Director of Public Prosecutions v Haines

[2015] VCC 237

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 14-02080

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ADRIAN HAINES

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE GUCCIARDO
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	4 March 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Haines
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 237

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms N.S. Smith
For the Accused	Ms F. Jenkins

HIS HONOUR 

1Adrian Haines pleaded guilty to nine indictable offences of drug trafficking and possession of drugs of dependence and a table of those indictable offences is attached to the front of the police summary.

2The period of trafficking is said to have been between the 1 April 2014 and the 2 May 2014.  It involved a number of different drugs of dependence, MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine, diazepam, testosterone and alprazolam amongst others. 

3There are also five related summary offences of dealing with proceeds of crime, possession of weapons charges and a possession of fireworks charge.  Those matters are relayed in a table on the top of p.2 of the summary.

4Police conducted a routine patrol of the area in which Haines and another person were seated in his car and what followed thereafter was a search of the accused's vehicle.  The result of that search located a number of items that were relevant to the charges and other related summary offences.  They are tabulated within the police summary.  He was arrested, his home was searched under search warrant on the 2 May and the findings in relation to trafficking essentially relate to the search of his home.  A number of items were then analysed and the relative weights and purity of each of those matters are tabulated in the tables that follow within that summary.

5The analysis revealed that when arrested the accused possessed 596 grams of MDMA which exceeds the commercial quantity for that substance but the prosecution conceded that he had no knowledge that that amount that he possessed was a commercial quantity.  I take into account that the prosecution accepts his possession of MDMA in part was for personal use and that the appropriate sentence is that based on s.71AC of trafficking simpliciter.  Other quantities referable to methamphetamines are outlined in paragraph 15 and in relation to other accoutrements of trafficking such as notes and conversations are evidenced in photos outlined in paragraph 16 of that summary.

6I have taken into account the items that he was found to be in possession. He was charged on 3 May and it was in November 2014 practically at the earliest opportunity that he entered his plea of guilty. In these circumstances I consider his plea was entered at the first reasonable opportunity, and therefore s6AAA of the Sentencing Act (stating the penalty which the court would of have imposed but for the plea of the guilty) is operative.  I have taken into account the maximum penalties for trafficking, being 15 years imprisonment and for possession being one year or 30 penalty units.

7Adrian Haines has no prior convictions and I take that matter into account.  Mr Haines you were remanded in custody on 2 May and you were bailed on 23 May meaning that you have served a total of 22 days by way of pre-sentence detention and I noted that that pre-sentence detention was served not only at the MRC but in police cells due to lack of places of proper imprisonment or remand.  The able plea of Mr Heliotis highlighted a number of matters, both circumstances of the offending and your personal circumstances and I have taken all of those matters into account.

8Primarily I have taken into account matters which are clearly in your favour, that is, apart from the plea of guilty, the presence of your family and friends in court which is a rare enough occasion but which speaks largely of the support that you are fortunate enough to still have and which hopefully will help you in your process of continuing rehabilitation.  I hope that you are appreciative of that effort and the importance of that particular aspect of your life and those who are around you.

9I have taken into consideration the fact that you have returned to work and that you are endeavouring to maintain what was your original work by way of apprenticeship.  I consider that to be very important in this case.  I have considered as important fact that you were fortunate enough to be plucked out of remand and transferred to the Malvern clinic for an in-patient program then to have the opportunity for an out-patient program which provided you some prospects of rehabilitation.  If you continue doing the work that you have been doing, no doubt your future is very different from your past.

10However, I have to be mindful of the fact that when I look at the details of your offending, that even though this is trafficking simpliciter that is the simple counts of trafficking.  This behaviour wreaks havoc in the community and in the lives of people.  The use of the drugs that you were involved in and the contacts that you made with others in trafficking and in dealing with drugs, the amounts involved, the amounts of money involved all bespeak of a business that destroys young lives and families.  Obviously for that period of time, and for your own purposes you were prepared to take that chance.  There has to be a measure of denouncement in the sentence of the court, as well as adequate principles being abided to which relate to deterrence of others who are mindful of engaging in such behaviour.

11However the reality is that someone who is in the grip of addiction very often has his judgment impaired.  I accept that you undergone extensive rehabilitation and that you are currently assisting and mentoring others through that journey.  I accept that you have been drug-free.  I propose not to imprison you today.  I have received a community corrections report, which says you are suitable for such an order.  I could have imposed a further period of imprisonment on you.  It seems to me that a prison sentence coupled onto a community corrections order at this juncture of time is probably counterproductive.  I am not sure on what it would achieve except punishing you further.  But I want to emphasise to you that not many in people in life know when they get a second chance, you are one of the lucky ones, you know that today is the chance that you get.  If you want to throw this back in my face that is a matter for you.  If you do, in the next 12 months, I can assure you that you will leave me no choice but to deal with you when you come back to court.  My hope is that you are not going to come back to court, whether you do or not, is not up to the people in the court, or up to the people that wrote references telling me what a great bloke you are or the psychologist who wrote to me, telling me of what you have gone through; it will just be you.  So today you either decide to go out that door for good, or are you going to come back and go out that door.  So make the decision today.

12You are going to be subject to community work, I will order that you will do 150 hours community work.  That is the punishment component of this order.  I expect that despite the fact that you have a job you will give it your best shot at giving back to the community by doing that work.  You will be subject to assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol as (and when) required of you.  You will be under the supervision of the correctional authorities, and if you abide by their requirements, which means coming to appointments and communicating with them on a reasonable basis and on an ongoing basis, then you will not have any problems.  I am sure those conditions have been explained to you and I have your signature on this page to signify your agreement.

13The order will be for 12 months and you will be required to attend by 11.30 on 5 March at the Community Corrections office in Ringwood at Bond Street.  I will have this sheet of paper handed to you.

14I want to emphasise to you again that I had other choices in this case because your offending of trafficking can be seen as being serious.  The only reason why this is happening is because you have put an effort in, so do not let that go to waste.

15In relation to the summary offences, we will just deal with those.  Correct me if I am wrong Ms Smith, the summary offences are with dealing with a property, the cash, the possessing of a Taser with the two knives and fireworks.

16In relation to the first summary offence that relates to your offending – deal with proceeds of crime - you will be convicted and fined $200.  In relation to each of the other charges you will be convicted and fined $100.  I will give you a stay of three months.

17Any other ancillary order apart from the 464ZF order? I will make this order because of the seriousness of the circumstances of the offending and because it is in the public interest. I should tell you this about it.  You are to undergo a forensic procedure for taking of a scraping from your mouth which is not a painful procedure so that your biological sample can be placed on a database of DNA.  If at the time that a police officer makes that request of you and you do not consent then that person is authorised to take a blood sample from you using reasonable force, do you understand that? 

18OFFENDER:  Yes.

19HIS HONOUR:  Take a seat.

20MS SMITH:  Your Honour there are two other matters that- - -

21HIS HONOUR:  The disposal orders?

22MS SMITH: ‑ ‑ ‑ and these declarations under s.6AAA.

23HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I am about to get to that. I have signed the disposal orders and the 464ZF orders and I will have it noted in the records of the court that but for your plea I would have sentenced you 15 months' imprisonment, that being an aggregate sentence in relation to each of the matters.  If I have not stipulated so far the community correction order will be in place for 12 months.  There will be some paperwork to be handed to you so I will just stand down while that is done.

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