Director of Public Prosecutions v Hollins (a pseudonym)

[2022] VCC 1225

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT BALLARAT

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Unrestricted
Suitable for Publication

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DERRICK HOLLINS (A pseudonym)

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JUDGE:	Leighfield
WHERE HELD:	Ballarat
DATE OF HEARING:	27 July 2022
DATE OF SENTENCE:	1 August 2022
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Hollins (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2022] VCC 1225

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Theft – obtaining property by deception – unauthorised possession of a traffickable quantity of firearms – conduct endangering serious injury – driving whilst disqualified – plea of guilty – parity – youthful offender

Cases Cited:Mills v R [1998] VSC 241

Sentence:                  Convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 10 months, with Community Corrections Order of 18 months

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr Stephen Devlin	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr Raymond Alexander	David Tamanika Solicitor

HER HONOUR:

Introduction

1Derrick Hollins[1] you have pleaded guilty to four charges of theft (charges 1, 2, 7 and 10), three charges of obtaining property by deception (charges 3, 4 and 5); two charges of burglary (charges 6 and 9); one charge of unauthorised possession of a traffickable quantity of firearms (charge 8) and one charge of conduct endangering serious injury (charge 11). You have also consented to this court hearing, and pleaded guilty to, a related summary offence of driving whilst disqualified (related summary charge 19). The maximum penalty for each of theft, obtaining property by deception, burglary, and unauthorised possession of a traffickable quantity of firearms is 10 years’ imprisonment; for conduct endangering serious injury is 5 years’ imprisonment and for driving whilst disqualified is 2 years’ imprisonment or 240 penalty units.

[1] A pseudonym,

2Each of the offences before the court occurred between 6 January and 8 January 2022 when you were just 18 years of age.

Circumstances of the Offending

3The full circumstances of the offending for which you fall to be sentenced are set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea which was tendered as Exhibit A on the plea. However, in shorter compass, your offending was as follows.

4On 6 January 2022, at approximately 3.30am, you, along with Claire Bellamy,[2] who is 21 years of age, Elliot Martel[3] who is 30 years of age, and Frank Arnold[4] who is 26 years of age, attended at a residence in Maroona and stole a white Toyota Landcruiser together with a Jayco dual-wheeled caravan. The combined value of the Landcruiser and caravan was $200,000. Further, the victim’s NAB bank card, which was inside the Landcruiser, was also stolen (charge 1 – rolled up charge of theft). The car and caravan were driven a short distance away to Dobie. The caravan was detached and left next to trees and has subsequently been returned to the victim.

[2] A pseudonym

[3] A pseudonym

[4] A pseudonym

5Approximately one hour later, at 4.40am, you and Mr Arnold attended at a petrol station on the Western Highway in the stolen Landcruiser and filled it with diesel to the value of $324.48. The two of you then drove away in the Landcruiser without making any attempt to pay for the fuel (charge 2 – theft).

6At 6.36am on the same morning, you then attended at a BP service station in Ballarat and purchased a packet of cigarettes for $29.99 with the credit card stolen from the victim’s Landcruiser. This conduct constitutes charge 3 – obtaining property by deception.

7Three minutes later, at 6.39am, you drove the stolen Landcruiser to yet another service station where you purchased two packets of cigarettes and a lighter to the value of $90.60 with the stolen credit card. This conduct constitutes charge 4 – obtaining property by deception. At the time of driving the Landcruiser you were a disqualified driver (related summary charge 19 – driving whilst disqualified).

8Another half hour later, at 7.06am, you attended at a 7/11 service station in Ballarat and purchased four packets of cigarettes valued at $183.96 across two separate transactions. You again used the victim’s stolen credit card to pay for the purchase, which is charge 5, obtaining property by deception).

9On 8 January 2022, somewhere between 1.30am and 2am, the stolen Landcruiser was sighted in Horsham. A short time later, you and an unidentified male attended at a residence in Haven. Both of you have entered an unlocked granny flat and a shed on the property, which is charge 6, burglary. Cash in the sum of $45,000 was stolen from the granny flat and numerous items including two 12-gauge shotguns, a .22 Rimfire rifle, a .177 air rifle, and multiple assorted power tools were stolen from the shed. This conduct constitutes charge 7, theft, and charge 8, possess a trafficable quantity of firearms.

10On the same day at some time between 1.00am and 7.30am, you and the unidentified male attended and entered a different residence in Horsham, charge 9, burglary. A tobacco pouch, two chainsaws valued at $2700 and a JBL speaker valued at $599 were all stolen from the property, charge 10, theft.

11At approximately 7am on the same morning, a Zach Collis contacted a friend Tom Giovanetti and advised him that you were interested in buying Mr Giovanetti’s ute for $5000. A meeting was set up for Mr Giovanetti to meet with you at a car wash in Ballarat between 8am and 9am to sell the ute.

12At approximately 8.05am, you, Ms Bellamy, Mr Martel and Mr Arnold all arrived at the meeting point in the stolen Landcruiser. You paid $5000 for the ute using $100 notes. You then drove away in the ute, whilst the other three drove away in the stolen Landcruiser. A short time later you contacted Zach Collis and demanded your money back as the ute’s engine had blown up.

13At 9.15am, after some phone calls, Tom Giovanetti and his brother Dylan Giovanetti arrived at Mrs Collis’ house in Dylan’s car which was a Nissan Navara. Once they arrived at the house, the stolen Landcruiser, with you as the driver, pulled in behind their vehicle.  Ms Bellamy exited the stolen Landcruiser and yelled ‘I want my money back, I’m a single mother.’ A male in the Landcruiser also yelled ‘hurry up before the cops come.’ Tom and Dylan got back into their car and drove away.

14You then chased the Nissan throughout Ballarat in the stolen Landcruiser, dangerously tailgating the Nissan before ramming into the back of it as it entered Armstrong Street. This caused the Nissan to leave the ground. The Nissan then turned into Sturt Street, the main street of Ballarat, and you again rammed the stolen Landcruiser into the side of the Navara causing significant damage. The conduct described in this paragraph constitutes the subject matter of charge 11 – conduct endangering serious injury.  One of the male occupants of the stolen Landcruiser exited the car and yelled at Tom and Dylan Gionavetti. The stolen Landcruiser then drove away. Whilst no victim impact statements were tendered on the plea, it is apparent from the many people who contacted Triple 0 at the time to report your erratic driving, that your conduct would have been a cause of great concern to those who were subjected to it. 

15At 1.30pm on 8 January 2022, the stolen Landcruiser was located at the address of Ms Bellamy and Mr Arnold in Wendouree. Police attended and arrested you, Ms Bellamy, Mr Arnold and Mr Martel. Police executed a search warrant at the address and located three of the four firearms subject of charge 7; two chainsaws subject of charge 10; cash in the amount of $11,100; and the keys to the stolen Landcruiser.

16You were interviewed on 8 January 2022 and largely made a ‘no comment’ record of interview. You admitted being regularly affected by ice, denied stealing the Landcruiser and said you had no memory of some matters. You were placed in custody at the conclusion of the interview and have remained in custody since that time. Therefore, you have 205 days of pre-sentence detention available to you in respect of this matter.

Prior Convictions

17You come before this court as a young offender with a very limited prior criminal history. You have one previous appearance before the court, which was on 27 August 2021, albeit that appearance concerned offending in both the Children’s Court and Magistrates’ Court jurisdictions. You were sentenced in respect of two consolidations of charges including aggravated burglary; theft; theft of motor vehicle; reckless conduct endangering life and reckless conduct endangering serious injury; multiple driving offences; and possessing controlled weapon without excuse. On the Children’s Court consolidation you were placed, without conviction, on probation for a period of 12 months to 26 August 2022. On the Magistrates’ Court consolidation you were placed on an adjourned undertaking without conviction for a period of 18 months to 27 February 2023.

18Accordingly, this offending was committed in breach of both your probation and your undertaking.

Gravity of Offending

19There is no doubt that the offending which brings you before this Court is serious offending, which was conceded on your behalf by Mr Alexander. Your offending can best be described – as it was by both your counsel and Mr Devlin – as a mini crime spree. Over the very short period of two days you engaged in two burglaries, and three thefts where items of significant value were stolen. Further you were involved in the theft of firearms, and were in possession, albeit not for a significant period of time, of a traffickable quantity of firearms. Moreover, your driving in respect of the last incident was atrocious and dangerous and continued for an extended period of time in the centre of Ballarat. As I have already noted it was of such significant concern to those who witnessed it that multiple calls were made to emergency services to report your behaviour.

