Director of Public Prosecutions v Goodwin

[2016] VCC 607

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 16-00359

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

BEAU GOODWIN

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MURPHY
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:	12 May 2016
DATE OF SENTENCE:	12 May 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Goodwin
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 607

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---

Subject:              Aggravated Burglary – Intentionally Cause Injury

Sentence:2 Year Community Correction Order – Supervision – Unpaid Community Work – Treatment & Rehabilitation

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr A. J. Moore	O.P.P
For the Accused	Ms B. Warnock	Tyler Tipping Woods

Pages 1 - 9

 

 

HIS HONOUR: 

1Beau Goodwin, you have pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary and one count of intentionally causing injury.  The complainant in the matter was Mr Ricky Connor and the events occurred on 28 January 2014.  The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary is 25 years' imprisonment, and for intentionally causing injury, ten years' imprisonment.

2The circumstances of the offences were set out in the Crown opening, Exhibit A, which was read in open Court this morning, and I will not repeat them.  In brief summary, you had been friends of a woman who was in a relationship with the complainant.  She rang you up.  You went around there to the premises at Yinnar.  Some sort of argument ensued between you and the complainant.  You grabbed him, dropped him on the ground, proceeded to punch him, then he went into the house.

3You followed him in, kept punching him, and as a result of that he sustained a split eyebrow requiring one stitch, bloodied, and those events constitute aggravated burglary: going into the house with intention to assault him, and intentionally causing injury.  A stupid occurrence, that really defies belief that it ended up the way it did.

Assessing the seriousness of the offences. 

4This aggravated burglary is in contrast with a number of the matters that are seen in this Court, of late night entries of drug dealers, seeking to take out people with baseball bats, ex-relationship individuals going in for retribution. So the prosecution conceded that it was in the lower end of the scale as being somewhat technical, in that it really was a continuation of the fight that started in the backyard.

5But you started the physical fight, even if the complainant had made some comment to you.  So it arose out of this fight.  You were responsible for the fight.  So even if it was prompted by the complainant, you are not entitled to just go around fighting with people.  You are old enough to know that.

6OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

7HIS HONOUR:  Your counsel put that you had snapped at that point, because you were trying to be protective of Ms Sherry, because she had confided in you and been around to your house after domestic violence between her and the complainant, and you have got this background with one of your sisters who had been murdered as a result of domestic violence.  So you snapped in those circumstances.  That provides an explanation but not a justification for the offending.

8Mr Bruce, forensic psychologist, in his opinion, indicates that the behaviour resulted from an impulsive behaviour, secondary to an almost resolved attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  So impulsive behaviour that is part of ADHD, that spectrum of condition.

9That both offences on the lower end of the scale was accepted by the prosecution and put by your counsel.  And no victim impact statement, that is relevant, but Mr Connor would have been upset by the events.

Prior convictions. 

10For a man of 27 you are not doing too badly with your prior criminal record.  Most significantly, you were actually on a suspended sentence when this occurred, for driving whilst disqualified.  You have a number of driving offences.  30 October 2012, for fraudulent use of a number plate or of a registered number.  But the most significant of your violence offences was on 19 January 2012, for recklessly causing injury and criminal damage, a three month sentence partially suspended was imposed. So you had been given one month's gaol to serve for an offence of violence.

11And then back on 25 October 2011 in this Court, on counts of threat to inflict serious injury; theft from motor vehicle; theft; burglary; theft; burglary; drive in a manner dangerous; and careless driving; and using an unregistered vehicle.  And on the three serious offences, you received a three month sentence.

12OFFENDER:  Yes.  Yes, Your Honour.

13HIS HONOUR:  And you appealed it and then abandoned the appeal.  So you have been sentenced to imprisonment for violence offences in the past, and burglary.  And I have not gone back any further, but that just shows you have got a criminal record, which aggravates the offending here.

14OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

15HIS HONOUR:  I turn now to matters in mitigation.  You are aged 27.  Your personal circumstances are set out in the report of Mr Bruce and as I said I was depressed when I read the two reports from him and from your psychiatrist.

