed a driving test. Authorities Magistrate's Court Sentencing Guidelines - Motoring Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 Motor Traffic (Third Party Insurance) (Jersey) Law 1948 Page Last Updated: 04 Sep 2025 BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII