Director of Public Prosecutions v Hunia

[2017] VCC 1452

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-17-00647

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JADE HUNIA

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	8 August 2017 and 22 September 2017
DATE OF SENTENCE:	10 October 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Hunia
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1452

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:  Criminal Law

Catchwords:  Aggravated Burglary; Armed Robbery; Recklessly Causing Serious Injury; Young Offender.

Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269; Azzopardi & Ors v The Queen (2011) 35 VR 43.

Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr J. Livitsanos	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms A. Beech	Stary Norton Halphen

Pages 1 - 6

 

 

HIS HONOUR:

1Jade Hunia, you have pleaded guilty to the following charges –

(i) Aggravated burglary, contrary to s.77(1) of the Crimes Act 1958; the maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years imprisonment;

(ii)  Common assault, contrary to Common Law; the maximum penalty for that offence is five years imprisonment; 

(iii) Armed robbery, contrary to s.75A(1) of the Crimes Act 1958; the maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years imprisonment;

(iv) Recklessly causing serious injury, contrary to s.17 of the Crimes Act 1958; the maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years imprisonment

2You pleaded guilty at committal mention, and I have taken your early plea into account in your favour, in mitigation of sentence.  Your plea has spared the community and witnesses the cost and burden of a complex criminal trial and I accept that it is some evidence of remorse in your case.

3You have admitted a criminal history that discloses numerous appearances in the Children's Court, for a range of serious offences.  You have multiple convictions or court appearances, for offences of violence, robbery, attempted robbery, and armed robbery.  You have previously been the subject of Youth Supervision Orders, Youth Attendance Orders, and Youth Detention Orders, intended to support your rehabilitation.

4At the time of your offending in this case, you were the subject of four separate bail orders and one summons, in relation to numerous other alleged offences of violence, burglary, robbery, and attempted robbery. 

5Following your arrest on 19 November 2016, for the offences before the court, you were remanded in custody in adult prison, and you have remained in custody since that date.

6A summary of prosecution opening was read to the court, and tendered in evidence, and your offending may be summarised as follows –

7At about 1.50 am on Saturday 19 November 2016, you forcibly entered  domestic premises, located in Wantirna South.  You have offered no explanation as to why you chose the particular premises.  At the time, you were heavily intoxicated.  The premises were occupied by Shereen and Daniel Yeoman, and their young family. 

8Mrs Yeoman awoke to the barking of the family dog, and saw you climbing a set of stairs towards the backdoor.  You were alone.  Mrs Yeoman opened the sliding door to better observe you.  As she attempted to close the door, you forced your way into the premises, assaulting her as you did.  Mr Yeoman, a serving police officer, was awoken by your entry into their house.  He observed you in the kitchen and endeavoured to diffuse the terrifying situation. Brandishing a large knife you had obtained in the kitchen, you demanded the keys to the Yeoman's car.  You then stabbed Mr Yeoman in the forehead with the knife, as he continued to attempt to diffuse the situation by talking calmly to you.  Mr Yeoman told you the car keys were on the hall table.  You left the premises and drove away at a high speed.  The car was recorded travelling at 102 kilometres an hour, through the intersection of Burwood Highway and Springvale Road in Vermont South, at 1.58 am.  You later crashed the vehicle in Camberwell, and you were arrested a short time later by investigating police.  You violently resisted arrest, and provided the police with a false name and address. 

9You were interviewed later that morning, and stated you had no memory of your offending.

10Mr Yeoman was conveyed to the Alfred Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a laceration to his forehead.  He also suffered a broken cheekbone, and damaged facial nerves.  He has residual scarring.  Mrs. Yeoman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of your offending.  Two of the family children observed your offending, and were terrified by it.  The family car was written off when you crashed it.

11I have received in evidence, Victim Impact Statements of Daniel Yeoman, Shereen Yeoman, and their two children, and I accept that your offending has had a profoundly traumatic effect upon them.  Your cowardly crimes have disrupted their enjoyment of life, and sense of wellbeing and security, and their recovery will be a difficult and protracted one.

12It is plain from this summary that the gravity of what you did cannot be overstated.  Heavily intoxicated in the dead of night, you forced your way into a family's home.  Armed with a large knife, you stole the family car, and stabbed Mr Yeoman in the face as he attempted to reason with you.  Your offending was both terrifying and cowardly.  The presence of the Yeoman's young children did not deter you, as you pursued your violent criminal objectives.

13Offending of this nature undermines the values upon which our society is built, and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter others from offending in this manner.  It is the fundamental responsibility of this court to protect our society from offending of this nature, and your crimes must be the subject of unequivocal denunciation.  You must also be punished for what you have done. 

