Director of Public Prosecutions v Galt
[2016] VCC 560
•4 May 2016
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-15-01691
CR-15-01692
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| CHRISTOPHER GALT |
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| JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE COHEN |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 27 April 2016 and 4 May 2016 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 4 May 2016 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Galt |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 560 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---Subject: Sentencing; multiple thefts and burglaries
Catchwords: Plea of guilty; totality; planned frequent burglaries and theft of commercial premises; offending in breach of recent CCOs; relevant prior history; drug abuse
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 6AAA; s 18
Cases Cited: DPP v Hutchison [2015] VSC 405
Sentence:23 months followed by CCO for 18 months. PSD not declared under section 18 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr J. Singh | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr. T. Cooper | Randles Cooper Lawyers |
1HER HONOUR: Christopher Edward Galt, you have pleaded guilty to 18 charges on indictment F11521869, which I will call Indictment 1 because it was the first to which you pleaded guilty before Judge Chettle. You have also pleaded guilty to 26 charges on Indictment F10904298, which I will call Indictment 2. Between these two indictments you have pleaded guilty to a total of 13 charges of burglary, 22 charges of theft, three charges of criminal damage, four charges of handling stolen goods and one charge each of possessing a drug of dependence, and being a prohibited person possessing a firearm.
2You have also agreed to have heard in this court and have pleaded guilty to five summary charges relating to weapons and ammunition found in your possession without relevant authority or licenses when search warrants were executed shortly before and after your arrest in March 2015.
3You have also admitted a lengthy prior criminal history to which I shall refer in more detail later.
4The maximum penalty for each charge of theft, burglary, criminal damage, and being a prohibited person possessing a firearm is ten years' imprisonment. The maximum for handling stolen goods is 15 years' imprisonment. The maximum penalty for possessing a drug of dependence in your circumstances is one year imprisonment. For the summary charges, possession of a prohibited weapon has a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment or 240 penalty units. Each charge of possessing cartridge ammunition without a license has a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units, and dealing with an unauthorised explosive without approval has a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.
5I must take into account the maximum penalties prescribed by parliament for each offence, as they reflect the relative seriousness with which offences of each such type are regarded by parliament on behalf of the community. Although you will not be receiving anywhere near the potential maximum terms of imprisonment, the arithmetic alone should emphasise to you and others that your offending reached serious proportions - very serious proportions. It will be attracting serious punishment, and I tell you at this stage that you will be sentenced to considerably longer in prison than you have already served.
6The charges of theft and burglary relate to what I count to be 23 separate occasions on which either a theft alone, or burglary and theft, occurred in which you were involved. Details of the individual offences are summarised in the prosecution opening under each indictment. I will summarise them more briefly, but in doing so combine the offending from both indictments to enable assessment of the chronology and overall criminality of the offending.
7The first offence in time with which I am dealing is Charge 1 on the second indictment, which is for a theft on 12 January 2013. In the early hours of that morning you stole an enclosed registered trailer used as a mobile showroom from an address in Rowville. It contained fishing gear, promotional products and equipment valued at approximately $50,000. Approximately $8000 worth of those items were recovered almost two years later when police executed search warrants at various premises associated with your spate of thefts and found some of this equipment still present.
8The rest of the charges arise from a series of burglaries and thefts from commercial or industrial premises commencing November 2014 and lasting until the week of your arrest on 12 March 2015.
9On 21 November 2014 you were involved in a burglary and theft in Dandenong where you and others broke into a used car lot, stole four sets of keys to vehicles and drove away four vehicles. You drove a Ford Transit van. This incident is the basis of Charges 1 and 2, burglary and theft, on Indictment 1.
10On 1 December 2014, driving that stolen van and towing a trailer, you stole from Mitcham premises a skid loader (or Bobcat) which you drove onto the trailer to then drive away. That constitutes Charge 3 of theft on Indictment 1.
11On 3 December 2014, driving a Hiace van you forced entry through a roller door of a factory and stole a 3.8 metre boat sitting on a boat trailer. Minutes later you contacted a man and arranged to sell him the stolen boat, and later that night you met with him and completed that sale. That gives rise to Charges 4 and 5, burglary and theft on Indictment 1. The premises from which the boat and trailer were stolen were in Clarice Road, Box Hill North. That is the first of several burglaries and thefts committed by you in that street over the next couple of months.
12On 18 December 2014, at Vermont, you attended at a factory with two other men, gained access to a truck which contained six flat pack saunas, and drove it to a place where the saunas were unloaded and the truck was then driven elsewhere and abandoned. That is Charge 6 of theft on the first indictment.
13Overnight on 2 January 2015 electric gates were smashed to gain entry at a clothing factory and warehouse in Scoresby and boxes of clothing were stolen. Some of the clothing was recovered after your arrest. That is Charges 2 and 3, of burglary and theft, on the second Indictment.
14On 16 January 2015 you stole a Toyota Hiace van, drove it away and before abandoning it, removed its GPS tracking device - Charge 7, of theft, on Indictment 1.
15Between 30 January and 2 February 2015 tools and electrical equipment valued at $10,000 were stolen from an industrial premises in Nunawading. $7000 of those goods were recovered when you were arrested. That is the basis of Charge 4 of theft on Indictment 2.
16On 2 February 2015 you were involved in a burglary and theft at a factory in Clarice Road, Box Hill South. Security CCTV cameras outside the premises were disabled and attempts made to enter the premises by forcing the roller door. In the yard was a Toyota Hiace vehicle containing power goods and trade equipment, all of which were then stolen. Some of these goods were recovered on the police searches in March, and some later (charges 5 and 6 of burglary and theft on the second Indictment).
17On 12 February 2015 almost $50,000 worth of tools, accessories and other products were stolen from inside a vehicle, being a truck used as a mobile showroom and sales centre in Cranbourne. A small number of stolen items from this theft were recovered on 13 March. The theft of those goods is the basis of Charge 7, theft, on the second indictment.
