Director of Public Prosecutions v Argyropoulos

[2017] VCC 265

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
(Not) Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 16-00316

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

BILL ARGYROPOULOS

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MULLALY
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	20 March 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Argyropoulos
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 265

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms H. Bates	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms C. Randazzo, SC	Melasecca Kelly

HIS HONOUR:

1Bill Argyropoulos, on 11 March 2015 you were detected at the Dandenong Magistrates' Court with a small amount of methylamphetamine and a smoking pipe. 

2This prompted a search at your home.  There the police found another small amount of methylamphetamine and you have pleaded guilty to possession of a drug of dependence.

3Also found was stolen police radios and a Protective Services badge and an ANZ bank card.  You pleaded guilty to retention of or handling of stolen goods.

4Also found was a vast array of knives, 11 of which were prohibited weapons, four shotgun cartridges, an extendable baton, laser pointers and a hatchet axe.

5You pleaded guilty to weapons offences and to committing offences whilst on bail.

6The handling of the police equipment is concerning conduct.  Your catalogue of dangerous knives is also very troubling.  The amount of drugs in your possession was small but telling of your problems with that terrible substance, methylamphetamine. 

7Your offending was while on bail and while the subject of a suspended sentence and I must deal with you for the breach of that suspended sentence as well as the other offences.

8Your past history is important.  You are 48 years old.  Your upbringing was unremarkable in a close family.  You moved into the family plumbing business after school.  You then operated your own successful plumbing business from your mid-twenties until 2007.  At that time your mental health deteriorated very significantly.

9You were married in 1993.  By 2007 you had become delusionally obsessed with your wife's fidelity.  At this time you were hospitalised involuntarily and diagnosed with schizophrenia.

10Further periods of hospitalisation followed in 2007.  You were not compliant with medication.  There were periods of mood instability, and in particular elevated mood, then depression and prolonged irritability.

11Your wife separated from you in 2013 and this increased your obsessional behaviour.  Rather than continue with appropriate medication and counselling you turned to methylamphetamines. 

12I will say more of your recent insightful attitude to your drug abuse and your mental health. 

13However, you have concerning prior convictions including for possession of weapons, threats to kill and recklessly causing injury, which was back in 2008; other offences and of more recent time.  That is not the full catalogue of your offending.  It is concerning to have such an array of past and prior offending and there is a need for deterrence to you as well as to others in the sentence that I impose. 

14However, there can be no issue that you have deep mental health problems.  The report of Mr Newton of 15 September 2015 attests to that. 

15You were remanded in custody and while in custody you were well treated.  You have a regime of depot anti-psychotic medication and that is a break-through in stabilising and calming your condition.  Additionally, you have mood stabilising medication and that is playing an important role in respect of your Bipolar disorder.

16You have the benefit of dedicated treating clinicians in the fields of psychiatry, being Dr Rival, psychology, being Mr Crewdstone, and drug counselling, being Ms Abadi.

17I have had the benefit of their reports and heard evidence from Mr Crewdstone, all of which I found helpful.  It revealed that you have settled, gained insight and are reconstructing your life.  Indeed, your wife and children have seen such a difference that they are willing to see you and support you again.

18You have been on bail since 21 December 2016 and in that time have continued to show significant steps towards permanent reform.  Your drug screens of late are clean.  The level of drug counselling and rehabilitation is intense but you are sticking with it.

19Your counsel urged that these matters, especially the proper diagnosis of your Bipolar, and the proper medication given to you by injection, means that the requirement of exceptional circumstances is met so as to allow me to impose a sentence other than the full restoration of your 12 month suspended sentence.

20She argued that a Community Corrections Order would be a just and appropriate penalty for the new offences and the suspended sentence especially once the 174 days of pre-sentence detention is taken into account.

21The prosecution submit that exceptional circumstances in not established and that the suspended sentence ought to be restored in full.  The time on remand of 174 days cannot be declared as part of any restored suspended sentence.  Thus, if I accede to the prosecution's submission, you would return to gaol for 12 months.

22But for the dramatic improvements in your mental health and your cessation of drug use, I would have been very unlikely to have entertained an outcome other than further immediate gaol.  However, your insight, adherence to your rehabilitation program and your generally better behaviour leads me to the view that your reform is becoming settled and likely to be sustained.

23Now, is not the time to return you to prison although you must understand that it was a close run thing.  At times there is a need for courts to seize a moment when motivation is high and the prognosis is as good as it has been.  At that point the community is better off if the courts facilitate rehabilitation by imposing a penalty to be served in the community not in gaol.

24Thus, doing the best I can, for the two charges on the indictment of handling stolen goods and for the summary offences of possession of a weapon, I impose an aggregate term of 174 days imprisonment.

25For the offences on the indictment of possession of drugs and the summary offences of committing offences while on bail, possession of the cartridge, I impose an aggregate single Community Corrections Order of 18 months.

26There will be the mandatory conditions.  In respect of you there will be a range of program conditions.  You have to do 150 hours of unpaid community work, but as I will outline, the programs of rehabilitation can count towards those hours. 

27You have to be under supervision to undergo programs for treatment for drug abuse and for your mental health.  As I make clear, whatever time you spend on those, can be counted as part of the 150 hours.

28As to the suspended sentence, I make no further order having found that exceptional circumstances have arisen since the imposition of that sentence, and it is in the interests of justice that I do not require or do not fully restore the sentence.

29Had you pleaded not guilty to the matters that were before me, and been found guilty, I would have imposed a sentence of two years with a minimum of one.

30There is a request for an order of disposal and forfeiture of the drugs and weapons seized and I make that order.

31Is there anything else required?

32MS RANDAZZO:  As Your Honour pleases.

33MS BATES:  No, Your Honour.

34HIS HONOUR:  Did I cover each of the summary offences?

35MS BATES:  Sorry, Your Honour.

36HIS HONOUR:  Did I cover each of the summary offences?

37MS BATES:  Yes, Your Honour.

38HIS HONOUR:  I did.  You can be seated, Mr Argyropoulos.  A document will be produced for your signature and if you sign that and then you are free to go to do the Community Corrections Order. 

39(Orders signed and acknowledged.)

40Mr Argyropoulos, if you would not mind just stepping out of the dock and sitting in the body of court.  Ms Randazzo might have to be elsewhere by the time I get to this but your instructing solicitor will wait around for this to get sorted.  Thank you for your assistance, Ms Randazzo.  Feel free to leave whenever you wish to. 

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