Director of Public Prosecutions v Dimitropoulos
[2014] VCC 1432
•12 August 2014
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-14-00547
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS | |
| v | |
| CHRISTOPHER DIMITROPOULOS | Accused |
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JUDGE: | Her Honour Judge Sexton | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 6 August 2014 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 12 August 2014 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Dimitropoulos | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2014] VCC 1432 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr P. D’Arcy | OPP |
| For the Accused | Ms J. Sutherland for the plea Ms D. Markotich for the sentence | Markotich Lawyers |
HER HONOUR:
1 I will proceed to my sentencing remarks. Mr Dimitropoulos, you can stay seated until I ask you to stand. Christopher Dimitropoulos, you have pleaded guilty to three charges of trafficking in a drug of dependence, an offence which has a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, and two charges of possession of a drug of dependence, an offence which, in the circumstances of your case, has a maximum sentence of one year’s imprisonment and/or 30 penalty units.
2 I proceed to sentence you on the basis of the summary read out by the prosecutor[1].
[1] Exhibit A
3 In brief, you were one of a number of people investigated for drug trafficking activities. The investigation involved surveillance, telephone intercepts and the use of a covert police operative.
4 Over four occasions between 19 March and 6 May 2013, you sold a total of 210.6 grams of cocaine of 60 to 70 per cent purity to the covert police operative and offered to sell cocaine to him on a further two occasions (charge 1).
5 Between 27 and 28 March 2013, you offered to sell ecstasy to the covert police operative (charge 2).
6 On 4 April 2013, you sold .5 of a gram methylamphetamine of 80 per cent purity to the covert police operative (charge 3).
7 On your arrest on 22 August 2013, you were found to be in possession of 19.9 grams of testosterone (charge 4) and three grams of alprazolam, which goes by the brand name of Xanax (charge 5). Your counsel told the court that the testosterone was for body building purposes and the Xanax was used by you for insomnia. The prosecution concede that possession of these drugs was not for the purposes of trafficking, and I accept that was the situation.
8 The prosecution allege that a co‑accused supplied you with cocaine. That man has a trial regarding these allegations listed for 2015. As part of the background to your offending, it is alleged that you sold cocaine to another co‑accused. That man also has a trial regarding these allegations listed for 2015.
9 The prosecution allege that a co‑accused by the name of Simon Nelsen supplied you with methylamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in no less than a commercial quantity of that drug and one charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime and was sentenced by another judge on 19 May 2014 to four years, nine months imprisonment with a non‑parole period of three years imprisonment.
10 The prosecution allege that a co‑accused by the name of Eneasi Taumoefolau supplied you with ecstasy. He pleaded guilty and will be sentenced by another judge on 18 August 2014.
11 It was conceded on your behalf that your role is at the middle level, not the originator of the trafficking operations, but it was also conceded that those further up the hierarchy rely on people like you to act as a conduit to the lower‑level suppliers and, ultimately, to the users. I am satisfied that you were an important part of the movement of the drugs from source to consumer.
12 It was also conceded on your behalf that the amount of $65,800 that passed from the covert police operative to you in respect of charge 1 was a “not insignificant” amount, but it was submitted that it was not high when compared to more serious cases of trafficking. It was submitted that you only made a gain of about 20 per cent and passed the rest of the money on to your suppliers, and you told the covert police operative that you were only making “500, 600, 700” on each transaction.
13 It was conceded that you were motivated by the potential for profit and the easy access to drugs for your own use as well as providing you with a feeling of being involved in something more important and exciting than the legitimate work you were then doing. You now apparently recognise the illusion under which you were operating.
14 I am satisfied that you were in the business of trafficking to make some money, to make you feel important, false as that feeling was in reality, and to have ready access to drugs to fuel your own habit. Despite the grip that drugs had on you, you were fully involved in contributing to spreading that vice amongst others.
15 On your behalf, your counsel also conceded that your offending is serious, particularly the offending in charge 1, and that there are multiple adverse effects on the community because of the presence of drugs. These were correct and appropriate concessions to make in the circumstances, and I do not need to elaborate on the dreadful toll drugs take on our society. My sentencing of you must seek to deter others from offending in the way that you did, which is known as general deterrence, and which is highly important in a case involving offences of trafficking.