18On the next day, 13 February, an empty racing trailer was stolen from a secure car park in Keysborough. The wires to the front gate were cut to open it and a black Ford Territory was used to steal it. In March the trailer was recovered at a property of one of your co-offenders, but there was damage to the trailer of approximately $5000. This incident gives rise to Charge 8 of theft and Charge 12 of criminal damage on the second indictment.
19An hour or so before that Keysborough incident, a burglary was committed at other premises in Keysborough where sea containers were used for storage at the side of a building. The containers were broken into by the cutting of padlocks. A couple of hours later, being about half an hour after the empty racing trailer had been stolen from elsewhere, the offenders, including you, returned, opened the front gates by smashing the gate controller and using the stolen trailer, stole quantities of bed bases, mattresses, pillows and other bedding from the containers. The value of the bedding stolen was approximately $5,000. On execution of a search warrant in early March, police located the stolen mattresses and bases inside the stolen trailer, along with other stolen goods. This incident gives rise to Charge 9 of burglary, Charge 10 of theft and Charge 11 of criminal damage on the second indictment.
20Next day, 14 February 2015, you broke into a storage area at 10 Clarice Road, Box Hill, by cutting a padlock. You attempted to remove a safe, and when you failed to do so, drilled holes on the side. That gives rise to Charge 13 of criminal damage.
21On the same day with other unknown men, you cut the padlock on a shed at the same premises and stole a caravan and numerous camping and associated items. That gives rise to Charges 8 and 9 of burglary and theft on the first indictment.
22The following day, 15 February 2015, you committed two further burglaries and thefts on other sheds at 10 Clarice Road, Box Hill. In one you broke into a tip truck in front of one shed and used it to gain access to two sheds, from which you stole numerous tools and also a Toyota Hilux parked outside with a trailer. That gives rise to Charges 10 and 11 of burglary and theft on the first Indictment. On the same date at the same address, you forced a roller door to Storage Shed 15 and stole climbing equipment and other items from it, giving rise to Charges 12 and 13 of burglary and theft on the first indictment.
23On 20 February 2015, you broke into a car park beside a church in Berwick and stole a box trailer with signage on it, this giving rise to Charge 14 of theft on the first Indictment.
24Next day, 21 February 2015, with another man, you drove the stolen Toyota HiAce van to Alto Sports in Mitcham, towing a stolen trailer. You forced entry and stole a very large quantity, approximately 600 items, of snow equipment. On that occasion the alarm was activated and the owner arrived and saw you and another man loading the van, but you both fled, driving the van away with those goods. On execution of a search warrant on 3 March, amongst the very extensive amount of stolen goods found was much of the stolen ski clothes and equipment. This incident gives rise to Charges 15 and 16, of burglary and theft, on the first Indictment.
25On the same date, 21 February 2015, between approximately 10.30 and 11.30 pm, you were involved in the only residential burglary and theft which is the subject of these charges. Two garage doors were forced open at a family residence in Pakenham, although the residents were not present at the time. Two gun safes were jemmied open and from them a total of 15 firearms, approximately 1,200 rounds of ammunition and various pieces of gun equipment were stolen. The total value of the goods stolen was $18,780. Police recovered ten of the firearms and most of the ammunition from a storage unit in your flatmate's name when the searches occurred after your arrest. This incident gives rise to Charges 14 of burglary and 15 of theft on the second Indictment.
26Between 27 February and 2 March 2015, a burglary and theft occurred at industrial premises in Bayles. A factory warehouse and office was entered by jemmying doors and cutting the padlock on the main gate. Tools, testing equipment, cash, office stationery, and a safe were stolen. The total value of those goods is estimated at $16,335. The stolen safe, which has been cut open, was subsequently recovered by police, who also located hand tools and other items, a MIG welder and helmet that had been stolen from those premises. This incident gives rise to Charge 16 of burglary and Charge 17 of theft on the second Indictment.
27Over that same weekend, a burglary and theft was committed on a storage unit at the Alpine Storage Complex in Pakenham. Household goods valued at $3,148, which had been stored there by an individual while waiting to move to a new house, were stolen. All of these goods were located by police on 3 March on execution of a warrant, except for wheels loaded onto a trailer. This incident gives rise to Charge 18 of burglary and Charge 19 of theft on the second indictment.
28On 8 March 2015, a more significant burglary and theft occurred at the Toll Transport Warehouse in Dandenong. You were involved with co-offenders who have not been identified or charged. Entry was gained by breaking in through a side wall panel. A delivery truck, valued at approximately $60,000, was stolen and was then driven around the warehouse for one and three-quarter hours and loaded with boxed goods, valued at a total of approximately $188,000. A wide range of goods were stolen from electrical and household goods to shoes, books, backpacks, and bedding. The truck was recovered the following day and was empty. Police recovered a large quantity of the goods from a storage unit in your name at Cranbourne, and another in your housemate's name, when search warrants were executed the following week. That burglary and theft is the subject of Charges 21 and 22 on the second indictment.
29The final incident occurred on 9 March 2015, when, with one of your co-offenders, Mr Learmonth, you attended at a Clayton business, cut a cyclone fence, forced entry to the store and stole two generators, this being the subject of Charge 17 of theft on the first indictment.
30Before the last two incidents, police had executed a search warrant on 3 March 2015, at a rural property owned by one of your co-offenders, Mr Lacey. A very extensive amount of stolen goods and vehicles were found there, valued at approximately $250,000, and including the stolen skid loader or bobcat, and another vehicle.
31You were arrested on 12 March 2015. On 13 March, police executed further search warrants, including at the residence that you had shared with one of your co-offenders, Mr Hards, and at two storage units, one registered in your name and one in Mr Hards’ name.
32Charges 20, 23, 25 and 26 on the second indictment are each of handling stolen goods, arising from those four locations where stolen goods were found, associated with you and your co-offenders and the trail of burglaries and thefts in which you have been involved.
