Director of Public Prosecutions v Drane

[2017] VCC 101

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

AT MILDURA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 16-01603

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DONNA DRANE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE M.P. BOURKE
WHERE HELD:	Mildura
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 February 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Drane
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 101

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
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Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr D. O'Doherty
For the Accused	Mr Hilton-Wood

HIS HONOUR: 

1Donna Drane, you are to be sentenced for one charge of recklessly causing injury.  The maximum sentence is five years' imprisonment.

2You can sit down for the moment.  You pleaded guilty to this offence before a jury panel on 14 February.  When interviewed by police on 9 November 2015, you made frank admissions.  After a short contested committal on 15 September 2016, you entered a plea of guilty to this offence and not guilty to other charges, including the more serious offences of aggravated burglary and intentionally causing injury.   On 14 February, in this court, you faced a four charge indictment.  Yesterday morning, 16 February, the jury returned verdicts of not guilty on aggravated burglary and intentionally causing injury.  Another charge of assault had earlier been the subject of a directed acquittal.

3You receive the  benefit of your plea of guilty and a high level of cooperation, both from an early stage. 

4At your plea hearing,  also on 16 February, Mr O'Doherty tendered victim impact statements of Keiffer Lloyd and Dillon Sharp.  Mr Tony Lavery appeared for you at trial and plea.

5On the afternoon of 4 November 2015, you went to Prince's  River Avenue, Merbein, where Keiffer Lloyd and other members of his family lived.  Lloyd slept in a caravan within the carport next to the house.  He is aged in his early 20s. You are now 43.

6You went there because you believed Lloyd had been involved in the burglary and theft of cannabis or money from your niece's home.  You had hitherto been on good terms with him.  He had dated your daughter and his father was a neighbour.  Your aim was to get back your niece's stolen property.  You were with your partner, Ian Mattson and another man.  You confronted Lloyd with your allegations as he stood at the open door of his caravan.  He denied any involvement or knowledge.

7You went inside of the caravan,with his permission.  You did not intend to assault him at this time.  You persisted with your claims;  and he with his denials.  You were convinced he was lying and became very angry.  You badly lost your temper and assaulted him.  You punched him several times to the face, as he fell back and lay on his bed.

8Photographs of his injuries were tendered at trial.  He suffered a black eye and small marks to his face.  His injuries were relatively minor.

9Others became involved including Lloyd's brother, Dillon Sharp, who came to his aid.  You are not to be sentenced in respect to that.  In fact, you told Matteson to "stop fighting Sharp" as he was only 17.  This effectively ended things.

10The two tendered victim impact statements briefly state physical injury and some anxiety suffered since by Keiffer Lloyd.

11As stated, you are aged 43.  You live in Merbein with your three children aged 25, 12 and 2 years.  You have family support in the town. That includes your daughter, who also has a two year old child.

12You grew up in the Dandenong area of Melbourne.  Your parents have separated;  but you have a supportive relationship with your mother.  There were behavioural problems and it is notable, as relevant to that, that you were sexually abused by a cousin at 12.

13You left school at Year 9.  You began to use cannabis at 12 and heroin at 20.  You became addicted to that drug and in your own words to Mr Lavery, "lost ten years of your life."

14It is to your credit that you rehabilitated from that addiction, assisted by the opiate replacement medication, Buprenorphine.  Mr Lavery told me that you have not used heroin since you were 29 and have not needed Buprenorphine since 32.

15Your criminal record states numerous court appearances.  I bear in mind that a significant number clearly relate to the same offending.  There are offences of dishonesty and drug offences, not atypical of an addicted person.  There are some but not many offences of violence.   One notes that there is offending after your rehabilitation from heroin use;  but it is less intensive.  It seems that you have continued to use cannabis or at least not completely refrained from that.   It also seems that you have also failed to comply with community based orders in the past.  On 8 May 2013, you were placed on a six month community corrections order and you completed that.

