Suspension of entire robbery sentence overturned as custodial threshold found to be crossed

The Court of Appeal overturned the Circuit Court's decision to wholly suspend a 4½-year sentence imposed on the defendant for a robbery involving the use of a knife and causing injury, finding that the original sentence was unduly lenient given the seriousness of the offence, the use and production of a weapon, the injury inflicted, and the defendant's previous convictions. Although the lower court relied heavily on a probation officer's recommendation and the defendant's efforts at rehabilitation, the appellate court held that the custodial threshold had been passed and that a sentence including a period in custody was required to reflect the offence's gravity and the principles of deterrence. The sentence was quashed and substituted with a 4½-year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended, thus partially, but not wholly, reversing the original approach to sentencing.