33Found in your bedroom was a relatively small quantity of methylamphetamine, which is the subject of Charge 18 on the first indictment of possession of a drug of dependence. It is not alleged that that was for other than personal use.
34Also found hidden within a dashboard of a stolen vehicle where you were living, was a shotgun that had serial numbers removed and had been shortened to pistol length. That is the basis of Charge 24 on the second indictment of possession of a firearm, as you were a prohibited person.
35Also found at one of the storage units was a redline detonator cord with detonators and fireworks, for which you did not have authorisation, and that is the subject of Summary Charge No.249.
36Also found was ammunition of various calibres, the subject of Summary Charges 258 and 251.
37Also found was a Samurai sword, which is the subject of Summary Charge 253.
38Also found in your bedroom was a Smith and Wesson handgun, which I am told, however, could only fire ball bearings, rather than bullets, and none of the ammunition found fitted it.
39As I have said, on my calculation there were 23 separate incidents giving rise to these charges, and apart from the first, which was in January 2013, all were committed over the three-and-a-half month period between late November 2014 and 9 March 2015. You were arrested on 12 March 2015.
40Most, if not all, of these incidents were committed in company with one or more other people, some of whom, such as for the Toll Transport event, have not been identified. It is impossible on the information available to me to determine which of these offences were committed with which of the men named as co-offenders - there are five such men - who have been dealt with by other courts and whose sentences I shall discuss shortly.
41I must assess the objective seriousness of this offending and your role in it, and also of course take into account factors personal to you.
42These were not spontaneous offences. There was clearly some planning or forethought involved in them all, and for some, a considerable degree of organisation and some more sophistication, including taking appropriate vehicles or trailers, or stealing them for the purpose of breaking in or removing the goods being stolen. There had clearly been an arrangement with Mr Lacey for storage on his rural property of extensive amounts of stolen goods. There were two storage units leased in advance, one in your name in Cranbourne, and another in Pakenham leased in the name of Mr Hargs.
43At least some of the burglaries and thefts also reflect that someone planning them knew some of the circumstances in which goods were kept at the various relevant premises. The most obvious of these is in respect of the one residential address which was burgled, where there were two gun-safes and 15 firearms, and when I raised this during the hearing last week, it was acknowledged on your behalf that this property was targeted because someone knew of the presence of the gun-safes and firearms. I have insufficient evidence to decide that you were the person who planned that incident, but clearly the property was targeted, and you were willing to involve yourself in the theft of firearms.
44I regard as of concern that there was a perceived object in stealing firearms, and a considerable quantity of ammunition, as the clear implication is that it was intended that they be used, whether by you and your co-offenders, or by sale or provision for illegal use to others.
45I also note that there were some five separate thefts from premises in Clarice Road, Box Hill, some from storage sheds. Again, it is not possible for me to assess whether it was your decision to return to that street or to target those premises, but there again was a degree of planning by someone or more than one, which raises these well above the level of being random, opportunistic burglaries.
46Overall, I do not have sufficient information to find that you personally planned or coordinated any of the individual incidents, but as you actively participated in so many, I am satisfied that you were fully part of the offending, and not a fringe participant.
47There are two other instances that stand out as of more serious criminality than the rest. The most significant is the burglary and the theft at the Toll Transport premises in the week before you were arrested. The break-in there, and the fact than an hour and three quarters was spent by you and your co-offenders inside those premises selecting goods to steal, reflects knowledge that such time could be taken without alarms activating or your otherwise being detected, and some sophistication in choice of premises to target and goods to steal. The value of the vehicle and goods stolen also raises it well above the other incidents.
48Finally, the theft of the 3.8 metre boat on its trailer, and almost immediate contact with a buyer for it, reflects that it was specifically targeted, if not stolen to order. The description of this event implies that you might have been the only offender, but I cannot be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of that on the information available to me. However, you seem to have been the person to call the prospective buyer only minutes after the theft, and with that clear intent I regard this as a quite serious example of burglary and theft.
49As I have just described, most of these burglaries and thefts are of a significant level of criminality, well above random or spontaneous break-ins, which reap goods of modest value to be rapidly sold for quick cash. The arrangements for storage units and Mr Lacey's rural property also reflect that this was intended to be ongoing stealing of large items, or large quantities of goods.
50Although aimed at reaping higher reward, I accept that the thefts were aimed at premises or times when it was unlikely that any other person would be confronted or hurt, and although there were firearms stolen and some associated items found in your possession, there is no evidence of weapons being used or intended to be used in the break-ins or thefts.
51I am told that all of this offending was in the context that you and your co-offenders were all heavy users of illicit drugs. In your case, it was methamphetamine. I am told that this was a plan set up amongst you and your co-offenders to set up a continuing source of money for all of you to buy yourselves drugs. That could not be an excuse for any offending. In this case, I find it difficult to accept even as an explanation for this overall offending, taking into account the nature and number of offences committed here, with the planning and organisation involved over a sustained period of some months, increasing in frequency in the month or so before you were arrested, and with the pre-arranged storage.
52I also regard as increasing the criminality of your involvement that the offences committed in November and early December 2014 were very shortly after you had been released from two months in prison, having been sentenced to that period after failing to comply with Community Corrections Orders that had been imposed earlier last year. Moreover, you seem to have been on a suspended sentence during that and all of the following offending, which ought to have been an extra caution to you against further offending.
53Despite being mainly aimed at commercial premises or businesses, burglaries and thefts and the associated damage caused during break-ins of this type are not “victimless”. Although no victim impact statements were tendered, I take into account that such offences impact, and will have in this case impacted, the immediate businesses or tradespeople whose vehicles, tools or other items were stolen or damaged, causing disruption and inconvenience, and unless insured, monetary loss or expense.
