A man who lost his temper and his dignity in a row over a soft toy at an amusement arcade has been sentenced. Christian Gervais assaulted a member of staff and stole a teddy bear after refusing to accept he did not have enough tokens to redeem the prize he wanted.
Swansea Crown Court heard that on June 2 the defendant was at the amusement arcade on Aberystwyth pier when he approached a member of staff to redeem his tokens. The employee counted the tickets and told Gervais he did not have enough for the toy he wanted, but offered him a range of lesser prizes instead.
Altercation and Theft
The defendant called the arcade worker a "spoil sport" and a "jobsworth" before shouting at the man. Gervais then started shoving the man before pushing him into a set of shelves. He grabbed a soft toy and walked out. The arcade worker followed the defendant and asked him to return the toy, at which point Gervais made verbal threats to beat him up.
Police were called, and the defendant made off when he heard the sirens of a police car. Officers subsequently arrested the 36-year-old on a nearby street. In his interview the defendant denied assaulting anyone, saying he had a right to the toy because he had tokens.
Victim Impact and Sentencing
In an impact statement read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the victim said the assault at work had worsened his anxiety and left him struggling to sleep. He added that he was worried about what would happen if he encountered the defendant in the street.
Christian Gervais, of Main Road, Easter Compton, Gloucestershire, had previously pleaded guilty to assault by beating and theft. He had originally been charged with robbery but the prosecution had accepted a not guilty plea to that charge at an earlier hearing following his pleas to the lesser offences.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said he had read a pre-sentence report on Gervais and was pleased to see that the defendant accepted what he had done was "very stupid and very ill-advised". He said he was satisfied from what he had read that the defendant had learnt his lesson, and said he suspected that being arrested, charged, and appearing in the dock amounted to more of a punishment than the court could impose.
The judge told Gervais: "You lost your temper. You lost your dignity. Most significantly, you lost your good character over a teddy bear worth £7".
The judge said he was minded to pass a sentence with an unpaid work requirement but Gervais, who appeared without legal representation, said he worked as an on-call gas engineer, and a weekly requirement of "community service" would affect his job.
Judge Thomas imposed a 12-month conditional discharge for the assault and fined the defendant £200 for the theft. Gervais was also ordered to pay a contribution to prosecution costs of £300, and a compulsory court surcharge of £30. The defendant will face seven days in prison in default of payment. Judge Thomas said in his view the offence had been "over charged" and the case should not have proceeded as a robbery.
