Director of Public Prosecutions v Beacham
[2016] VCC 743
•31 May 2016
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-16-00378
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| PAUL ROY BEACHAM |
---
JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE GRANT | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 20 May 2016 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 31 May 2016 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Beacham | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 743 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---
APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms R Marques | OPP |
| For the Accused | Mr D Barrese | David Barrese & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Paul Beacham, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of handle stolen goods, one charge of theft, one charge of burglary, one charge of attempted arson and one charge of reckless conduct endangering a person. The maximum penalties for these offences are as follows:
· Handle Stolen Goods: 15 years' imprisonment;
· Theft: 10 years' imprisonment;
· Burglary: 10 years' imprisonment;
· Attempted Arson: 10 years' imprisonment;
· Reckless Conduct Endangering a Person: 5 years' imprisonment.
2 I have heard a summary of the offending. It is not my intention to repeat the whole summary, it has been tendered as Exhibit A in the plea proceedings.
3 Briefly, you normally reside in South Australia. On 5 December 2012, you and a man named Van Elsen flew from Adelaide to Melbourne using false identification documents. You used those false documents to check into the Pensione Hotel. Clearly you both came to Melbourne for an unlawful purpose. The co-offender in this matter, Bradley, had checked into the Pensione Hotel on 30 November 2012. Whilst at the hotel you made his acquaintance. You were observed to be in his company at different times between the 5th and 8th of December. Telephone records show you were in regular contact during this time.
4 Between 5.00 pm and 11.20 pm on 6 December 2012 a number plate, IB8HA, was stolen from a 2008 Hyosung GT650R motorcycle in Hawthorn.
5 At approximately 6.50 pm on 6 December 2012, you stole a white 2008 Suzuki GSXR10 motorcycle, two motorcycle helmets and a pair of motorcycle gloves from outside the New Quay Hotel in Docklands. The victim had dropped the keys to the motorcycle. You found the keys and you used them to effect the theft.
6 Early the following morning you were seen in the alleyway of the Pensione Hotel, fixing a motorbike. Bradley was present and he gave you the stolen registration plate, IB8HA. You subsequently parked this bike on the Bourke Street footbridge in the Docklands.
7 Some time during the period between 5 December and 8 December, you recruited Bradley to assist you with your plan to damage the Almina Café. Around 1.02 pm on 8 December 2012 you and Van Elsen attended the Almina café and kept it under observation. Bradley joined both of you at approximately 1.43 pm. Van Elsen then left. Bradley attracted the attention of the kitchen hand, Mr Hammo, by asking him to look at an iPad. This distraction enabled you to enter the café where you proceeded to spread petrol and try to set the café alight. Some petrol splashed onto an operating grill and caused a minor explosion. Mr Hammo had seen you enter the café and followed you. When the fire ignited he ran from the café screaming for help. You also fled the restaurant and disposed of the petrol container, and your backpack, cap and jacket.
8 You then managed to make your way back to South Australia. You were arrested by appointment at the Port Adelaide Police station on 17 December 2012. On 17 January 2013 Victorian police attended at the Port Adelaide Police Station to interview you. You made a no comment interview.
9 On 27 March 2013 you were sentenced in the District Court of South Australia for outstanding offences committed on various dates in 2008, 2011 and 2012. You received a total effective sentence of four years, three months and 23 days. A non–parole period was fixed of two years and eight months. On 22 December 2015 you were granted parole. The South Australian Parole Board made that order with the understanding that you were likely to be extradited to Victoria on release. That duly happened and you have been in custody in Victoria ever since. The South Australian parole order expires on 19 July 2017.
10 Bradley was arrested on 10 December 2012. He pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary, attempted arson and reckless conduct endangering a person. A jury found him guilty of these charges on 21 October 2013. On 7 November 2013 I sentenced him to an aggregate imprisonment term of 30 months with a minimum term of 18 months before he would be eligible for release on parole. The charges against Van Elsen were withdrawn.
11 Your counsel told me that you agreed to commit these offences because you were in debt to various people in South Australia and this was a way for you to clear that debt. Whilst this provides some explanation for the offending, it cannot excuse it in any way. The offending is very serious.
12 You came from South Australia on a mission to damage the restaurant. In a planned way you and Bradley acted to achieve that object. Your actions in pouring petrol around a working kitchen, while Mr Hammo was inside the café, put him in danger of suffering serious injury. It was fortuitous that the fire somehow extinguished itself before it spread throughout the kitchen. This meant that the damage to the café was minimal and Mr Hammo did not suffer any physical injury.
13 Given the serious nature of this offending, general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment are all highly relevant sentencing principles.
14 You have an extensive criminal history over a dozen years between 2001 and 2013. You have received every possible sentencing order from a bond to imprisonment. Given this history, specific deterrence and protection of the community are relevant sentencing considerations.