20I do accept that the caravan the subject of charge 1 was detached and left undamaged and could be returned to the owner, and that some of your offending, including the charges of obtaining property by deception and theft of petrol, fall at the lower end of the spectrum for those offences. However, your offending overall in that two day period was significant and any sentence I impose in this case must reflect the gravity of your offending, denounce and punish your behaviour and must also, subject to matters which I will return to later, deter both you and others from offending in this manner.  

21I note that both counsel submitted that charge 11, being the charge of reckless conduct endangering serious injury is the most serious charge before the court despite having a lesser maximum penalty than each of the charges subject of charges 1 through to 10. I agree with this submission. I am also of the view, as submitted by Mr Devlin, that given that charges 6, 7 and 8, and charges 9 and 10 respectively were founded on the same facts and formed a series of offences of a similar character, that aggregate sentences can be imposed in respect of each of those sets of offending.

Guilty Plea and Remorse

22Your plea in this matter is a valuable plea of guilty and is a significant mitigating factor. It was entered at the earliest opportunity at further committal mention on 28 April 2022. Your matter was then listed for plea in the County Court in this circuit which commenced on 25 July 2022.

23Your plea both facilitates the course of justice and is of significant utilitarian value. It has saved the cost and time of a trial being conducted and spared the witnesses and, in particular, the victims of your offending from having to give evidence. Your plea also gains additional weight in the current circumstances of the pandemic  which have caused unprecedented disruption in the smooth running of the justice system.

24I am also of the view that your plea is a demonstration of genuine remorse for your conduct – which is also reflected in your discussions with psychologist Dr Aaron Cunningham, who assessed you for the purposes of the plea.

25Overall, taking each of the above matters into account, I accept that you are entitled to a substantial discount on your sentence by reason of your plea of guilty, and have factored this into the sentence which I have imposed.

Personal Circumstances

26You are currently 19 years of age, having turned 19 just days after this offending. You are one of three children to your mother, Kaye Hollins,[5] who is a police officer, and your father, Roland Hollins,[6] who works in a factory. Your younger brother is an apprentice plumber, whilst your older sister is a schoolteacher.

[5] A pseudonym

[6] A pseudonym

27You grew up in Ballarat in a loving and stable home environment, albeit you may have received less attention than your brother and sister who had sporting and academic skills respectively. You undertook your schooling at a local primary school and high school. You struggled at school with concentration problems and left at the start of Year 9. However, whilst you were still at school you undertook and completed a Certificate II in Landscaping.

28On leaving school you commenced a pre-apprenticeship in Building and Construction as a prerequisite to obtaining employment with a Ballarat building company, where you worked for about 6 months. During your time there you also completed a Certificate II in Building. You then commenced working for another Ballarat building company.

29Whilst you were working that job you commenced your first serious romantic relationship and moved out of home to live with your girlfriend. You had been an occasional user of methylamphetamine prior to moving out of home – having first used it when you were about 16 years of age. However, once you were out of home your ice use escalated to the point of addiction and you started to commit offences, as reflected in the consolidation of charges which you faced in the Children’s and Magistrates’ Court on 27 August 2021.

30After you had been arrested and bailed on those previous matters you returned to live at home, commenced working with an excavation and landscaping company and returned to training and playing weekend football matches with your local football club.

31According to the Supervised Bail Progress Report which was tendered on your plea,[7] in the period between 2 March 2021 (being when you were granted bail on the previous offences) and 17 August 2021 (being the date of the report) you engaged well with Youth Justice, complied with your bail conditions, and remained abstinent from drugs. You also undertook a 30 day residential drug treatment program at Habitat Therapeutics Drug Rehabilitation Facility, and in the aftermath of that, engaged appropriately with your alcohol and other drug outreach worker on a fortnightly basis. Towards the end of your time on bail you attended an appointment with your General Practitioner to undertake some preliminary screening assessments in respect of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, with the result that you were referred to a psychologist to commence treatment for ADHD.  It was within days of this report that you were sentenced and placed on probation and an adjourned undertaking.

[7] Exhibit 3.