54Further, the general community is indirectly disadvantaged, as businesses or insurers ultimately, at least indirectly, pass on the cost of their losses through incidents such as these through higher prices or higher insurance premiums. It might be less emotionally harmful to steal from a factory or storage area, but there are ultimately people who suffer consequences from such offending.
55Adequate and just punishment, as well as general deterrence are important sentencing purposes for these reasons in this case. This means that your sentence must serve as a warning to others tempted by this type of offending that serious punishment can be expected.
Further, specific deterrence is very important in this case, given your history of repeated offending and the failure of previous sentences to deter you, including one of imprisonment, which concluded only a month or so before you resumed drug-taking and offending. Specific deterrence is to send the message to you that if you attempt further offending in the future, you can expect serious punishment. In fact it is my understanding, as I have already said, that you were on a suspended sentence at the time of all of the offending that followed November 2014, but I am not dealing with the consequences of any breach of suspended sentence here. As I have said, it seems that you consciously resumed offending very shortly after your release from prison.
56The most significant factor in mitigation of your sentence is that you have pleaded guilty to all of these offences. It is clear from the extent of the offending that there is real utilitarian value in you having saved the community the time and cost of disputed hearings. I accept that although you did not formally plead to the offences on either indictment until this year, they were dealt with at committal stage as straight hand up briefs without the need for witnesses to be called, and that from soon after being charged it was indicated that you would eventually plead guilty once the framing of the charges had been settled.
57You deserve considerable leniency for that approach in saving the community the time and cost, and witnesses the inconvenience, of disputed hearings and it reflects willingness on your part to facilitate the course of justice. It also reflects that you have accepted responsibility for your offending. I have read just portions of your record of interview and that acceptance was not readily apparent on the day you were interviewed, but I do accept that, since shortly after being charged, the indication was that there would ultimately be pleas of guilty to appropriate charges.
58Finally I accept that your pleas of guilty are consistent with you feeling some remorse for your offending, although how much of that is limited to regret for the situation in which you now find yourself is difficult for me to determine. I accept that you are genuinely sorry for the pain and upset that your situation has imposed on your parents and siblings. Whether you truly feel remorse for your offending is difficult for me to assess but I accept that there is at least a degree of it consistent with the fact that you have entered pleas of guilty.
59I turn now to your personal circumstances. You have recently turned 30 years of age.
60Your childhood to late primary school stage was described as stable and happy, living with your parents and two siblings in what was then a stable family situation. Subsequently your parents have separated, but you have had contact with both of them. In particular, you have been close, for most of the time, with your father, although relations between you and him cooled for a period when your life was spiralling out of control and you would not accept his advice or offers of assistance. He gave evidence before me confirming that he is still willing to give you support, including accommodation in his home, when you come out of prison.
61Your father regards the first factor that unsettled your childhood as being one towards the end of your primary schooling when a close friend moved interstate with his family. Then another friend similarly did so such that your father describes you as having started high school with "no close mates". You apparently took up with peers and one in particular, whom your father suspects, introduced you to criminal offending but by early secondary school you were getting into mischief, misbehaving and by about the age of 14 you had started using cannabis. Since your mid-teens you have also been a binge drinker of alcohol. Your father had tried to persuade you to seek treatment or counselling but you were reluctant and refused, assuming that you knew better.
62Further, I am told that during your teens there was a traumatic incident at which you were not present but you saw some of the aftermath, in which a young person was hit by a train.
63You left school early and your father helped arrange for you an apprenticeship as a roof tiler. You apparently did well at that work, and in your early 20s started up a business on your own as a tiler, wanting to concentrate on restorations rather than working on new buildings. There was plenty of work available for you. However I am told that a young man who worked with you died in his mid-20s of a heart condition, and you found that upsetting and it destabilised you both personally and at work.
64Finally I am told that there was another friend of yours who got into a physical confrontation where you were present but not actually participating. You saw him fall, as a consequence of which he broke his spine and became a quadriplegic. Your father was clearly personally very upset by thinking of that event and recounting it to me, and recounting its impact on you. He describes you as having helped your friend where you could, but that this incident sent you into further drug use. He said that there was a period in 2013 and 2014 when you had little contact with him and I assume with the rest of your family. There was a spiral of drug abuse and offending in that time.
65Your father was not aware, until well after the events, that you had faced courts and been placed on Community Corrections Orders in late 2013 and 2014, that you went back before courts for breaches of those orders, and were eventually sentenced to prison for those breaches.
66Your criminal history started in 2002 in the Children's Court. Concentrating on what's occurred in adult courts, it started in 2004 for theft and use of cannabis. Following that there was only one court appearance in 2006 for theft and none for the next five years. However, from 2011 there were seven further appearances before the offences for which I am sentencing you - I will interpose there, except for the January 2013 one. These were multiple offences related to possession of drugs, but also driving offences, possession of cartridge ammunition and some offences of dishonesty.
67In late 2013 you were placed on a CCO, which you breached. Then in 2014 the number of offences increased and you were placed on two further Community Corrections Orders which you breached. These past orders of courts attempting treatment or rehabilitation, concentrating on your drug addiction, clearly did not succeed.
68On 11 September 2014, two Community Corrections Orders which had been breached were cancelled, and you were re-sentenced to an aggregate of four months in prison of which two were to be served and two months suspended for 12 months. Unfortunately when you came out of prison at, what I calculate, would be the end of October, you resumed drug use. You were living with Mr Hards, with whom you took up the spate of offending that brings you before this court.
69I was provided with information about sentences imposed on five other men who have been described as co-offenders, or associated with you in relation to at least some of the offences for which I sentence you. None of those men had clear criminal records. Two were approximately your age and three about ten or more years older. There is nothing to indicate to me who took greater or lesser leadership roles or planning roles in relation to the offending.
