Director of Public Prosecutions v Gascoyne

[2019] VCC 1198

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-19-00530

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MORGAN GASCOYNE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	31 July 2019
DATE OF SENTENCE:	31 July 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Gascoyne
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 1198

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:

Catchwords:  Burglary; Theft; Theft of a firearm; Prohibited person in possession of firearm; Theft of firearms from gun safe; Relatively young offender; Complex background

Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms H. Baxter	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr T. Antos	Slater & King Shepparton

HIS HONOUR:

1Morgan Gascoyne, you have pleaded guilty to the following offences –

2Burglary contrary to s.76(1) of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years imprisonment.

3Theft contrary to s.74(1) of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 year's imprisonment.

4Theft of a firearm contrary to s.74AA(1) of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years imprisonment. And;

5Being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm contrary to s.5(1) of the Firearms Act 1966. The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years imprisonment.

6You have also pleaded guilty to the related summary offence of possession of cartridge ammunition contrary to s.124(1) of the Firearms Act 1966. The maximum penalty for that offence is 40 penalty units.

7You have pleaded guilty at committal mention and I have taken your early plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.  The matter was originally listed to be heard summarily but it was subsequently uplifted to the indictable listing stream resulting in a delay in its resolution.

8You have admitted an extensive criminal history for a range of offences and dispositions imposed by courts to support your rehabilitation have to date been unsuccessful.

9A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows –

10In December 2017, you were employed as a concreter's labourer at premises undergoing renovation in Doncaster East.  Located at the premises was a gun safe containing two firearms and associated hunting and firearm equipment.

11Between January and March 2018, you entered the premises, forced open the safe and stole the guns and the other contents.  At the time, you were a prohibited person by operation of the relevant provisions of the Firearms Act.  The value of the items stolen by you is approximately $18,636.

12Investigations carried out by police ultimately led to your interview during which you denied your offending.  You had enlisted an associate, Simon Kidman, to store the stolen items for you and a search warrant executed at his premises resulted in the recovery of some of them.  One of the firearms was not recovered, together with two hunting knives and other equipment.

13Your offending was planned and the theft of firearms from the secure safe is a serious offence.  The sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this manner and the community must be protected from the distribution and circulation of weapons in this way.

14I have received in evidence a Victim Impact Statement of the owner of the guns and the other equipment and I accept that your offending has significantly disrupted his sense of personal security and further caused him financial loss.

15I now turn to your personal circumstances. 

16You were born in Benalla on 13 October 1992 and you are now aged 26.  You are of aboriginal descent on your maternal grandmother's side.

17I have received in evidence a psychological report of Mr Jeffrey Cummins setting out your background and psychological profile and I accept your childhood and developmental years were disrupted by your drug use and in all probability a condition of ADHD.

18You now suffer from longstanding polysubstance abuse disorder.  It would appear that this disorder was initially caused by a poor peer group together with your ADHD, as you come from a loving and supportive family. You left school in Year 8 and have been employed in a range of labouring occupations since that time. 

19At the age of 17 you were diagnosed with lymphoma and treated for it between the ages of 17 and 21.  I accept that this has also disrupted your personal development but on the other hand has provided you with a degree of resilience.

20I further accept that you were sexually assaulted in prison and that you suffer from ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of this.

21Your history is a complex one and you are still a relatively young offender.  I accept, as was submitted by the prosecution in their written submissions, that your prospects for rehabilitation are to be approached with caution.

22There is a significant degree of overlap in the charges before this court and the charges on the indictment are plainly related and it is, in my opinion, appropriate that an aggregate sentence be imposed in all the circumstances of this case.  It was conceded on your behalf that imprisonment is the only appropriate proportionate penalty in the circumstances of this case.

23Finally, I note that your co-offender, Kidman, was dealt with by way of a fine at the Seymour Magistrates' Court on 6 December 2018.

24In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows –

25On the four counts on the indictment, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of 18 months.

26I direct that you serve nine months before becoming eligible for release on parole.

27I declare that you have served 258 days not including today by way of pre-sentence detention.

28But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of imprisonment of two years and fixed a non-parole period of 15 months.

29On the related summary offence, you are convicted and fined the sum of $250.

30I have made the forfeiture order sought by the prosecution.

31MR ANTOS:  As Your Honour pleases.

32MS BAXTER:  As the court pleases.

33HIS HONOUR: Thank you.

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