Director of Public Prosecutions v Coutts

[2017] VCC 1322

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

AT WANGARATTA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 17-00686

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JOEL COUTTS

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MULLALY
WHERE HELD:	Wangaratta
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	15 September 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Coutts
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1322

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	Mr A. Moore
For the Accused	Mr J. Lowy	Stuthridge Legal

HIS HONOUR: 

1Joel Coutts, for some time you have struggled with drug addiction.  You had taken to using ice in your teens but by your early twenties, you were a daily user and not in proper control of your life.  It came to have a grip on you such that you were stealing and committing offences of dishonesty and drug offences.  You were dealt with by the imposition of a community corrections orders imposed by the magistrates. 

2But in August 2016, you again committed a number of dishonesty offences.  First on 18 August, you shoplifted a package of perfume from a chemist from a chemist.  Then on 19 and 20 August, you committed the most concerning crimes being the theft of six firearms stored in a gun safe in a shed at your grandfather's unoccupied farm.  The keys to the gun safe were on a hook next to the safe.

3You also stole your grandfather's ute which was in the shed with the keys in the ignition.  Later you put stolen number plates on the ute and a few days on, you stole a toolkit from a local shop. 

4You have pleaded guilty to the theft of those items.  As I said, the most concerning is the theft of the six firearms.  I am told only one has been recovered and it had already modified to be a sawn-off shotgun.

5In total, you pleaded guilty to five indictable offences and one summary matter of committing those offences while on bail.  You were placed on bail in June 2016. 

6You were 25 at the time of these crimes, you are now 26 and it seems more mature and insightful following period of imprisonment in 2016 and 2017. 
You now see more clearly what your behaviour has done to your parents.  You also appreciate how you - how your own life was being wasted.  You are determined to reform and put drugs behind you.  You have been free of drugs since April 2017.  Though that abstinence is still in its early phases, it is a telling fact that this is, for you, the longest period off drugs in the last ten or so years.

7I agree with your counsel that remaining free of drugs is central to your ongoing, indeed permanent, rehabilitation.  Thus I must do what I can to facilitate abstinence from drugs while at the same time giving proper weight to denunciation and deterrence.  As noted, you have been in prison in recent times. 

8An important consideration for me is that you did 108 days on remand for these crimes.  Later, you were imprisoned for other offences.  The outcome in respect of those other offences was a sentence of three months and a ten month community corrections order imposed by a County Court judge, hearing an appeal from the Magistrates' Court on 1 August this year.  In that case you had done more than the three months' time on remand; in fact, the three months imposed was less than what you actually did.

9Thus you are presently on a community corrections order and the evidence put before is that you are complying with that community corrections order.  I had you further assessed for a community corrections order and you were found suitable.

10You have returned to living with your parents and brother who I add did what he could to have you come to your senses and return the ute and firearms to your grandfather at the time.  Most importantly, you have resumed employment in road maintenance, a job you have had before.  Thus you are now drug free, settled in a loving family environment and have the discipline and self-esteem of full time work.

11That said, let me emphasise first the theft of the firearms is a serious crime.  This court, and indeed the Supreme Court too often have to deal with the tragic outcome of criminals with firearms.  Firearms stolen from farms and peddled to hardened criminals in exchange for drugs is a matter of grave concern for our community.  That said, given your significant steps towards reform, your insight and return to the stability of the family home and employment, now is the time to seize the moment; a phrase used by experienced appellate court judges in the past.

12So now is a time to seize the moment and endeavour to facilitate your rehabilitation and at the same time punishing you.  As recognised by our
Court of Appeal in the important decision of Boulton & Ors v R, these two sentencing purposes of punishment and rehabilitation are capable of being simultaneously met only with a community corrections order.  Little will be achieved and in fact, with the inevitable loss of employment, much will be put at risk if you are returned to prison now.

13A lengthy community corrections order with unpaid work and help with your drug addiction is the most appropriate penalty taken in combination with the 108 days that you have served on remand. 

14Can you please stand, Mr Coutts?

15What I intend to do is impose an aggregate sentence for all the charges and the summary matter.  It seems to me that looking at them, they are sufficiently connected and there should be just one community corrections order but it should be understood by and the community that the most serious crimes, far and away, was the theft of the firearms.

16So what I intend to do for Charges 1 to 5 and the summary offence is impose a sentence of imprisonment of 108 days together with a single community corrections order that will last for 18 months.  The conditions that apply in respect to the community corrections order is that you must do a 120 hours of unpaid community work.