70The most severe sentence imposed on any of them for offending which overlaps with yours was a 12 month term of imprisonment imposed on Mr Bolliver. Others received Community Corrections Orders, mainly with conditions consistent with their needing treatment for drug addictions, but at least two of the others received a CCO to follow a much shorter term of imprisonment.
71I have insufficient information to enable me to carefully consider where and how the principle of parity should be applied in your case. I recognise that you would be entitled to consider it unfair or unjust if you received a much more severe sentence than co-offenders for engaging in the same offending. That, of course, would also depend on each offender's individual role and culpability in each offence, and also have regard to similarities or dissimilarities in personal circumstances or criminal history.
72Although I have outlined some of the information I have, it is not possible for me to assess how similar the level of criminality of each of these other men was when compared with yours in any one or more of the individual offences, and I do not know in which precise offences they were co-offenders with you. In particular, I note that it does not seem that any of them was charged with as many incidents of burglary and theft as those for which I am to sentence you. Also of considerable significance in my view is that it was confirmed to me that none of those men took part in the burglary and theft at the Toll Transport premises, which, as I have said, I regard as the most serious and most sophisticated of the incidents in which you were involved.
73For that reason, you will be receiving a sentence considerably more severe than any of those other five men, and ultimately I have placed relatively little weight on, although not ignored, the range of sentences they received.
74As I have said, I have heard evidence from and observed your father during the plea hearing. I accept that he is personally devastated by seeing you in prison and knowing what you have done. No one else in your family has been involved in drug abuse or criminal offending, and indeed your older brother apparently has suffered genuine family tragedy, and is a single parent raising two young children, but staying clear of drugs or offending.
75Your father believes that you have now recognised the need to address your drug abuse and to reform your life. He says that on visits to you since your current imprisonment on remand, he feels that for the first time you are actually thinking realistically about how to turn your life around, including that you have decided to give up the drugs, and have said you are prepared to undergo residential drug rehabilitation. He says that you have told him some things which he did already know that you had done, but you did not know that he knew. He clearly is upset that you did not allow him to assist you as he had tried previously, including offering to get you counselling to address your drug addiction. He continues to be willing to provide you with accommodation when you come out of prison, provided there is no alcohol or drugs. He has work available, which he could make available to you, and he says that you say you would be happy to do that.
76He has also spoken with Mr Thompson, to whom I will shortly refer, of RecoverOz, and your father is willing to cover the cost of the gap in such a program if you undertake it and you cannot pay for it.
77I note that your father seems to blame himself for arguing with you at a family Christmas event in late 2014, following which he knows you continued in your drug abuse and offending. The chronology of your involvement in this spate of offending, however, should make very clear to your father that you were well entrenched with your co-offenders in this spate of offending before that Christmas incident, and he should not blame himself.
78I have read a psychological report from Mr Bernard Healey who assessed you last October at Port Phillip Prison. He took a personal history, including that your offending was linked to associations on the drug scene, and that you were under the influence of ongoing use of Ice with similarly affected associates, while carrying out what he calls “an extraordinary number” of burglaries and thefts from late November 2014 to March 2015.
79You told him that, following your remand, you withdrew from stimulant drugs. He conducted some intellectual testing, which he concludes indicated that you have average intellectual capacity, with a full IQ score of 98. Personality testing indicated that you are vulnerable to substance abuse and a mild level of depression. He was aware that you are prescribed antidepressant medication in custody, and believed that there had probably been a previous, more serious, level of depression. He noted that over the years, your prospects for meaningful relationships and positive pursuits had been undermined by your addiction to illicit drugs. He considered that you expressed appropriate contrition for your offending and noted that you are hopeful of being able to undertake a residential drug rehabilitation program over some six to 12 months if released from prison within a reasonable time.
80I take Mr Healey's comments and findings into account, but note that there is no significant mental health disorder diagnosed by him as causing or contributing to your offending, such that would invoke principles requiring me to reduce my assessment of your moral culpability, or the need for general or specific deterrence in your sentence.
81I also read a letter and heard oral evidence from Mr George Thompson, who has been involved in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation field for more than 30 years, and who runs an organisation called RecoverOz, an intensive residential program to address such addictions. He has assessed you and regards you as suitable and willing to undergo that program. He regards you as having crossed the line of addiction, having lost the power to control your substance abuse, and that puts you into the category of person for whom his program would be suitable.
82The program commences with concentrated rehabilitation in supported accommodation, addressing the psychological reasons for addiction and substance abuse long after the physical intoxication has passed. His organisation's program can be integrated into a community corrections order. He regards you as having reached the stage of recognising that you need to address your addiction. He was not, however, aware, until he heard them outlined in court, of the extent of your offences.
83I take into account that you have now been in custody for a little over a year. You experienced some short period in what is called full lockdown conditions. That was for two days following 1 July 2015. You were at Port Phillip Prison then, and for much of the time since, where full lockdown did not continue, but there were some ongoing restrictions on access to the compound. Those seem to me to be relatively modest restrictions on your custodial conditions while on remand, compared with generally what is to be expected of conditions in remand.
84However, today I have learnt that you have spent almost two months up to the plea hearing last week, at Barwon Prison, through no fault of your own but because of the exigencies of where accommodation for you was available in the prison system. Barwon Prison is well recognised as of the highest security in this state, and I do regard the conditions you will inevitably have undergone there as being more restrictive and therefore more onerous than the conditions to be expected whilst on remand. I have taken that into account in considering that the conditions in which you have spent all of your pre-sentence detention have in part been spent in more onerous than usual remand conditions.
85I accept that you have utilised your time in custody constructively, completing programs and training courses available. This reflects that you do recognise the need to approach your future constructively, and it seems to me that if you are able to stick to your expressed resolve to stay clear of drug or alcohol abuse in the future, your prospects for establishing a stable and responsible life for yourself are reasonably good.
