R v Tirminder Singh Lallie
[2023] EWCA Crim 1371
R v Buzz Smith
9 June 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 807
Court of Appeal
Buzz Smith was sentenced to 28 months in jail for attacking two teens and stealing a phone. The court reduced his sentence to 22 months because it was too long, but he's still going to jail because he hurt kids for no reason.
Key Facts
- •Appellant Buzz Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of theft.
- •Assaults involved two teenage victims (17 and 14 years old).
- •The assaults were unprovoked and occurred in public places (cycle path and metro train).
- •Appellant was under the influence of cannabis during the offences.
- •Appellant had prior convictions for minor violence and public disorder.
- •Victim 1 suffered a knocked-out tooth and loose tooth.
- •Victim 2 suffered a bruise, graze, headache, and sickness.
- •Original sentence: 28 months imprisonment (14 months for each assault, 6 months concurrent for theft).
Legal Principles
Sentencing guidelines for assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and theft.
Sentencing Council guidelines (implied)
Categorisation of offences based on culpability and harm.
Sentencing Council guidelines (implied)
Consideration of aggravating factors in sentencing.
Sentencing Council guidelines (implied)
Discount for guilty pleas.
Sentencing Council guidelines (implied)
Totality principle in sentencing.
Common law (implied)
Outcomes
Appeal partially allowed.
Original sentence of 28 months was manifestly excessive. The court found the judge's categorisation of the offences largely appropriate but considered the overall sentence too high, particularly considering the vulnerability of the younger victim, this being a factor which fell at the lower end of the relevant category.
Sentence reduced to 22 months imprisonment (12 months for assault on victim 1, 10 months for assault on victim 2).
This reflects a more proportionate sentence given the totality of the offences.
Suspended sentence not ordered.
The court deemed immediate custody necessary due to the unprovoked nature of the attacks on children.