16You have lived in Merbein for a number of years and,  I was told, have a supportive family network.  Since rehabilitation from drug dependence, you have developed work capacity.  You have a forklift licence and worked in that way for Sunraysia Dried Fruits for about two years.  You left to have your child.  You say that job remains available to you.

17This was a serious act of violence against Keiffer Lloyd, occurring in his home.  Your allegations, whether well founded or not, did not excuse it.  You have a significant criminal history, some of it for violence.    Such circumstances made relevant  sentencing considerations of deterrence, denunciation, moral culpability and  just punishment. 

18However, there are also moderating factors,  which include your plea of guilty and past disadvantage.  It speaks for some prospect of rehabilitation that you have overcome drug addiction.  You clearly have an anger management problem.

19I have decided that a community corrections order is the proper sentence.  The Crown submits that is within the correct range.  You have been found suitable.

20Mr Lavery told me that you still owe approximately $3,000 in fines.  That has reduced from a larger figure.  You intend converting that sum into community work.  I bear that in mind in setting the community work component of my order.  I am told that 97 hours of work is a likely outcome.

21Stand up please.  I sentence you as follows. For one charge of recklessly causing injury, you are convicted and I impose a community corrections order of 15 months duration.  The usual terms apply.   The additional conditions are that you perform, over that time, 150 hours of unpaid community work, that you will be under supervision, that you undergo treatment for drug abuse and dependence, that you comply with programs to reduce offending as you are directed.

22All right, you can come out of the dock now and sit behind Mr Hilton-Wood.  Anything else?

23MR HILTON-WOOD:  No, Your Honour.

24HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  All right, now stand up please.  This is what the order is about.  It will last for 15 months, therefore it ends on 16 May 2018.  The usual terms are as follows:  That you don't commit another offence for which you could be imprisoned, you must comply with a regulation which prohibits you from attending any program or worksite affected by alcohol or drugs or in possession of illegal drugs.  That includes cannabis.  You must report to and receive visits from Community Corrections.  You must report to the relevant Community Corrections office, that is the one at 59 Madden Avenue, Mildura, within two clear working days of today.  You will have to the end of Monday I suppose.  You must not leave Victoria without first getting permission to do so.  Given you live so close to the border, you should talk to them about that and Mr Hilton-Wood ‑ ‑ ‑

25OFFENDER:  I don't leave too much from home anyway, so - I don't usually go over there.

26HIS HONOUR:  Sorry?  Yes, all right.  Yes, Mr Hilton-Wood, but the usual thing is that there will be some sort of ongoing permission up here, would there, for work and that sort of thing.

27MR O'DOHERTY:  Yes, I believe so, Your Honour but I believe they still need to be notified.

28HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  You must obey all lawful instructions and directions of Community Corrections.  The additional conditions are that you perform 150 hours of unpaid community work over 15 months.  Now that will add up to 250 if you put the other - the fines into it.  That you be under supervision of a Community Corrections officer, that you undergo assessment and treatment including testing for drug use and that you have participated in programs or courses that address factors related to the offending.  Now I should imagine they will put you on an anger management program, I will be interested to see how that goes.  Now, do you understand all of that?  Do you agree to it?

29OFFENDER:  Yeah, yes I do, Your Honour.  Yes I'm happy with that.

30HIS HONOUR:  All right, I will get you to sign it now then. All right, I will sign it now too.  It effectively means this, if you don't comply with this order, you come back before me and you may have heard Mr Lavery and myself discussing, there are not many options these days.  All right.

31OFFENDER:  No, no, I understand that.  Things have changed since I appeared in court last time.

32HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  All right.  You will need to keep your head down for at least 15 months I would have thought, so I'll  be interested to see whether you can do that.  All right.  That is all I need to do.

33MR HILTON-WOOD:  As Your Honour pleases.

34OFFENDER:  Thank you.

35MR HILTON-WOOD:  Thank you.

36HIS HONOUR:  You should wait for a copy of your order, I think.  Wait for Mr Hilton-Wood outside.  Thank you.  We will adjourn until Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock.

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