17You must attend for assessment and treatment for your drug addiction. 
You must be under supervision and you must undertake programs that you are directed to undertake by the Office of Corrections.

18I declare that the 108 days that has been reckoned as the time that you served on remand for these offences.  I declare that that 108 days is part of the sentence; in fact, the whole of the sentence of imprisonment that I have just imposed.  I will ensure that that declaration is entered into the records of this court so the prison authorities are left in no doubt that you have served each and every day of the sentence of imprisonment I have just imposed.

19I have taken into account your plea of guilty which was entered yesterday or was indicated yesterday but nonetheless, I understand all the circumstances of that.  And your plea of guilty is a matter of some importance.  So I understand that had you pleaded not guilty and been found guilty of these offences, I would have imposed a penalty of two years with a non-parole period of 12 months. 

20Are there any other orders sought or required?

21MR MOORE:  No, Your Honour.

22HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  There is a document that has got to be produced, no doubt you are familiar with Mr Coutts.  We will produce that document shortly and if you sign that, it will bring the matter to an end.

23OFFENDER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

24MR LOWY:  As Your Honour pleases.

25HIS HONOUR:  I would come out of the dock for the purposes of signing this form.  Just sit there behind your counsel for a moment.  Thank you.  Mr Coutts, the conditions that apply to everyone who is on a community corrections order are these and the most important one, perhaps, is the first for you.

26You must not commit another offence for which you can be imprisoned during the time that the order is in force.  All right?  Well, almost everything you can think of is punishable by imprisonment and in your case probably would result in imprisonment from a magistrate but the point here to understand is that if you commit another offence then you breach this community corrections order, you will come back before me and I will have to resentence you and the merciful sentence that has been imposed will not be repeated.  Do you follow?

27OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

28HIS HONOUR:  In addition to that, there is a number of requirements upon you that essentially are that you cooperate with the Office of Corrections.  So you have got to cooperate with them when they ask you to do things pursuant to the regulations, sentencing regulations, there will be photographs taken so that you are in the - they know who you are and so on. 

29You have got to report to and receive visits from the office from the Office of Corrections, you must report to the Office of Corrections at Bendigo within two clear working days of today.  So get amongst that on Monday or Tuesday.  You must let the community corrections officers know if you change your address or your job within two days of that.

30You cannot leave Victoria without getting permissions to do so - that is across the border for anything and you must obey all lawful instructions.  All right, that applies to everyone, what applies just to you here is the 120 hours of unpaid community work that you must do.  Now that is not voluntary, you cannot turn up half the time or leave early or not go or all those things.  You just have to do it ‑ ‑ ‑

31OFFENDER:  Yep.

32HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ each time.  Now just dwelling there for a moment; not everyone who is on unpaid community work, because you will have to do it in a group, will be over their addictions or interested in overcoming their addictions.  They may think that you are like them.  You have got to resist.  You have got to stand up to them. 

33You have said to the corrections people you have put aside any old associates - well, that has got to include any new ones that you come across together with, to be frank, anyone you come across on the road maintenance crews and whatever.  Ice is everywhere, you know that ‑ ‑ ‑

34OFFENDER:  Yep.

35HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ amongst working men so you have just got to be - to stand up to anyone who tries to drag you down.  All right, and must be under supervision of community corrections officers for the whole 18 months just to make sure you remain steady and you have got to undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse and dependency.  That can dovetail with the other corrections order you are doing; do you follow all that?

36OFFENDER:  Yep.

37HIS HONOUR:  Sign that, and bring your matter to an end.  Thank you. 
All right, you will get a copy of that in due course, Mr Coutts, and when you have got all that you are free to leave.  Thank you, Mr Lowy, for your significant efforts in respect to this matter. 

38MR LOWY:  Thank you.

39HIS HONOUR:  It shows the strength of the Victorian Bar to be able to pick things up at short notice and get them done as efficiently as has been done here, thank you.

40MR LOWY:  Thank you, Your Honour.  Much appreciated.  Mr Moore, we will just have a brief moment if need be.

41MR MOORE:  Yes, Your Honour.

42HIS HONOUR:  Might have to be brief.  Mr Lowy, feel free to just leave as we, Mr Moore and I, speak about some other matters whenever.  Thank you.

43MR LOWY:  Yes, Your Honour.

44MR MOORE:  Thank you, Julian.

45MR LOWY:  Thank you.

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