32I am told that at the time of the current offending, you were no longer undertaking your weekly drug counselling sessions as it had been deemed by your counsellor that they were no longer necessary, and you were on a holiday break from your work. You caught up with some of your former associates and quickly relapsed into both drug use and offending behaviours. Despite this, and your subsequent remand, your family and your employer remain very supportive of you. I received references on the plea from your father, and from your manager at the excavation and landscaping company.[8] It is apparent from both of those references that when you are drug free you are a hard worker, and a valued member of both your family and your work team. Both your manager and your father have indicated their willingness to support you upon your release from custody, in terms of stable housing, employment, and in facilitating your ability to attend any required appointments.  

[8] Exhibit 4.

Psychological Assessment and Prospects of Rehabilitation

33As already noted, you underwent a psychological assessment with Dr Aaron Cunningham for the purposes of the plea.

34The results of your psychometric testing revealed that you have a profile of low verbal comprehension and working memory, but with average to above average perceptual reasoning. Dr Cunningham explained that this kind of profile is consistent with an underlying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (‘ADHD’), and stated that, in his view, you do meet the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD.  He noted that you present with a long-term pattern of risk-taking, impulsivity, hyperactivity and difficulty concentrating. Dr Cunningham noted that the abuse of methylamphetamine would significantly increase your tendencies to engage in reckless and sometimes self-destructive acts with little consideration of the consequences.

35Dr Cunningham also assessed you as meeting the criteria for a generalised anxiety disorder – a condition for which you are currently being medicated in custody.

36Insofar as your risk of re-offending is concerned, in Dr Cunningham’s opinion you present as a moderate risk of future violent offending, with drug abuse and association with drug-abusing peers being your main offending risk factors. However, Dr Cunningham noted that you present with a number of protective factors that may reduce your risk and improve your prospects for rehabilitation. He noted that you do have insight into your risk factors, you have previously had a period in the community where you have managed to abstain from drugs and negative peers, you have a supportive family, and you have access to employment. Accordingly, in Dr Cunningham’s opinion you would benefit from maintaining family support, stable accommodation and employment as well as engaging in additional drug treatment to support your efforts to remain drug and offence-free.

37Whilst it is not submitted that your mental health issues mitigate sentence in this case, Dr Cunningham’s report is of relevance in assessing your prospects of rehabilitation and the kind of treatment and supports which you will require in the community in order to maximise your rehabilitation prospects.

38I am of the view that in all of the circumstances you do have good prospects for rehabilitation. The combination of your young age, your limited prior history, your insight into your offending, your previous commitment to treatment and rehabilitation, and the availability to you of family support, stable accommodation and employment, are all factors which provide me with some optimism despite the serious nature of the offending which brings you before me.

Relevance of Youth to Sentencing

39It was submitted by your counsel, and accepted by prosecuting counsel that despite the seriousness of the offending which brings you before the court, your youth is still a significant mitigating factor in this case. I agree with that submission. You were only eighteen years of age at the time of the offending, you are still currently only 19 years of age and you come before the court with a limited prior criminal history. In accordance with the principles in Mills v R [1998] VSC 241, the sentencing purpose of rehabilitation remains a principal consideration in this case, and there is scope to moderate the weight to be given to general deterrence in a modest but significant way. Further, I have taken into account that:

[t]he benchmark for what is serious as justifying adult imprisonment may be quite high in the case of a youthful offender; and, where the offender has not previously been incarcerated, a shorter period of imprisonment may be justified.[9] 

[9] Mills v R [1998] VSC 241,

Impact of Covid-19 on Burden of Imprisonment

40As I have already noted, you have now spent almost seven months on remand, all of which has been served during the pandemic. During that period you have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in a number of ways. As a result of restrictions you have faced periods of quarantine and lockdown, had reduced access,  including no face to face contact, with family and friends; and experienced limitations on rehabilitative and work opportunities. I take this added burden of imprisonment both to date, and into the future, into account in sentencing you.

Parity

41Each of Ms Bellamy, Mr Martel and Mr Arnold were granted summary jurisdiction on 31 May 2022 in respect of the charges which they faced in relation to the matters. Both Mr Martel, and Mr Arnold have since been sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court, whilst Ms Bellamy’s matters are going to be contested.