16You have had a difficult upbringing, being the subject of ADHD since you were very young, going to delays in your developmental milestones, ending up in a special school, leaving school at 15, on a disability pension since that time and suffering from significant mental health issues since that time, which has left you at the moment, according to the psychiatrist, on two very serious forms of medication for your mental health condition.

17In addition to that, you had the trauma of your sister being murdered, and also observing another person who had suicided.  So perhaps it is not surprising that you are suffering from anxiety and significant depression, and there have even been suicidal attempts.  And you have had a spell in the Flynn Unit here in the La Trobe Valley Hospital.  In addition to all that, you are on the autism spectrum, and you obviously are not in the workforce.

18Perhaps not surprising, but not good enough, you have been medicating over the years with cannabis, and that, as I said in the course of the plea, is a dangerous drug.

19You have been in a relationship with a woman who is in Court here today, and you have got two children.  They are proving difficult.  And in addition to that, you have been looking after your two half-brothers who again are difficult; have their own problems, to help your mother who has been in Court to support you, while she works.

20You have had support from the Quantum Support Service to get your housing and to get you into various facilities to assist you and support you.  You need all the support you can get.

21I have looked at also the reference from your mother, setting out the problems that she has had, and the problems you have had with your own two children, and how you seem to get it, getting in control of that.  Mr Bruce indicates that he has been in couple therapy with you and Ms Love, which is going quite well.  So all the agencies of government are there trying to assist you, to keep you on the straight and narrow and to try and make you a productive member of the community.

22What your counsel put is that in addition to that, of course, you have been before the Magistrates' Court in September last year for domestic violence offences, and you have been placed on a community corrections order, and you have been engaging with them.  On that basis, I asked for you to be assessed.  That assessment indicates that you have been engaging with them, but there have been some lapses and unacceptable non-compliance, so you need to be careful about that with that order.

23The learned prosecutor, in a frank and helpful submission, put that a community corrections order was within range for this offending.  The Court of Appeal has said on numerous occasions that this type of offending, aggravated burglary, is a serious offence, generally carries a term of imprisonment, but the guideline judgment in Boulton indicates that in certain, limited circumstances where rehabilitation is to be emphasised by the courts, a community corrections order is within range.  And in your case, I have determined that a community corrections order is within range.

24In sentencing you delay is a factor.  It took the authorities, the police, something like a year-and-three-quarters before they actually charged you.  It might have been because they were investigating other possible offences, which they did not proceed.  But that is a relevant consideration in sentencing you.

25The prosecution concession that both offences are on the lower end of the scale; the lack of a victim impact statement; and your attempts at rehabilitation since your offending are relevant.  As your counsel put it, you have not reoffended, and you are now getting the proper medications under the supervision of a psychiatrist, and that is obviously very important.

26The purposes for which a court may sentence you are punishment; deterrence both specific and general; rehabilitation; denunciation and protection of the community.  In sentencing, I must have regard to a range of factors, such as the seriousness of the offences; your culpability for them; your personal circumstances; and those of the victim, if any.  I am required to balance the interests of the community in denouncing criminal conduct, with the interests of the community in seeking to ensure that, as far as possible, offenders are rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

27It is absolutely unacceptable (a) to get into a fight with someone for a mere verbal assault; (b) when they try and retreat into the safety of their own home for you to keep going fighting him.  And so the community does not buy that sort of conduct, and it is unacceptable.  But, as Mr Bruce says, that impulsive behaviour is sort of secondary to this ADHD that you have had lifelong.

28Rehabilitation is important, and even specific deterrence is relevant here, because you have priors for burglary and also for assault.  And general deterrence also is relevant. Of lesser relevance here, given the circumstances of the offending, but still relevant.

29In your case, rehabilitation, I will focus on that in this disposition.  I have had you assessed for a community corrections order and you have consented to the order.  That again is a rehabilitative disposition, but it is a hard disposition, because if you do not comply with the terms of it, or with the community work, the 125 hours that I am imposing; or you commit another offence in the next two years, which is the duration; or you do not comply with the supervision; or you do not go to the mental health assessment they might send you to, or keep seeing Mr Bruce, then that breaches the order.

