Director of Public Prosecutions v Blum

[2016] VCC 1462

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR -16-01190

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

CAMERON BLUM

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE PATRICK
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	5 October 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Blum
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 1462

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 E. Tueno
For the Accused	Mr J. McLoughlin

HER HONOUR: 

1Cameron Steven Blum, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary, Charge 1; one charge of common law assault, Charge 2; one charge of false imprisonment, Charge 3; one charge of theft, Charge 4; one charge of possessing a drug of dependence, Charge 5; and one charge of trafficking in
a drug of dependence, Charge 6; and one summary charge, being Summary Charge 13, of dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime. 

2The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary is 25 years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for common law assault is five years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for each of false imprisonment and theft is ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for possessing a drug of dependence in the circumstances that you possessed this drug is five penalty units.  Trafficking in a drug of dependence has a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.  Dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime has a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment. 

3The prosecution sought an order for the disposal of certain items which were seized and the making of that order was not opposed. 

4The circumstances of your offending are set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening on Plea in some detail.  The charges arise from an incident on 7 April 2016.  On the previous day, you went with a female friend and others to
a property in Langwarrin to assist your friend to buy a car.  The owner of the property ran a mechanic's business from the property and his employee sold you a Ford Falcon sedan for $5,000.  You were named as the transferee on the VicRoads application for transfer of the registration.  You checked the registration and formed the view that the car was stolen.  In large part, this was because you had bought a white car and the description on the VicRoads information was of a yellow car. 

5Between about 5.30 am and 9.15 am on 7 April 2016, you engaged in a text message exchange with the seller.  In that exchange, you demanded a refund.  The seller refused and you said you were going to the property with the paperwork. At around 5.58 am on 7 April 2016, you and two other unknown male co-offenders had driven to the property and parked your cars in the middle of the driveway.  You are charged with various offences that occurred after that, on the basis that the three of you were criminally involved in the offending. 

6You entered the house on the property from the rear and the other two
co-offenders entered through the front door.  You were in possession of an imitation semi-automatic handgun when you entered the house.  Those are the circumstances of Charge 1 of aggravated burglary. 

7One son of the property owner was in his bedroom when you entered.  One of the co-offenders entered his bedroom, ripped a poster from the wall, threw furniture around and demanded that the son remove his blanket.  The
co-offender kicked the son in the mouth while he was still in bed.  He suffered swelling and laceration to his low lip on the right-hand side.  That is the subject matter of Charge 2 of common law assault.

8You went into the bedroom of a second son and woke him up.  You told him to get up and put his pants on.  You then walked him into the first son's bedroom.  The two men were then interrogated by you and the co-offenders, whilst one of you was holding the gun.  The men were asked where the seller of the car was and where valuables were kept.  The three of you then took the two victims into the shed in the backyard.  You talked about the seller having sold you the car for $5,000, which you believed was stolen. 

9The two men were then taken back outside into the backyard.  The three of you offenders looked around the shed and demanded the key to the gun safe.  One of the co-offenders removed a bow from the shed and told the others he was leaving and walked down the driveway.  You were talking to the two victims about scuba gear in the shed.  The two victims then walked back into the shed.  You were demanding that the second son call the seller.  There was some discussion with you about finding the number and various missed called were exchanged. 

10The two sons went outside the shed with you and into the workshop and called the seller, whom you spoke to about having sold you a stolen vehicle.  After that, you took the bullet out of the gun and handed the gun to the two victims.  You then asked again the second son to message the seller.  There was discussion as to the paperwork in relation to the car.  Ultimately you and the remaining co-offender went outside to the car that had been sold by the seller to you and got the VicRoads transfer of registration paperwork.  That paperwork showed that the seller lived at another address and that the inside of the car was yellow. 

11It appears that at this point you realised that the car had originally been yellow and had been resprayed white, and accordingly it did meet the description on the VicRoads paperwork.  You then apologised and gave back the keys you had taken from the house.  You got into the car and started the engine.  Your co-offender walked the two men back to the house.  Before you and your
co-offender left, you told the two victims not to call the police or you would come back, even if it took 20 years. 

12In addition to the bow taken by one of the co-offenders, you and the other
co-offender stole a gold ring, a watch and .22 calibre ammunition, belonging to the owner of the premises.  That is the subject matter of Charge 4 of theft. 

13The period during in which you walked the men around the shed and into the backyard and back into the shed again, is the subject matter of Charge 3 of false imprisonment. 

14Later that day, one of the two men telephoned his father and the police were ultimately telephoned. You were arrested on 13 April 2016.  Police conducted searches of the vehicle that you were driving.  Police found a number of items, including a zip-lock bag containing ice crystal.  You admitted to having been given the ice.  There were a number of other items found in the car, including a building laser level and Skoda scraper tool, which are the subject matter of Summary Charge 13.

15The police found green vegetable matter in a packet of cigarettes in the car, and that is the subject matter of Charge 5 of possession of a drug of dependence.