16 As has been pointed out by your counsel, there are a number of factors in mitigation of your offending.
17 The first of these is the fact that you have pleaded guilty. I take that into account and the fact that you have spared the community the time and cost of a trial or trials. I also take into account in your favour that you indicated your intention to plead guilty at an early stage. As a result of these factors, the sentences will be less than would have been imposed if you had been found guilty after a trial.
18 Your plea also shows a level of remorse and an acceptance of responsibility for your actions, particularly as you initially denied any offending in your interview with police. Also, you have made expressions of remorse to family and friends, which I accept as genuine.
19 Next, you are a person with no criminal history, and there are no charges outstanding against you. As a result, you will be sentenced today as a person who was of good character until the time of the offending. This aspect is also relevant to your prospects for rehabilitation, to which I will refer in a moment.
20 I have been told something of your background and personal circumstances. You are aged 35 and were aged 33 at the time of the offending. You and your brother were brought up in a stable home where both parents worked. The stability was disturbed when you were aged 12 to 13 as a result of your mother becoming increasingly depressed following the development of a repetitive strain injury. These problems led her to emotionally withdraw from the family.
21 Despite this occurring, you completed year 12 at Camberwell High School and then went on to tertiary education, completing an Advanced Diploma of Building Design and Drafting. While you studied, you worked part time. On receipt of your diploma, you obtained employment as a draftsman with Metricon Homes, where you worked for eight years.
22 You were dissatisfied with the amount of recognition you were receiving for your work and in 2011 moved to a rival firm. This was a good move in terms of your position, pay, and work environment, but unfortunately, financial problems hit the firm, and you were made redundant after just 10 months. This was apparently a real blow to you. You unsuccessfully applied for drafting jobs, and for about two years you worked for your father, doing concreting in a handyman business he had begun after his retirement. Sometimes you were paid; sometimes not.
23 Your drug use began earlier, during your 20s, when you were in a relationship with a young woman who self‑medicated her mental health issues with cocaine and marijuana. Your cocaine use was low at first, but over the years of the relationship, it increased. The relationship finally broke down when you were aged 25 to 26.
24 When you were unable to work in your chosen field in your 30s, your drug use increased further, and ultimately you began selling drugs, having apparently seen friends doing so at nightclubs, thereby gaining access to drugs for their own use as well as some money. As your drug use escalated, you became increasingly unreliable at work, your relationship with your father became strained and you got more involved in trafficking.
25 Although 6 May 2013 is the last day on which it is alleged that you were trafficking by offering cocaine for sale to the covert police operative, you were still in contact with him in August, and you told him then that you were aware that other people around you were getting arrested.
26 On 17 June 2013, you began a new job as a draftsman with Carlisle Homes. It was submitted that by then, you had stopped using drugs completely, and it seems that you may have begun to get your life back on track. However, your crimes caught up with you, and you were arrested on 22 August. You resigned from your employment as the prospect of a jail sentence loomed.
27 You spent 25 days on remand, which included time in the Wangaratta police cells and the Melbourne Custody Centre. After your release on bail, you returned to work for your father, and your relationship is less strained. Both of your parents were in court to support you, as well as other friends, including a young woman who is prepared to wait for your release from this sentence to resume a relationship with you, who is firmly against drug use, and to whom you have made a commitment not to give in again to your addiction.
28 While on bail, you voluntarily took urine tests for drug use through your doctor, and they were all clear. Your doctor has also prescribed you medication for anxiety and insomnia, which should be noted by those entrusted with your care in custody.
29 I am satisfied that you have quite good prospects for rehabilitation due to the strong support you have from family and friends, the efforts you have made at ridding yourself of the hold drugs have had on you, your previous good character and the demonstration of your ability to be a hard‑working, contributing member of society. You are well educated and intelligent, and clearly you understand that further offending of any sort, but particularly involving drugs, will see you spending more time in jail, away from those who love and support you. However, getting off drugs is never easy, and you will need to be extremely committed to your rehabilitation.