42Whilst direct parity is not applicable in this case due to your co-accused pleading guilty to different offences in a different jurisdiction, I note that on 3 June 2022 Mr Martel, who has a limited criminal history, was sentenced to a total effective term of imprisonment of 3 months for the offences of a rolled up charge of theft of the Landcruiser, the caravan and NAB card (the equivalent of charge 1 on your indictment), together with an unrelated matter of theft and common law assault arising from a separate incident on 5 January 2022. Mr Arnold, who has a much more substantial criminal history, was sentenced on 14 June 2022 to a total effective sentence of 7 months’ imprisonment for a rolled-up charge of theft of the Landcruiser, caravan and NAB card (the equivalent of charge 1 on your indictment), and a charge of handling stolen goods in respect of power tools, $11,100 and speakers (being some of the items the subject of charges 7 and 10 on your indictment).

Submissions on Sentence

43Both Mr Alexander, on your behalf, and Mr Devlin on behalf of the prosecution, submitted that taking into account all of the various sentencing considerations in this case, a term of imprisonment combined with a community correction order would be the most appropriate disposition in this case.

44I agree with that submission, and accordingly had you assessed for a community correction order. I am told by the assessing officer that you engaged well in that process and presented as being willing to comply with the conditions of such an order.

Other Sentencing Purposes and Principles

45In sentencing you today, I have taken into account the principles of totality and parsimony. In the particular circumstances of this case, the principle of parsimony requires me to consider whether there is any feature of you or your offending which requires the conclusion that imprisonment – whether on its own or in combination with a community correction order – is the only option, given that a community correction order can be imposed for a period of years, with both punitive and rehabilitative conditions attached.

46I have considered the submissions of each party, the report from Corrections and all of the relevant sentencing principles and factors in this case. Despite the significant mitigatory matters, the sentence which I impose today must still be of a nature which addresses the gravity of your offending, denounces your conduct, deters you and others (albeit to a moderated degree due to your youth) from committing similar offending and administers just punishment, whilst still giving substantial weight to rehabilitation. Ultimately I have concluded that a combination sentence where the term of imprisonment imposed is only equal to the time you have already served in custody is not sufficient to address all of the sentencing factors in this case.

47However, I am of the view that the mitigatory features in this case are such that a combination of a term of imprisonment which is not significantly longer than that which you have already served, together with a community correction order, can sufficiently achieve all of the punitive, deterrent and denunciatory purposes of sentencing, whilst also giving appropriate weight to rehabilitation.

Sentence

48All right.  So, Mr Hollins, I am now going to tell you what the sentence is.  You will be sentenced on each charge as follows: 

49On charge 1, theft, you are convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 3 months.

50On charges 6, 7 and 8, being burglary, theft and unauthorised possession of a trafficable quantity of firearms, you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 6 months.

51On charges 9 and 10, burglary and theft, you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 4 months.

52On charge 11, conduct endangering serious injury, you are convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 6 months. This is the base sentence.

53Two months of the aggregate sentence imposed on charges 6, 7 and 8; one month of the aggregate sentence imposed on charges 9 and 10; and 1 month of the sentence imposed on charge 1 are to be served cumulatively on the sentence imposed on charge 11 and on each other.

54This makes a total effective term of imprisonment of 10 months.

55On Charges 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, so they are all the charges that you have received the terms of imprisonment on, and also on Charges 2, being theft, 3, 4 and 5, all being charges of obtaining property by deception, and related Summary Charge 19, drive whilst disqualified, you are additionally convicted and placed on a Community Correction Order for a period of 18 months which will commence upon your release from custody.

56In addition to the mandatory conditions of the order, you will be subject to the following special conditions:

(i)you must report to Ballarat Community Correctional Service within two working days of being released from custody;

(ii)you will be under the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer for the entire period of the order;

(iii)you must undergo assessment and treatment (including testing) for drug abuse or dependency as directed;

(iv)you must participate in programs and/or courses that address factors relating to the offending as directed; and

(v)you must not contact or associate, either directly or indirectly, with Claire Bellamy, Elliot Martel, Frank Arnold, Tom Giovanetti or Dylan Giovanetti for the entire period of the order.

57So what that means, Mr Hollins, is you have approximately three months of imprisonment to go, subject to any action that is taken by the authorities in terms of any additional days they may or may not credit to you in relation to the detention you have done to date.  I have got no control over that aspect. The sentence I have imposed is 10 months.  I will be declaring that you have already done 205 days which is almost at your seven months.  Once you have done the period of time that I have imposed and the authorities deem that you have done the period that you have to to be released, you will then be released and your Community Correction Order will start on the day you get released from custody.  That order will go for the 18 months.  You will then have to make your first report to Community Correctional Services within two working days of being released.  So if you are released on a Monday you need to report by 4 pm on the Wednesday.  Does that make sense?