14Furthermore, in my opinion, this sentence must be calculated to deter you from reoffending.  As I have observed, you have a significant criminal history, and specific deterrence is an important factor in this case.  In my opinion, you have offered little by way of explanation for your offending, and I do not accept that you are truly remorseful, or have any real insight into the seriousness of your criminal behaviour.

15I now turn to your personal circumstances. 

16You were born on 31 May 1997 and are now aged 20 years of age; you were 19 at the time of your offending.  You are, therefore, a young offender for the purposes of the Sentencing Act 1991 (the Act), and both the relevant sentencing options available to me, by operation of the Act, and the relevant principles set out by the Victorian Court of Appeal in Azzopardi & Ors v The Queen (2011) 35 VR 43, are engaged in your case.

17The observations I have made regarding the applicable sentencing considerations in this case, are to be understood in that context; namely, you are a young offender.  Your moral culpability is to be assessed by reference to your age, and the sentence I impose must also provide for your rehabilitation.  I also accept that imprisonment in an adult prison may impair your future rehabilitation by reason of the corrupting influences to which you may be exposed.  However, your offending is of the utmost gravity, as I have said, and the principles relevant to sentencing a young or youthful offender, may also be tempered in such a case.

18You were born in New Zealand.  Your family history there was characterised by disruption and abuse, at the hands of your alcoholic and violent father.  You relocated to Australia with your mother, step-father, and sister when you were ten years old.  I accept that your childhood and developmental years were characterised by disruption and disadvantage.  You completed Year 10 at Parkville College, while the subject of a Youth Supervision Order.  You have since been employed in the building industry in labouring capacities.  You have regularly abused alcohol since your early teen years, and this has in all probability, materially contributed to your offending history. 

19In December 2015, your sister took her own life by self-immolation.  You observed her death and I accept that the experience had a deeply traumatic effect upon you, and you developed post-traumatic stress disorder in response. This in turn compounded your alcohol abuse.

20I have received in evidence a psychological report of Dr Aaron Cunningham, detailing your background and psychological profile, and a subsequent psychiatric report of Dr Adam Deacon, a consultant psychiatrist employed by Forensicare.  Dr Deacon concludes that there is not a specific nexus or connection between your PTSD, which is now resolving, and the offending before the court.  Your counsel accepts that is the case, and she submitted that the principles enunciated by the Victorian Court of Appeal in R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269 were not therefore engaged in your case. I accept that this is correct.

21Nevertheless, your offending occurred in the context of your escalating alcohol abuse, and your response to your sister's death.  Dr Deacon concludes that the symptoms of your PTSD are now abating, and you are coping adequately in prison. 

22Your counsel, in her comprehensive plea, submitted that Dr Deacon was of the opinion, that your risk of reoffending will depend upon you avoiding criminal associations, and for this reason, the provisions regarding detention in a Youth Justice Centre are engaged in your case.  She submitted that a sentence of Youth Justice Centre detention would address the risk of you reoffending, by not exposing you to the criminal associations and influences of a prison environment. 

23In my opinion, a sentence of Youth Justice Detention, even if the maximum period of three years was imposed, would be wholly inadequate in the circumstances of this case.  I am firmly of the opinion that such a sentence would not meet the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed.

24Furthermore, you have previously been sentenced to a term of Youth Justice Detention, and such a sentence failed to rehabilitate you, or deter you from
re-offending. 

25Whilst I accept that you have demonstrated some capacity to rehabilitate yourself in custody, and whilst the subject of youth parole, in my opinion, your prospects for rehabilitation must be approached with caution. 

26Yours is a difficult case, and I will fix a non-parole period, which will provide for your future rehabilitation and ongoing supervision in the community on your release from prison.  

27However, as I have already observed, the sentence I impose in this case must also state in unequivocal terms, that the court will protect the community from offending of this nature. 

28In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows –

29On the charge of aggravated burglary, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for four years. 

30On the charge of common assault, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months. 

31On the charge of armed robbery, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for three years.

32On the charge of causing serious injury recklessly, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for five years. 

33I direct that one year and three months of the sentence on Charge 1, three months of the sentence on Charge 2, and one year of the sentence on
Charge 3, be served cumulatively on each other, and on the sentence imposed on Charge 4. 

34This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of seven years and six months. 

35I direct that you serve four years, before becoming eligible for release on parole.

36But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of imprisonment of nine years, and fixed a non parole period of five years and three months. 

37I declare you have served 326 days by way of pre sentence detention, not including today.

38HIS HONOUR:  Are there any further orders required, Mr Livitsanos?

39MR LIVITSANOS:  No, there is not.  Thank you, Your Honour.

40HIS HONOUR:  Could you remove Mr Hunia now, please.  The court will adjourn sine die.

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