30 As a result of these factors and the time you spent on remand, I am of the view that specific deterrence, while still important, is not as important in your case as it may be in other cases. In other words, my sentencing of you must still play a role in deterring you from reoffending, but I accept that you have already been deterred to a degree by your progress through the justice system.
31 The prosecutor sought a number of orders. First, application was made for an intimate forensic sample to be taken from you, and you have not objected to this. I am satisfied that it is in the interests of justice, having regard to the seriousness of the offences, that in all the circumstances, I order that an intimate forensic sample, namely, saliva, be taken from you. The sample may be taken by a doctor or nurse or other authorised person. A saliva sample is taken by wiping a swab inside your mouth. Although you have not objected, if you change your mind, I must inform you that the police may use reasonable force to enable such a procedure to take place.
32 Next, the prosecutor applied for an order disposing of items associated with your offences. You have consented to this order being made, and so I have signed it.
33 Finally, the prosecutor applied for a pecuniary penalty order. You did not oppose the making of the order, but through your counsel, it was submitted that I should, in the exercise of my discretion, not make the order for the whole sum paid to you by the covert operative, $65,800, as you passed most of the money on to your supplier, keeping limited amounts for yourself. On the basis of the findings I have made throughout these sentencing remarks, I have decided that you should be required to pay half of the amount received by you in the course of the trafficking business you and others were involved in. I have, therefore, signed the order for $32,900.
34 You have accepted that you must serve a term of imprisonment for your offending, and you returned to custody on the day of the plea. Because of the seriousness of your offending, I do have no alternative to such a sentence.
35 There is only one co‑accused whose sentence I can take into account as the others have not been dealt with. However, there are significant differences between you. Nelsen had a criminal history, was charged with trafficking in not less than a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine of 80 per cent purity over nearly three months, and was sentenced as a serious drug offender. You have no criminal history and trafficked cocaine in less than half the quantity classed as commercial, with purity varying from 60 to 70 per cent over a period of about six weeks. I accept that your sentence must be less than that received by Nelsen.
36 Further, as a result of the factors I have found in your favour, the minimum term I will require you to serve will be less than might otherwise have been the case.
37 Stand up, please, Mr Dimitropoulos. You are convicted and sentenced as follows:
38 On charge 1 of trafficking cocaine: two years, two months imprisonment.
39 On charge 2 of trafficking ecstasy: 12 months imprisonment.
40 On charge 3 of trafficking methylamphetamine: 14 months imprisonment.
41 On charge 4 of possession of a drug of dependence, testosterone: one month imprisonment.
42 On charge 5 of possession of a drug of dependence, alprazolam: a fine of $500.
43 The sentence on charge 1 is the base sentence. I direct that two months of the sentences imposed on charges 2 and 3 are to be served cumulatively on the sentence imposed on charge 1 and on each other. The sentence imposed on charge 4 is concurrent with all other sentences imposed today.
44 That makes a total effective sentence of two years, six months imprisonment. I direct that you serve a minimum of 12 months before becoming eligible for parole.
45 I declare that you have served 31 days in pre‑sentence detention, not including today, and these are to be deducted administratively from your sentence.
46 If you had not pleaded guilty but been found guilty of all of these offences after a trial, the total sentence I would have imposed is five years with a minimum of three years imprisonment.
47 Ms Markotich, I haven’t put a stay on the amount of the fine. Do you wish me to do that, or will that simply be absorbed in time served?
48 MS MARKOTICH: It will be simply absorbed in time served, Your Honour.
49 HER HONOUR: Yes. Thank you very much.
50 MS MARKOTICH: Thank you.
51 HER HONOUR: There’s no other matters? No other orders?
52 COUNSEL: No, Your Honour.
53 MS MARKOTICH: No, Your Honour.
54 HER HONOUR: Thank you. Ms Markotich, will you go and see Mr Dimitropoulos in the cells?
55 MS MARKOTICH: Yes, Your Honour.
56 HER HONOUR: Yes. Thank you. Mr Dimitropoulos may now be removed.
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