86You apparently have skills and some specialist experience as a roof tiler, and your father is able to steer suitable work towards you. The pause of some five years in your criminal record during your early-to-mid 20s is consistent with you being able to live a responsible lifestyle when working and not abusing drugs. You are old enough now and mature enough, hopefully, to make the decision for yourself to stay away from drugs in future. You are said to have stayed away from even the drugs that might be available to you since you have been in custody. You clearly will have the support of your father if you continue to remain free from drugs, but ultimately it is up to you to resolve to do that and stick to that resolve.
87I have considered whether the sentencing requirements in your case could be adequately achieved by imposing only modest or no further time to be spent in custody, as I was urged on your behalf by your counsel. I was urged to add little or no further time in prison and to order that the balance of your sentence be spent on a Community Corrections Order with treatment and rehabilitative conditions. Unpaid community work would be available as a further penalty condition were I to approach your sentence that way.
88I had you assessed for such an order although I said at the time I doubted I would find such a sentencing option adequate. Although you were assessed as being at high risk of re-offending, you were also assessed as suitable for a further CCO because notwithstanding the contravention of three CCOs in 2013 and 2014 the assessor accepted that you now say that you would be willing to comply and described yourself as "not in the right place" to have complied on those previous opportunities.
89You have expressed resolve to the psychologist, Mr Healey and to Mr Thompson of RecoverOz, as well as to your father, to address your drug abuse and stay free from drugs in future. How genuine you are in those resolves remains to be seen and ultimately rests with you.
90The principle of totality requires me to moderate your overall sentence on several bases in this case. First, although a large number of offences was committed, I must take into account that most were committed over a relatively short period of time, that is, some three and a half months, and most were of similar nature such that they can be viewed as part of an ongoing course of conduct, although of course many individual decisions taken to commit each offence. I must have regard to the totality of the offending and the sentence to be applied to it.
91Further, I take into account, under the same principle, that you served two months imprisonment on cancellation of CCOs in 2014 for offending not long before the current charges, and also a month of time in custody since your remand for other offending on a different sentence which will not count as pre-sentence detention but that was offending committed during the same overall period of your life when taking drugs and offending to afford the drugs.
92Only in one instance have I applied some very modest cumulation between the offence of burglary and the offence of theft where they have occurred as part of the same incident.
93Further, because I have taken into account as raising the seriousness of the offences, that there were pre-planned storage arrangements made for what was to be stolen, I have not applied cumulation based on the separate charges of handling stolen goods.
94In effect the principle of totality requires me to considerably reduce your total sentence and for that reason I have applied only very modest cumulation between charges for different incidents. However, in my view some of those separate incidents require cumulation to reflect the seriousness of the them being at different premises and against different victims.
95I have considered whether a sentence that would enable you to leave prison subject to a CCO could achieve sentencing purposes. I have already stated that those sentencing purposes are, most importantly, general deterrence, and also adequate and just punishment, and specific deterrence, but I am not overlooking your prospects of rehabilitation as a sentencing factor that would be to your own as well as the community's ultimate best interests.
96I accept that you are now expressing resolve to address your drug abuse. If you can maintain that resolve I consider you have reasonably good prospects of achieving such rehabilitation and establishing a responsible and hopefully happy life for yourself in the future. However I cannot overlook that you have had opportunity to do that in the relatively recent past, particularly under three successive CCOs in late 2013 and 2014, but did not engage adequately with those. Even after what should have been the salutary experience of imprisonment for two months, you promptly became involved again in drug abuse and in the series of planned burglaries and thefts from industrial or commercial premises that are the subject of all but one of the charges before me.
97In my view the number and nature of these offences against a history of previous opportunities to rehabiliation puts your overall offending at too serious a level for any sentence other than further imprisonment to be adequate. The only lingering issue in my mind has been whether further imprisonment to be followed by a CCO would adequately achieve sentencing purposes, or whether only imprisonment with a non-parole period would do that. I discussed those issues with counsel this morning.
98Taking into account that you have spent just over a year already in prison, some of which as I have said, it was in more onerous conditions than usual remand conditions, and that this has been your first long period in custody, I have decided that although further time in prison is necessary to sufficiently denounce and punish and send the message of general deterrence, I will construct a sentence that allows you a known date of release and supervision under a Community Corrections Order to follow, with opportunities for treatment for the problems that you say have brought you to this point.
99Will you stand up please.
100Christopher Galt, on Indictment F11521869, which I have called the "first indictment", on Charge 1 of burglary, you are sentenced to four months' imprisonment. On Charge 2 of theft, eight months' imprisonment. On Charge 3 of theft, seven months' imprisonment. On Charge 4, burglary, six months' imprisonment. On Charge 5 of theft, ten months' imprisonment, and that is the base sentence. On Charge 6, six months' imprisonment. On Charge 7, four months' imprisonment. On Charge 8, three months' imprisonment. On Charge 9, eight months' imprisonment. On Charge 10, three months' imprisonment. On Charge 11, nine months' imprisonment. On Charge 12, three months' imprisonment. On Charge 13, six months' imprisonment. On Charge 14, five months' imprisonment. On Charge 15, four months' imprisonment. On Charge 16, eight months' imprisonment. On Charge 17, six months' imprisonment. On Charge 18, that is the charge of possessing methamphetamine, two days' imprisonment.
101I direct that one month of the sentences on each of Charges 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16 and 17, be served cumulatively on each other, and on the sentence imposed on Charge 5, resulting in a total effective sentence on this indictment of 20 months' imprisonment.
102On Indictment F10904398, which I have been calling the "second indictment", you are convicted on each charge and sentenced as follows: On Charges 1 to 13, and 16 to 20, 23, 25, and 26, I impose an aggregate of a Community Corrections Order, with conviction, to last for 18 months', with conditions that you be subject to supervision; for you to attend for assessment and treatment, as directed for drug abuse, for alcohol abuse, and also to attend as directed programs to reduce re-offending. In addition, usual terms of a CCO apply, but I will explain those to you shortly.