58OFFENDER: Yep. Yeah, it would.

59HER HONOUR: Alright. You will also be required to comply with all of the other conditions I have placed on the order in relation to supervision, treatment, programs and remaining away from all of your co-accused as well as the two men who were in the car which you were chasing through Ballarat.

60Do you understand all of those conditions?

61OFFENDER: Yeah. I understand, yep.

62HER HONOUR: Alright. I must tell you that if you do not comply with the requirements of the order, or if you commit a further offence punishable by imprisonment during the period of the order, then you are likely to be breached on your order by Corrections and the matter will be brought back before me. One of the potential outcomes if you breach the order is that you may fall to be re-sentenced and may face a further term of imprisonment. Do you understand that?

63OFFENDER: Yep.

64HER HONOUR: Alright. Given all of those matters which I have told you and the conditions which apply, do you consent to undertaking that community correction order?

65OFFENDER: Yes, I do.

Pre-Sentence Detention

66Pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), I declare that a period of 205 days is to be reckoned as a period of imprisonment already served under this sentence, and I direct that the fact of this declaration and its details be noted in the records of the court.

Section 6AAA Declaration

67Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I indicate that had you pleaded not guilty to the charges for which you received a term of imprisonment today and been convicted of them, you would have been sentenced to a total effective term of imprisonment of 2 years and 4 months, with a non-parole period 1 year and 6 months. So your plea of guilty has impacted on both the type of sentence that I have imposed, giving you that opportunity to have a combination sentence.  It has also impacted on the length of the term of imprisonment that you have been required to serve as well.  Alright?

68OFFENDER: Yeah.

Licence Cancellation and Disqualification from Driving

69HER HONOUR: Alright. Insofar as your licence is concerned, having convicted you of charge 1, theft of motor vehicle, I am required, pursuant to s 89(4) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), to either suspend your licence, or cancel your licence and disqualify you from driving for a period of time for that offence.

70Further on charge 11 and summary related charge 19, being the charge of reckless conduct endangering serious injury and driving whilst disqualified respectively, I have a discretion as to whether to order a period of suspension or disqualification pursuant to s28(1)(b) of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic) and section 89A of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).

71In determining how to deal with your licence in this case, I take into account that the time which I take you off the road for each offence should reflect the gravity of that offending, including any risk which your driving posed to members of the community. Charge 11 involved driving which endangered members of the community, as well as the victims of the offence, and accordingly is of concern when assessing the period for which your licence should be disqualified. Charges 1 and 19, whilst still serious, do not carry the same gravity as charge 11 given that whilst you were acting unlawfully on each occasion, your driving was not such that it gave rise to risks to other road users.

72I have also taken into account that you are a young offender and that any period for which I take you off the road will impact to a certain degree on your prospects for rehabilitation both in terms of limiting your employment options and your ability to independently access services.

73Accordingly, on charge 1, theft of motor vehicle, any licences you hold are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of 3 months from today.

74On charge 11, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, any licences you hold are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of 6 months from today.

75On charge 19, driving whilst disqualified, any licences you hold are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of 1 month from today.

76Each of the terms of disqualification will run concurrently, so the total period of disqualification will be 6 months. It is important Mr Hollins that when you are released from custody that you do not drive until you have finished serving your period of disqualification and are properly relicensed, because not only will you be committing an offence which you obviously now have priors for, but it will be an offence because it can be punishable by imprisonment which puts you in breach of your Community Correction Order as well.  Alright.  So do you understand that?

77OFFENDER: Yep.

Other Ancillary Orders

78Pursuant to section 33(1) of the Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic) I make a forfeiture order in respect of the following items:

(i)cash in the amount of $810.35 (item 7); and

(ii)a black 2004 Ford XR6 Utility registration TUF 779 (item 81).

Proceeding Suppression Order

79I also make a further proceeding suppression order in the same terms as that imposed on 27 July 2022.  And, gentlemen, what I am proposing to do, given I don't know exactly when Mr Hollins is going to be released, is give him time to finish the sentence with a tiny bit of gap after that as well and I will make the end date of that suppression - proceeding suppression order to be 1 December of this year. 

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