Director of Public Prosecutions v Callander
[2018] VCC 885
•5 June 2018
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case Nos. CR-17-02545
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| TRAVIS RYAN CALLANDER |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE LAWSON | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATES OF HEARING: | 10 May & 5 June 2018 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 5 June 2018 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v CALLANDER | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2018] VCC 885 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Criminal law- sentence- armed robbery- obtain property by deception - powerful mitigating factors- combination jail term and CCO imposed
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms N Burnett | John Cain, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr C McLennan | Chris McLennan Lawyers |
HER HONOUR:
1 Travis Callander, you have pleaded guilty before me to one charge of armed robbery and one charge for obtaining property by deception.
2 The maximum penalty for armed robbery is 25 years' imprisonment and for the charge of obtain property by deception, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment and the maximum penalty is one measure of the seriousness of your charges.
3 You have admitted your prior criminal record and there are some seven appearances, all in the Ringwood Magistrates' Court. The appearances span the period from 18 July 2014 until 29 March 2017. In the past you have been dealt with for burglary and theft, unlawful assault, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, criminal damage and contravene a community correction order.
4 Your offending reflects a long term problem with drug abuse and homelessness to which I shall later refer.
5 I will now proceed to sentence you on the basis of the Crown opening that was read out to the plea hearing.
6 The offending occurred in company. Your co-accused are Isabella Barbati and Olivia Chapman. They were aged 17. Ms Barbati has her matter in the Children's Court and she is due back in court on 23 July 2018 in respect to the charge of armed robbery. The other co-accused, Olivia Chapman, has absconded and a warrant is out for her arrest.
7 The victim, Tzaadi Lane, was aged 21. No victim impact statement has been filed, however, having regard to the circumstances of your offending, I am satisfied that he would have been traumatised by your actions.
8 The offending happened at 11.30 pm on Saturday, 2 July 2017 whilst you were in the company of yours two younger co-accused. Mr Lane was walking with Anna-Lena Gombert across the Carlton Gardens. The three of you were all riding bikes. You followed both of them and then cut in front of them on your bikes so that they had to stop. You then approached Ms Gombert with a box cutter in your left hand. You demanded that she give you her phone but she said, “No" and shouted for help. You threatened to stab her if she was not quiet. She ran away from you.
9 By this stage, Mr Lane was being restrained by your two co-accused. You then held your knife towards him. He was frightened and put his hands up. Barbati then reached into his pockets and took his wallet containing a Bendigo Bank MasterCard, his mobile and a Samsung Galaxy S5 and that constitutes the circumstances of Charge 1, armed robbery.
10 You then all jumped back onto your bicycles and rode away.
11 Later, you used the credit card to buy a packet of cigarettes at a nearby 7/11 store. That's Charge 2, obtain property by deception.
12 Police at 12.25 am the following morning and you were taken into custody. You were interviewed but made no admissions. You were charged and released.
13 On 11 October 2017, you were remanded in custody and you remained at the Melbourne Remand Centre since that date.
14 You entered a plea of guilty at the further committal mention on 20 December 2017. It is accepted that you entered a plea of guilty at an early stage so that your sentence will be discounted accordingly.
15 There is real utility in your plea of guilty. You spared the costs of a trial and also you avoided the further trauma of the witnesses having to come to court to give evidence at your trial.
16 In sentencing you I must have regard to the fact that you are still a youthful offender and that your ultimate rehabilitation is an important sentencing factor. General and specific deterrence and protection of the community are also important sentencing factors.
17 The context to this offending was that you were homeless and using drugs. Your co-accused were in a similar situation. That provides an explanation for your behaviour but does not, in any way, excuse your behaviour. I accept the offending was not planned and it was a spur of the moment thing.
18 On behalf of the community I must denounce your behaviour.
19 I have had regard to your particular personal history and background.
20 You were born in Ferntree Gully and lived in and around the eastern suburbs until you were about 15 years of age. At that time, your father and mother separated. Your father and mother have both re-partnered.
21 From that time, you began using drugs and experience long bouts of homelessness and you were living on the streets and, at times, couch-surfing. You didn't have contact with your father and had some contact with your mother.
22 You are close to your sister, Alannah, who is a single mother who cares for her two-year old daughter. It is intended that you will live with her upon your release. You have a good relationship with Alana and she has been visiting you regularly whilst you have been in gaol.
23 I noted that you did have limited formal education. You completed Year 10 at Rowville Secondary College and started but did not complete a carpentry apprenticeship at the Ferntree Gully TAFE.
24 You have had very limited employment history over the last five years and you are on youth allowance when these offences were committed.
25 You have a long term history of polysubstance abuse. You began smoking cannabis at age 14, using heroin from age 16 and by 21 you were using methamphetamine intravenously.
26 You have been prescribed Lexapro and antidepressant since 2017.
27 When interviewed by Mr Healy, the psychologist, on 21 April 2018, you expressed a desire to enter into a residential drug treatment program on your release to strengthen your result to remain drug free and to break your cycle of drug use offending and imprisonment.
