Director of Public Prosecutions v Horton

[2015] VCC 1964

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

AT SALE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-01347

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

V

PETER JOHN HORTON

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE M. P. BOURKE
WHERE HELD:	Sale
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	7 September 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v HORTON
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 1964

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
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Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr K. Doyle	Office of Public Prosecutions
The Offender was not represented by Counsel

HIS HONOUR: 

1Peter John Horton, you are to be sentenced for one charge of aggravated burglary and one charge of intentionally cause injury.  The maximum sentences are 25 years' imprisonment for aggravated burglary and ten years' imprisonment for intentionally causing injury.  You pleaded guilty before me on 4 September.

2When arrested on 13 April 2015, you were cooperative in police searches of your home.  You exercised your right to silence when interviewed by them.  You pleaded guilty at committal and the matter was quickly listed for plea hearing in this court. 

3You receive the benefit of your pleas of guilty and the level of cooperation that history of the proceedings shows.

4At the plea hearing you represented yourself and presented to me as fully embracing the criminality, seriousness and consequences of your offending.  You accepted the inevitability of a prison sentence.  At the plea hearing also on 4 September, Mr Doyle for the Crown tendered a written summary of prosecution opening, photographs of the scene of your offences, the injuries caused to your victim, Robert Hawkless, and also his victim impact statement. 

5As stated, your represented yourself.  You were permitted, without objection by the Crown, to state from the Bar table your version of relevant events and circumstances.  In describing the circumstances of offending, I rely upon the tendered Crown summary but also your own account.  As stated by me during the hearing, I found you to be candid and forthcoming in giving that account of events.  There was little significant difference with the circumstances stated in the tendered summary.

6In April 2015 you were living at the Maffra Holiday Caravan Park near to Robert Hawkless.  In short, circumstances led to an agreement between you and Hawkless that he would do electrical work on your motor vehicle and newly purchased caravan.  There were problems in the vehicle's braking system caused by what I might describe as incompatibility between the electrical connections related to indicators and brake lights.  A complete or more sophisticated description is not necessary.  The agreed payment was $100.  He performed some of the work.  I accept your explanation that he did not do so properly and that this caused further problems, including that your car did not start. 

7Over 12 and 13 April there were a number of exchanges between you.  Ultimately, Hawkless refused to finish the job or rectify the problem.  I accept that you were upset by your predicament and found him to be dismissive and contemptuous of you.  In your words to me, you "snapped" and at about 3 pm on 13 April you went again to his cabin.  You had a claw hammer in your possession.  He refused to come outside.  You lunged and struck at him as he stood at the cabin door.  You both moved inside, where you assaulted him, including that you struck him, I accept with the flat side of the hammer head a number of times to his head and body.  You were both struggling.  He asked you to stop, which you did.

8Soon after that, Hawkless became aware that you were holding a kitchen knife.  On his interpretation, you were not threatening him with it.  Although you took weapons with you, and this evidences a level of preparation, I accept your explanation that you did not go to Hawkless' cabin in a cold, calculating way, planning to hurt him.  As I have earlier stated, I found you to be frank and honest in describing things to me.  Indeed, you admitted matters beyond the Crown case against you.

9The victim impact statement of Robert Hawkless describes considerable effects, including both his physical injuries and emotional impact.  Those physical injuries particularly included a wound to his scalp requiring six stitches.  Psychologically, he suffers continuing feelings of anxiety and loss of a sense of security.  His work was affected, I am not complete,   I must take into account his victim impact in my sentence of you.

10You are a 62 year old man who works as a painter and now lives at the Sale Motorhome Caravan Park.  Although it was not emphasised by you, you likely experienced a difficult upbringing.  You became a ward of the state and there are a number of early Children's Court appearances in your criminal record.  That record over the period of your adulthood is considerable.  You admitted before me a number of convictions, including for violence.  This culminated in a sentence of 11 years and three months, with a minimum term of seven years for offences including multiple counts of burglary, criminal damage and malicious wounding.  However, after release from that in 1988, aged 36, you went to Queensland and developed skills in your present trade.  There are some court appearances in that state since then.  However, a proper and fair analysis is that they are sparse, of lesser seriousness, and show a pattern toward rehabilitation in your maturing years.

11This was a serious and frightening attack upon a man in his home.  There is significant victim impact.  The circumstances that provoked you are of little mitigation,  particularly given the nature and seriousness of the offending.  The sentencing considerations of deterrence, your moral culpability and the need for condemnation of the offending require a prison sentence. You have recognised that.  However, there are mitigating circumstances such as your plea and cooperation, what I see as a remorseful recognition of the seriousness of what you did, your age and movement toward rehabilitation in your later years.  These matters should reduce your sentence.

12Considering and balancing what I see to be the relevant matters, both favourable and unfavourable to you, I sentence you as follows.  On Charge 1, aggravated burglary, you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.  On Charge 2, intentionally causing injury, you are sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.  I order no cumulation between the sentences given the very close relationship of the two offences.  That is a total effective sentence of
12 months.  I do not set a minimum term.

13Under s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act I am required to indicate to you what I would have imposed had you not pleaded guilty.  I would have imposed a sentence of two years' imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 months.  As I think you recognised yourself during the plea hearing, you would have had some difficulty in getting parole.

14What are the other matters?

15MR DOYLE:  The only other matter was the disposal order and I gave Your Honour a draft.

16HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I have signed those and I make those.  That is the disposal order for the hammer and the knife, and some clothing perhaps?

17MR DOYLE:  That's right, yes.

18HIS HONOUR:  What about a s.464ZF order?

19MR DOYLE:  My recollection is it is not required, Your Honour, because it is an automatic retention now as I follow it.

20HIS HONOUR:  If there is no application for that I will not make the order.  There is nothing else I need to do?

21MR DOYLE:  Yes, automatic retention.  Nothing else.  That is it, Your Honour.

22HIS HONOUR:  All right, good.  You can be taken into custody now.

23OFFENDER:  Anyway, good to come before you.

24HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Don't come back, will you?

25OFFENDER:  I won't, don't worry.

26HIS HONOUR:  Good.

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