16You were interviewed by police and made significant admissions.  You said that you had been angry and that you went to the house because you were trying to call the man who had sold you the car.  You said that the ice was yours and you were asked what you did and you said that you had dealt in drugs.  On the basis of that admission and the possession of the drugs, you are charged with Charge 6, which is trafficking in a drug of dependence, on the basis that you had at least some of the drugs in your possession for the purposes of sale.  There was a relatively small amount of 28 grams of methylamphetamine and I accept that you may have had some of that for your own use. 

17In respect to the cannabis that was found, you are sentenced on the basis that that was a small amount for your own use.

18During the interview with police, you expressed remorse.  You said that you felt bad about what you had done and felt bad because the two men had been threatened because of you and your actions. 

19The matter proceeded by way of a straight hand-up brief at a committal mention stage and the prosecution concedes that your plea should be treated as an early plea. 

20Two victim impact statements were tendered from the victims.  The first brother said that he was a bit nervous for a few days afterwards when he heard people talking and using the front door late at night.  He said, in relation to being kicked in the face, his jaw hurt slightly for a couple of weeks afterwards and that he has a very slight scar on his lip. 

21The second brother says that after the incident, he was unable to sleep comfortably for several weeks.  He said he had become more anxious and was locking the doors regularly.  He said he had trouble working, as he could not keep focused. 

22In sentencing you, I have taken into account your personal circumstances. 
I have derived those circumstances from your counsel's submissions and the exhibit which were tendered on your behalf.  You are now 24 years old.  You clearly had a very disrupted and unstable childhood.  You have three siblings and five step-siblings.  Your father was a drug user and your mother had mental health problems and had been a past drug user.  Your parents separated whilst you were in primary school.  You went to a number of different schools.  You lived with your father for some periods of time.  You had learning difficulties at school and were diagnosed with ADHD at about the age of ten. 

23You were introduced to drugs at an early age, commencing with cannabis use at the age of 13.  Very sadly, your father introduced you to amphetamine use while you were a teenager and that use escalated to daily use. 

24You were a very good football player, but you were involved in a serious car accident when you were 16.  You suffered significant injuries and could not play sport afterwards, due to those injuries and their consequences.  I gather from the material that you still suffer some pain on occasion from those injuries.  After leaving school at 17 or 18, you worked in a number of jobs, including as
a labourer.  You were very seriously assaulted in February 2014, when your throat was cut by an associate of a former girlfriend. 

25You have admitted a prior criminal history, commencing in 2008.  You have had a number of court appearances, firstly in the Children's Court and then in the Magistrates' Court, for driving offences and offences involving dishonesty and violence.  In August 2015 and November 2015, you were sentenced to short periods of imprisonment.  From the exhibits tendered, it is apparent that you made some efforts at trying to remain drug-free with assistance while on bail.  Unfortunately those attempts were unsuccessful and at the time of the offending for which I am dealing with, you were again using ice on a regular basis. 

26A report dated 3 September 2016 from Ms Carla Lechner, psychologist, was tendered as Exhibit 4.  Ms Lechner did not do a formal assessment, but assessed your intelligence as being of low/average.  She says that when you are not drug-affected, you are able to reflect on the impact that your behaviour has on yourself and others.  She says that you tend to be impulsive in nature and easily overwhelmed by too much incoming information, which can lead to frustration and anger.  She is of the view that this is likely a function of you having ongoing ADHD problems.  She also says that your use of ice aggravates your difficulties in dealing with complex situations.  She says you have difficulty managing your negative feelings or trigger to your negative feelings. She does say that you expressed shame to her about your behaviour on occasions when you were using drugs and got very angry and would act in a violent way towards people. 

27It appears from Mc Lechner's report that you are now in touch with your father and mother, although you are closer to your father.  You are close to your girlfriend and hope to have a future relationship with her.

28Ms Lechner says that you present with symptoms of stimulant use disorder in early remission, with also symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, arising from the incident when your throat was cut. 

29Ms Lechner says that you have a history of offending, in the setting of a chronic drug addiction that has undermined your social, vocational and emotional development.  She comments on the environment in which you were raised and that you had been consuming ice for days prior to this offending.  Ms Lechner is of the view that you are deeply regretful for your actions and have made a positive start to your rehabilitation in custody, but that you require further counselling supports in custody and on your release into the community.

30Ms Lechner says that you tend to be impulsive, as I have said, and have a low tolerance for frustration.  She says that you block out internal distress with increased substance use and have also used substance use to block out chronic pain.  Ms Lechner assessed you, at the time of her assessment, as having clinical levels of depression and anxiety, at the top end of the moderate range, mainly reactive to being in custody.  She also says your symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder have escalated in the prison environment.  She is of the view that you would benefit from a treatment that would assist you with developing mood management strategies. 

31In defence submissions, your counsel submitted that the appropriate sentence would be a sentence of imprisonment, to be followed by a community correction order.  Your counsel particularly relied on your personal circumstances and background, together with your confession to the police,
co-operation and plea of guilty, in mitigation of sentence.  He relied on your remorse and prospects of rehabilitation.  Your counsel also relied on the fact that you are a youthful offender. 

32The prosecutor, in sentencing submissions, submitted that a sentence of imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence which would reflect the seriousness of the offending.  The prosecutor described the situation as being one of a confrontational aggravated burglary, in line with the comments of the Court of Appeal in Hogarth v The Queen [2012] 37 VR 658.