30OFFENDER:  Yep.

31HIS HONOUR:  So they are the terms of the order, that you have got to turn up at Anne Street, you know where it is.

32OFFENDER:  Yeah, I know where it is, Your Honour.

33HIS HONOUR:  Within two business days.  Not commit any more offences in the next two years; be under supervision; tell them when you change your address.  You are out of Yinnar now, you are in Moe.

34OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

35HIS HONOUR:  Moe has got a lot of people there, and so has Yinnar probably, who are bad company, so you have got to keep out of their company.

36OFFENDER:  Yeah.  I don't make - I don't make friends, Your Honour.

37HIS HONOUR:  Be under supervision and obey lawful directions.  And 125 hours over the next two years of community work.  And go to any assessments that they recommend for drug abuse or dependency and behaviour modification.  You are in the queue for anger management.

38OFFENDER:  Yes.  Yes.

39HIS HONOUR:  Keep seeing Mr Bruce and the psychiatrist.

40OFFENDER:  Yes.

41HIS HONOUR:  So I have got the order prepared.

42OFFENDER:  Dr Yogi is the psychiatrist.

43HIS HONOUR:  I would ask you, Ms Warnock, to explain it to your client and get him to sign it.

44MS WARNOCK:  Yes, Your Honour.

45HIS HONOUR:  And you can have a peruse of it, if there is any query.

46MS WARNOCK:  Just confirming, Your Honour, are any of those 125 hours to be dealt with by way of the rehabilitative ‑ ‑ ‑

47HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Fifty of the hours are rehabilitative.  And it is an aggregate sentence of a two year CCO.

48MS WARNOCK:  Your Honour, may I approach my client?

49HIS HONOUR:  I will stand down for a moment.  So explain it to him in full details.  Give him a further reminder about the fact that he has not been complying with the previous one.  So stand down.

(Short adjournment.)

50HIS HONOUR:  There are two other matters.  You are seeking a forensic sample order; is that right, Mr Moore?

51MR MOORE:  I am, yes, Your Honour.

52HIS HONOUR:  Mr Goodwin, given your prior record, I regard as appropriate that you provide a sample, a mouth swab DNA sample.  I have got to advise you that within 28 days, you have got to present yourself at a police station around here, for them to get a sample.  Do you understand?

53OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.  Can I do that today?

54HIS HONOUR:  You can do that today, and I would suggest you go down.

55OFFENDER:  Yep.  I got to go to Corrections, anyway.  So.

56HIS HONOUR:  I think it is a police station.  You have got two orders here.

57HIS HONOUR:  All right, I will sign them both and you can use whichever one.  They are entitled to use reasonable force to get it.  Moe Police Station within 28 days.  Now Mr Goodwin, as I said to you before, you are racking up a reasonable criminal record and you will not be getting any further leniency from any courts here.  You are 27.  You have got difficult problems, but you are under medication, you are under supervision.

58And so you have to (a) get off the cannabis; (b) comply with any orders we have got; look after those children of yours, and your mother's as well, your half-brothers. But for the next two years, it is this community corrections order that I have placed you on that you have got to comply with.  And that means, when they send you for community work, you have got to do it.

59OFFENDER:  Yep.

60HIS HONOUR:  And when they send you for anger management and all other programs, and when they ring you up and say you have got to come for supervision, you have got to turn up or provide them with an acceptable excuse.  Sleeping in is not an acceptable excuse.  And if you do not, they will breach you, and you will come back here and you will not get any sympathy.  Do you understand?

61OFFENDER:  Yes.

62HIS HONOUR:  You will be down there in Fulham.

63OFFENDER:  Yep, I understand.

64HIS HONOUR:  I declare that if you had not pleaded guilty, I would have imposed a three year CCO, which was pursuant to s.6AAA.  Any other matters?

65MR MOORE:  No, Your Honour.

66HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Yes, I want to thank you your assistance Ms Warnock, and yours Mr Moore.  Adjourn until 10.30 tomorrow.

---