103On Charge 14, you are sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. On Charge 15, ten months' imprisonment. I interpose here, those are the burglary and theft of the gun safes and firearms. On Charge 21, eight months' imprisonment. On Charge 22, 18 months' imprisonment. Those are the burglary and theft at Toll Holdings - Toll Transport. On Charge 24, being a prohibited person possessing a firearm, four months' imprisonment.
104I direct that one month of the sentences on each of Charges 14 and 24, be served cumulatively on each other and on the sentence imposed on Charge 22, resulting in a total effective sentence on this indictment of 20 months' imprisonment, to be followed by a CCO to last 18 months.
105I direct that three months of the total effective sentence on the first indictment be served cumulatively on the second indictment, that is, three months on Indictment F11521869, be served cumulatively on Indictment F10904398, creating a total overall of 23 months' imprisonment, to be followed by the CCO of 18 months.
106I specifically do not declare as reckoned served any of the 389 days of pre-sentence detention that you have in fact already been in custody for these charges. I make the decision not to direct that any of that time be reckoned served, pursuant to the discretion I have to do that under s.18 of the Sentencing Act, and following the same reasoning as that of Osborne J in the Supreme Court case of Hutchinson[1], namely to enable a sentence that is structured to allow your total time in prison to be followed by a CCO.
[1]DPP v Hutchison [2015] VSCA 405
107Now, I return to the issue of the CCO. The conditions that I impose, and as I have said, are supervision, assessment and treatment as directed for both drug abuse and alcohol abuse, and to attend such programs as you are assessed and directed to, to reduce the risk of you re-offending.
108Those are all rehabilitative and therapeutic conditions, because in addition to the further imprisonment and the time you have already spent on remand, I do not consider unpaid community work is warranted.
109In addition to those conditions, all usual terms of a Community Corrections Order apply. They will have been explained to you and you will no doubt receive a reminder of these before you are released from custody, but I summarise them briefly here. Within two clear days of your release from prison, you must attend at the Office of Community Corrections Services closest to where you will be living - at this stage, what I suggest is that your father's address be put into the documentation for that purpose, as he has said he will have accommodation available for you and it is not known at this stage where else you might end up living. So it will be the Community Corrections Office closest to that address. Well it was nominated as Dandenong in the assessment, but I am not sure whether that was - yes, it was said you would be likely to be residing with your father in Berwick. So it looks like it is the Dandenong Community Corrections Office, within two working days of release from prison, but you will be reminded of that before your release.
110You must, throughout the Community Corrections Order, and that is throughout the whole 18 months, advise Community Corrections officers of any change of address in where you are living or where you are working. You must obey all lawful instructions and directions of Community Corrections officers, including visiting them when required or submitting to visits from them. You must not leave the State of Victoria during that period without their prior permission. And most importantly, you must not commit any further offences during the period of the community corrections order.
111Now, I need to explain to you, although you will have heard this explained in the past. If you breach or contravene this Community Corrections Order, whether by not complying with its conditions generally, or whether by further offending, you can expect to be brought back before the court, before me, on what they call "contravention proceedings", and I know you went through those more than once in 2014. Contravention of a Community Corrections Order is itself a separate offence, and might attract a separate punishment. But so far as the offences are concerned for which the Community Corrections Order was imposed, and it is a very large proportion of the offences on the second indictment, the powers I would have if you are brought back for contravention of that order include that it might simply be confirmed, or its terms might be varied to increase the duration or the conditions attached, or it might be cancelled and you might be resentenced on those offences for which the CCO was imposed. As I have said, that is an extensive group of offences, and although I have imposed straight imprisonment for what I have regarded on that indictment as effectively the two most serious incidents, as well as separately for the possession of the firearm. If you came back before me there could be further imprisonment imposed. It would of course depend on what the circumstances of your contravention were, and what your general circumstances were at the time, and on how much of the Community Corrections Order you had satisfactorily complied with. But the powers of the court include to cancel it and resentence you for any or all of those offences on which it was imposed.
112Mr Galt, I must ask, do you understand all the conditions and terms of that community corrections order?
113OFFENDER: Yes.
114HER HONOUR: Do you agree to comply with that order?
115OFFENDER: Yes, I do.
116HER HONOUR: All right. I am obliged to state pursuant to s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act what your sentences would have been if you had not pleaded guilty. I have already said, and indeed the prosecution conceded, that there was a very high utilitarian value in you cooperating through your pleas of guilty in this case, and you saved the community the time and cost, and witnesses the inconvenience of attending either committal proceedings or court proceedings here.
117I have just realised I have not clarified. I will just go back for a step. I had forgotten about the sentence on the five summary charges. On those I impose an aggregate Community Corrections Order of three months, with the only condition being supervision, and I direct that that be wholly concurrent with the other Community Corrections Order that I have imposed on the second indictment.
118In other words, for three months you will be serving two Community Corrections Orders, but there are no further conditions on the second apart from supervision. But because three or four of those changes do not carry a maximum that enables imprisonment, and having regard to them being relatively less serious than much of the other offending, I am imposing a community corrections order on those.
119All right, now let me return. Under s.6AAA I am obliged to state what your sentence would have been if you had not pleaded guilty, and as I have said I regard there to be very considerable utilitarian value in you having pleaded guilty in this case. This statement is always artificial, and in this case especially as the summary charges would not have been dealt with here if you had not pleaded guilty. However, as I am bound to state what your sentence would have been, I state that on the first indictment I would have imposed a total effective sentence of three years' imprisonment. On the second indictment, I would have imposed a total effective sentence of four-and-a-half years' imprisonment. And on the summary charge 253, I would have imposed two months' imprisonment. On the other summary charges, there would have been an aggregate fine of $1,000.
120The overall total effective sentence I would have imposed would have been six years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years. And of course, there would have been the $1,000 fine.