33Mr Blum, you have clearly engaged in serious offending.  The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary of 25 years' imprisonment demonstrates the seriousness with which Parliament, on behalf of the community, takes this offence.  Aggravated burglary involves a serious violation of the security of
a person's home.  It is an invasion of a person's home.  People are entitled to feel safe in their houses and not have someone coming in, especially in the dead of night. 

34You went there because you wanted to get your money back and you were angry about the car.  You are charged on the basis that you intended to assault someone.  You went in the back door, while the others went in the front door.  You had a weapon with you.  I accept that the weapon was an imitation one, but it was designed to look real and to act as a threat towards the people in the house.  There were three of you who went together and that makes it more serious.  It was, as I said, during the night and you believed that people would be there, although there was some confusion as to who might or might not be there. 

35Once the aggravated burglary was complete, you went on, between the three of you, to threaten and interrogate the occupants, physically assaulting one person.  You took them from place to place in the house and the shed and made demands of them.  You stole items. 

36As I have said, aggravated burglary is a particularly serious offence, and in this case, has the serious element of you going there with the purpose of confronting the seller of the car, who you mistakenly thought would be there.  I accept that once you realised that the seller was not there, the behaviour towards the other men calmed down.  Ultimately when you realised the car was probably not stolen, having examined the colour and the VicRoads papers, you did apologise to the occupants of the house.

37I accept also, from the statements and the victim impact statements, that the two men who were the victims of this offending, were fairly robust and not nearly as frightened of you and the situation as others might have been.  That said,
I regard the actual aggravated burglary as being in the mid-range of such offending. 

38General deterrence is an important sentencing consideration.  Your offending must be strongly denounced and significantly punished.  Community protection requires that others are deterred from such offending by a sufficiently severe sentence. 

39Your possession of the drugs is consistent with your use of methamphetamine and cannabis over a long period of time.  It is significant that you made admissions in relation to those matters.  That said, trafficking in drugs of dependence is an evil trade.  People who sell drugs to other people make profit out of other people's weakness.  You were well placed to know what the bad effects of drugs are on individuals and the community, yet you were prepared to sell drugs to other people.

40The remaining offending also warrants additional punishment, especially in relation to the assault and the false imprisonment.  These are serious matters.  Physical violence was used, albeit not directly by you, and you deprived the two men of their liberty. 

41There are a number of matters which I have taken into account in mitigation of sentence.  You are entitled to a significant discount for you plea of guilty. 
I accept that you are genuinely remorseful.  You apologised at the time and you expressed your remorse to the police.  Your plea of guilty has also saved the time, inconvenience and expense of a trial.  You made significant admissions to the police and that goes in your favour.

42You are a youthful offender with a very troubled background.  The difficulties in your background mean that it would have been difficult for you to develop proper moral judgment about drug offending and other forms of offending, and I have taken that into account.

43I note that you have completed courses in custody and remain drug-free whilst you have been in custody on remand.  It appears from the material provided that when you are drug-free, you are able to work and lead a stable life.  Sadly, you have had difficulties in remaining drug-free.  The attitudes that you currently express and your growing maturity, suggests that you would, if you were able to remain drug-free, be able to lead a stable and positive life.  I consider that your prospects of rehabilitation at present are reasonable, despite your significant prior criminal history. 

44I have taken into account that custody is more difficult for you because of your depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

45Your rehabilitation is an important sentencing consideration, but the need to give effect to appropriate denunciation, just punishment, general deterrence, community protection and specific deterrence, in the light of such serious offending, leads me to the conclusion that imprisonment and a community correction order would not meet those sentencing objectives, even in the light of the matters that I have taken into account in mitigation of sentence. 

46I have taken into account the principles of parsimony, totality and proportionality, in fixing the degree of cumulation.  I have also taken into account the need to avoid double-punishment, in a situation where there is an aggravated burglary and following offending. 

47I have taken your relative youth, matters in mitigation and remorse into account, also in setting a shorter non-parole period than I would have otherwise. 

48Could you please stand, Mr Blum?

49On Charge 1 of aggravated burglary, you are convicted and sentenced to
a term of imprisonment of four years. 

50On Charge 2 of common law assault, you are convicted and sentenced to
a term of imprisonment of one year. 

51On Charge 3 of false imprisonment, you are convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year.

52On Charge 4 of theft, you are convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of six months.

53On Charge 5 of possessing a drug of dependence, you are convicted and fined $400.

54On Charge 6 of trafficking in a drug of dependence, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. 

55On Charge 13 of dealing with the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.

56The sentence on Charge 1 is the base sentence.  Three months of the sentence on Charge 2 and six months of the sentence on Charge 3, are to be served cumulatively on each other, and on the sentence on Charge 1. 

57The total effective sentence is four years and nine months. 

58I fix three years as the period you are required to serve before being eligible for release on parole.

59I declare that you have served 175 days of this sentence by way of
pre-sentence detention. 

60But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of six years and four months, with a non-parole period of four years and two months. 

61I have made the orders for disposal that have been sought. 

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