28 You now have had time to reflect on what you did on this occasion and you have expressed shame and embarrassment in respect to your behaviour to Mr Healy. You now accept your conduct was unacceptable and it would have impacted upon the victims and been very traumatic for them.
29 Since being on remand, you have taken some steps towards your rehabilitation. I noted that you completed a 6-hour Alcohol & Drug course administered by Caraniche. You have been drug free since your remand and you are currently on a Methadone program. Urine tests are reported as being clear.
30 You have expressed a desire to enter into a residential drug treatment program such as Odyssey House and some steps have been taken to see whether it is possible to induct you into that program. You are still awaiting confirmation about that.
31 Your sister has been present in court and she indicated to the court today that she agrees that you can come to live with her in at Collingwood.
32 I also noted you completed numerous vocational training and employment courses whilst in gaol.
33 In mitigation, I have taken into account all the matters put by Mr McLennan. I have had regard to:
· your early plea of guilty;
· your genuine remorse;
· the difficult childhood that you have experienced since leaving home aged 15 and your long history of drug addiction and disrupted education;
34 I have also had regard to:
· your expressed acceptance of responsibility for the wrongdoing; and
· your willingness to express sympathy for the victims; and
· desire to move forward in a more pro-social way and deal with your long-term drug use.
35 Yours is an example where you have made some significant steps whilst you have been in custody and that is to be commended. I do accept that you now have reasonable prospects for rehabilitation. But all those prospects are centred on you remaining drug-free and taking up what you say is your goal that is to stop taking drugs and to regularise your life.
36 In order to further advance your rehabilitation prospects, I will be imposing a combination sentence which consists of gaol combined with a Community Correction Order on the terms that I have already discussed with you. Your ultimate rehabilitation is very important having regard to your very young age. You are still only 23 so, it is better for you and also the community if you stopped taking drugs and break the cycle of offending and gaol.
37 Your offending is nonetheless serious and is deserving of condign punishment.
38 And I have had regard to the guideline sentencing judgment of Boulton v R,[1] where the Court of Appeal spoke about the negative impacts of imprisonment and youth.
[1][2014] VSCA 342
39 And further, the Court of Appeal accepted that a Community Correction Order ism of itself, punishment and capable of being a deterrent to others and providing for specific deterrence to individuals.
40 The court, at paragraph [131] of the decision of Boulton, confirmed that a Community Correction Order may be suitable even in cases of relatively serious offences which might previously have attracted a median term of imprisonment.
41 I am satisfied, in all the circumstances of your case, Mr Callander, that the order I am proposing is capable of satisfying all the sentencing principles whilst offering you the best prospects for rehabilitation in the future and it is important that a sentencing court look to the future as well as to the past because there is real benefit, not only to you individually, but also to the community at large if individuals are encouraged to avail themselves of rehabilitation prospects that reduce the likelihood of people reoffending in the future.
42 So, notwithstanding the seriousness of your offending, I have had regard to the combination of the mitigating factors which all encourage me to view your prospects as being good for the future but that is all subject to you being true to your word. All right. And dealing with your drug problem.
43 All right. So, please stand.
44 The formal court orders in respect to the charges of armed robbery and obtain property by deception, you will be convicted and sentenced to 245 days imprisonment to be followed at the conclusion of that time by a Community Correction Order for a period of two years with the special conditions that I have described, that is supervision, treatment and assessment for drugs (including testing) and offender behaviour programs and also the requirement that you come back to see me for Judicial Monitoring on Tuesday, 4 September 2018 at 10.00 am.
45 I have explained to you how such an order works. You have indicated to the court that you understand the effect of the order and its conditions and you have consented to it being made and you have also confirmed that you the consequences of a breach of such an order.
46 I need to make a declaration pursuant to s.6AAA, but for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a term of imprisonment of 2 years to be followed by a Community Correction Order on the same terms.
47 I make the Disposal Order sought and finally, I make the declaration of presentence detention. I direct that you have served 237 days of the sentence imposed today. I direct that that be entered into the record of the court.
48 I think that covers everything.
MS BURNETT: Yes. Thank you, Your Honour.
HER HONOUR: Yes. And I have got a copy of the signed disposal order to be provided to the prosecutor.
MS BURNETT: Thank you, Your Honour.
HER HONOUR: All right. Sentence is good and Mr McLennan, if you could just ensure on the next occasion that the Judicial Monitoring occurs that if we could get something from Odyssey.
MR MCLENNAN: Odyssey. Yes, Your Honour.
HER HONOUR: That would be good. I have signed the order. That just needs to be signed. Do you want to approach - - -
MR MCLENNAN: Could I be excused, Your Honour, on 4 September - - -
HER HONOUR: Yes. Yes.
MR MCLENNAN: - - - subject to anything.
HER HONOUR: Yes.
MR MCLENNAN: I am hoping it is possible, Your Honour.
HER HONOUR: That is fine.
MR MCLENNAN: If I can seek leave to - - -
HER HONOUR: All right. Can you get your client to sign that? Yes. Yes, you will. Just be patient. All right, if you could copy that for everybody upon me leaving the room, that is good. Thank you.
MR MCLENNAN: Thank you, Your Honour.
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