121Now, there is also the forfeiture order, if that is handed up to me. I hear it is to be made by consent, and I will just scrutinise it and sign that, and you can take a seat Mr Galt. The CCO will take some time. The orders have to be prepared and the CCOs produced for you to sign.
122MR SINGH: There's forfeiture orders in respect of all those items stolen, Your Honour, and one in respect of the firearms.
123HER HONOUR: All right.
124MR SINGH: The applications are under the separate Acts.
125HER HONOUR: Thank you. You can take a seat, Mr Galt, if you like. The 12-gauge shotgun was, what, one of the ones recovered at one of the premises or storage units?
126MR SINGH: That's right, Your Honour, yes.
127HER HONOUR: I will initial on the schedule where there is a red line through items.
128MR SINGH: Thank you, Your Honour.
129HER HONOUR: You can take a seat, Mr Singh. I am just trying to deal with these.
130MR SINGH: Thank you, Your Honour.
131HER HONOUR: Can I just query. A very large proportion of this is the stolen goods. I thought there was a different form of order, such that after the forfeiture those of the goods that can be traced back to their rightful owners get returned, or will that happen behind the scenes?
132MR SINGH: My instructions are is that that's either happened, or happening.
133HER HONOUR: All right. It may be they are of no further particular value, but some can be presumably realised.
134MR SINGH: Yes. For example, the bobcat's gone back, Your Honour. That can still be used.
135HER HONOUR: Glad to hear it. I've got two copies of that only.
136MR SINGH: Which one is that, Your Honour?
137HER HONOUR: Sorry, the longer one. The one with all the stolen goods. I think you said that the third has had to be amended again back, but I still need to sign one.
138MR SINGH: If we could have this one back.
139HER HONOUR: Or I think you'll want a signed copy.
140MR SINGH: Thank you, Your Honour. That's exactly right.
141HER HONOUR: They can be stamped.
142MR SINGH: And Your Honour, if I may, just in case anybody wants to know, the case Your Honour referred to was Hutchison, the decision of Justice Osborn cited [2015] VSC 405, particularly at Paragraph 34.
143HER HONOUR: Thank you. I have certainly read that and am aware of what was in that.
144MR SINGH: Yes, of course, Your Honour.
145HER HONOUR: Indeed I cited it. Yes, thank you for the citation. All right, well you need the address of Mr Galt, that's been given, all right.
146MR SINGH: May I be seated, Your Honour?
147HER HONOUR: Yes. Thought I invited you to a little while ago.
148MR SINGH: You did, but then you asked me up again.
149HER HONOUR: Then I asked you something else. All right. The system, and this is sort of honours level for my associate and that's not underrating her ability. Indeed, it's reliant on her to be able to work it with the two indictments, the summary offences, there were 200 others that have to be marked as withdrawn and the cross-referencing.
150MR SINGH: Yes, Your Honour. I understand.
151HER HONOUR: The CCO will come out as commencing on the release from prison even though it's 23 months from today, but because there can be administrative adjustments to that, if it comes out as worded as commencing on release from prison. The net effect of the sentence and the reason I've come around to this structure is that I did have in mind a non-parole period of three years and the net effect is, by not declaring any of the pre-sentence detention, is that there's something like ten days short of three years actually being served to be followed by the supervision and programs of a CCO as an alternative to a parole structure.
152There are two CCOs because one is to cover the summary matters and they are endorsed at the bottom that they are directed to run concurrently with the other one. Just checking we have covered every - I will ask that while my associate is doing that, I will ask my tipstaff to show counsel the two CCOs.
153MR SINGH: Thank you.
154HER HONOUR: Just to check.
155MR SINGH: Yes, Your Honour, thank you.
156HER HONOUR: My understanding is that there will be no administrative reductions for any of the time that has been served to date, but from here it is 23 months from today and if there are lockdowns or particular matters that administratively would lead to what used to be called remissions.
157MR COOPER: Remissions, yes.
158HER HONOUR: Your client is entitled to those, so that is the reason that this is expressed to start on the completion of his term of imprisonment but it will not be more than 23 months from today.
159MR COOPER: Yes, thank you, Your Honour.
160MR SINGH: They are still called remissions in the Corrections Regulations.
161HER HONOUR: Are they? I have looked at the section because it is only for the period once someone is undergoing a sentence. It is not available for the period on remand.
162MR SINGH: That is quite right.
163HER HONOUR: And that has been one of the concerns of what has been going on since the disruptions at MRC last year, that they are conditions that would normally have led to considerable remissions or administrative deductions, but cannot occur while on remand. All right, I will ask my associate to bring each of those two CCOs to you, Mr Galt. They have been checked by your counsel, but have a look at those. One is for three months to do with the summary charges. As I have said, the only condition is supervision. The other is for 18 months from your release from prison with those various conditions.
164OFFENDER: Yep.
165HER HONOUR: You agree to those? If you sign, I will then sign. I have signed each CCO. They will be copied and a copy provided.
166MR SINGH: Thank you.
167HER HONOUR: I think that is everything on this matter.
168MR COOPER: Yes, Your Honour.
169HER HONOUR: All right. Just Mr Galt, you will get a copy of the CCO through your counsel and as I have said, you have got 23 months to serve from today, subject only to if there are some reductions for lockdowns or other prison conditions. When you come out, you have 18 months on a CCO. There is no extra penalty at that. I am not declaring the 389 days you have been in prison off this sentence because my view is, overall, close to three years' imprisonment was warranted to be then followed by the opportunity to undergo the therapeutic and rehabilitative programs of a CCO.
170It is up to you whether you stay off drugs when you come out, but the only way you are going to set yourself up for a stable life in future, which I think you are capable of doing, is if you stay away from drugs and of course from that peer group with whom you were involved.
171I will leave the bench. No physical contact, but I will leave for a few minutes so that his father can say a few words if he wants to approach.
172MR COOPER: If Your Honour pleases.
173MR SINGH: Thank you, Your Honour.
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