15 I now move to matters relevant to your background.
16 You are 34 years old. Your early years were very difficult. In a letter dated 19 May 2016 your sister describes the family background in this way: “Paul and I were raised in the same home, that of our mother. The family home was one of crime and violence. Both mother and children were subject to the physical, emotional, sexual and psychological abuse of the mother’s husband until 1996. Due to the nature of the home environment, crime, drugs and violence were normalised with offending being taught to Paul and encouraged from an early age. By the time the mother’s husband left the home in 1996 a pattern of offending behaviour had been passed along to Paul. Sadly, our mother was particularly encouraging of the offending behaviour and provided social and maternal approval when Paul would display criminal, violent or drug-based behaviours.”
17 Given this background it is not surprising to hear that drugs have been a powerful and disruptive influence in your life.
18 I was told by your counsel that you have skills as a metal fabricator and there have been times in your life when you have worked productively. In mid-2012 you lost your employment and began using drugs heavily. Your counsel told me that in December 2012 you had a raging drug addiction. You were indebted to drug dealers and in this environment you were recruited to commit the current offences.
19 I now turn to those matters your counsel raised in mitigation.
20 Unlike Bradley, you have pleaded guilty to the offences. The plea has meant that the victims have not had to go through the trauma of giving evidence and you have saved the community the cost and expense associated with a criminal trial. I am also satisfied that your plea is indicative of remorse. You will be given credit for all of these matters.
21 I am satisfied that you come from a background of abuse and disadvantage and that your sentence should take some account of that fact.
22 The totality principles have application in this case. Although there was some argument during the plea hearing about whether this was the case, I have concluded that the 2013 Court of Appeal decision of Morgan requires me to apply the totality principles, irrespective of the nature of the South Australian offences or their timing.
23 Delay is also a relevant matter for me to consider. The offences occurred in December 2012. Since that time you have been in custody in South Australia and you have lived with the knowledge that you would most likely be extradited to Victoria after your release from prison. You had no prospect of any order for some concurrency. On the other hand your counsel, quite properly submitted, that the delay has not been solely to your disadvantage. That is because you have used your time in custody constructively to advance your rehabilitation.
24 I have read the report from the Department of Correctional Services about your participation in, and completion of, the Making Changes Program at the Port Augusta Prison in 2015. The report is very positive. The report states that you have been well behaved in prison and been proactive in taking up opportunities to improve your skills. You successfully completed the three phases of the Making Changes Program, presenting as motivated and determined to change your lifestyle. You demonstrated good insight into your offending and developed strategies to help reduce your risk of reoffending and using drugs. The report notes that you have maintained your positive approach, despite understanding that you would most likely be extradited to Victoria when eligible for release in South Australia.
25 In 2014 you made contact with your sister, who provided the letter that I have already referred to. She left the family home as a young 15 year old and was determined to avoid emulating your mother’s lifestyle. She has done very well in building a law-abiding lifestyle for herself and over the past two years she has become a strong support for you. She has indicated that she will provide you with accommodation upon your eventual release from prison and she is committed to helping you rebuild your life.
26 Since your time in custody in Victoria you have continued to build on the positive progress you made in South Australia. You have done a number of courses, you have remained drug free and you are now acting as a peer educator in the prison system. Your time in prison has been difficult for you because you have no connections or family support in Melbourne.
27 Mr Beacham, since being imprisoned in 2013 you have worked diligently towards changing your behaviour. This is to your credit. You do now appear to be a good prospect for rehabilitation.
28 In considering sentence I accept that it would be in your interest and in the interest of the community to structure my order in a way that provides you with some support and supervision from the South Australian Parole Board upon your release. As I have already stated, your parole order continues until July 2017.
29 Mr Beacham, I have already made it clear that this is serious offending. Your co-offender was sentenced to 30 months' goal and his role in the offending was less than yours. On the other hand, he pleaded not guilty and he did not have the other matters in mitigation that I have just referred to.
30 Will you stand please.
31 On Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of two months. On Charge 2, convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. On this charge, all licences are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of six months. On Charges 3, 4 and 5, you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate imprisonment term of 24 months. I order that you serve nine months of that sentence and that 15 months of the sentence be suspended with an operational period 24 months. I declare 161 days served as pre-sentence detention.
32 Had you pleaded not guilty and been found guilty after trial, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of three years' imprisonment with a two year minimum.
33 I make the disposal order and the forfeiture order sought by the prosecution.
34 I also make an order pursuant to s464ZF(2) of the Crimes Act, that you undergo a forensic procedure for the taking of a scraping from your mouth. I make the order because of the seriousness of the offending, your prior convictions and the granting of the order is in the public interest. If you fail to co-operate with the authorities in the taking of the mouth sample then the sample taken will be a blood sample and the police may use reasonable force to obtain it.
35 So in summary, Mr Beacham, there is a sentence of nine months to be served with 15 months suspended for a period of two years. You have served 161 days, so you will have a few months to go and then you will be released, then I imagine you will be returning to South Australia and be subject to the regime of the South Australian Parole Board. Do you understand all of that?
36 OFFENDER: Yes, Your Honour.
- - -
0
0
0