Attorney General's Reference (No.1 of 2006) Gary McDonald, John Keith McDonald and Stephen Gary Maternaghan (AG Ref 11-13 of 2005)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Kerr LCJ |
| Judgment Date | 2006,24 February 2006 |
| Neutral Citation | [2006] NICA 4 |
| Date | 24 February 2006 |
| Year | 2006 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
Neutral Citation No. [2006] NICA 4
Ref:
KERF5498
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
Delivered:
24/02/2006
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
_________
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REFERENCE (Number 1 of 2006)
GARY McDONALD, JOHN KEITH McDONALD
and STEPHEN GARY MATERNAGHAN
(AG REF 11-13 of 2005)
_________
Before Kerr LCJ, Nicholson LJ and Girvan J
________
KERR LCJ
Introduction
[1] The offenders were jointly indicted on a series of charges arising from
events that took place on 12 July 2003 at Innisrush Village, County
Londonderry. On their arraignment, on 20 April 2005, all three pleaded
not guilty to all counts in the indictment. On 11 October 2005, an amended
indictment, introducing the offence of affray contrary to common law as a
fourth count, was presented. On that date, at Belfast Crown Court the
offenders pleaded guilty to certain counts in the indictment and were dealt
with as follows:
(a) Gary McDonald pleaded guilty to counts alleging possession of
an imitation firearm (a deactivated Chinese Type 56 assault rifle –
also described as an AK47) with intent to cause fear of violence;
possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances; and
affray. In respect of the possession of the imitation firearm and
affray he received sentences of three years’ imprisonment for
each. In respect of the possession of ammunition, he received a
sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment. All sentences were ordered
to run concurrently and all were suspended for five years. He
was further ordered to pay £250 compensation to each of two
victims.
(b) John Keith McDonald and Stephen Gary Maternaghan both
pleaded guilty to the counts of affray and possession of an
imitation firearm (the deactivated rifle) with intent to cause fear of
violence. They were each sentenced of three years’ imprisonment
on each count. The sentences were again ordered to run
concurrently and both were suspended for five years. They were
each ordered to pay £250 compensation to each of the victims.
[2] A charge of attempted hijacking that had been preferred against all
three offenders was allowed to remain on the books, not to be proceeded
with without the leave of the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal.
[3] The Attorney General sought leave to refer the sentences for affray and
possession of an imitation firearm to this court under section 36 of the
Criminal Justice Act 1988, on the ground that they were unduly lenient.
(The sentence for possessing ammunition cannot be reviewed as it may
also be prosecuted summarily). We gave leave on 13 January 2006 and the
application proceeded on that date. After hearing submissions it was
decided that pre-sentence reports from the Probation Board for Northern
Ireland were required and the reference was adjourned for that purpose.
The hearing was resumed on 17 February 2006.
Factual background
[4] At approximately 1.45am on 12 July 2003 Thomas O'Hara drove into
Innisrush Village. He saw four people standing at the roadside. Suddenly
two of these stepped into the middle of the road, one coming from either
side. The man to the left of Mr O’Hara brought both hands up and was
seen to be brandishing a handgun which he pointed directly at the
motorist. The barrel of the gun was but a matter of feet from Mr O’Hara.
The gunman was wearing a balaclava. The man on the other side of the
road also wore a balaclava and was carrying a stick of about two feet in
length. Not surprisingly, Mr O’Hara was considerably alarmed by this and
he accelerated his vehicle. Both men jumped out of the path of the car and
he heard shouting and two loud bangs coming from the direction of the
gunman. Mr O’Hara believed that he had been fired on. When he arrived
at his friend’s home a short time later he discovered two large dents on the
nearside wing and front door of his vehicle. He was greatly frightened and
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R v Maughan and Another
...guilty. This was derived from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland in Attorney General's Reference (No 1 of 2006) [2006] NICA 4 and was restated by the Court of Appeal in this case in the following terms: “To benefit from the maximum discount on the penalty appropriate t......
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THE QUEEN v KT
...whilst he is in custody, see Attorney General's Reference (No.1 of 2006) Gary McDonald, John Keith McDonald and Stephen Gary Maternaghan [2006] NICA 4 at [38]–[41]. However, we consider that her plight is to be seen in the context that despite previously appearing in the criminal courts the......
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...on appeal was also considered by this court in R v Gary McDonald, John Keith McDonald and Stephen Gary Maternaghan (AG Ref 11-13 of 2005) [2006] NICA 4, in particular, from paragraphs [31]ff under the heading ‘Events since the sentence’. At paragraph [34] this court stated: “The question ar......
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Queen v KT - DPP Ref (Number 2 of 2019)
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Sentences of Imprisonment and the Physically Disabled Prisoner: C (R) v HM Advocate [2019] HCJAC62; 2019 SLT 1243; 2020 SCCR 20
...by earlier authorities (at [28]).The earlier authorities were Attorney General’s Reference (No.1 of 2006) (Gary McDonald and others)[2006] NICA 4, at [39] following cases from England and Wales.People with severe physical disabilities can and do commit serious offences freely and that much ......