Director of Public Prosecutions v Kentrotis
[2012] VCC 1073
•7 August 2012
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-11-00584
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| CONSTANTINOS KENTROTIS |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE MASON | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 30 July 2012 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE | 7 August 2012 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Kentrotis | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2019] VCC 1073 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Catchwords: Trial – sentencing – causing seriously injury recklessly – attempted armed robbery
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | Ms E. Ruddle | Office of Public Priosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr R. Chaudhuri | Gleeson (Michael J) & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Mr Kentrotis, on 24 May 2012, you were found guilty by jury verdict of one charge of causing seriously injury recklessly and one charge of attempted armed robbery.
2 The offence of causing seriously injury recklessly carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and that of attempted armed robbery a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
3 You are now aged 31, having been born on 5 May 1981 and you were 28 when this offending occurred.
4 You have an extensive criminal history, dating from 1998 when you were 17 years old, with appearances in various Magistrates’ Courts for driving, drug and dishonesty offences as well as breaching community-based orders and failing to answer bail.
5 The circumstances of your offending on this occasion are as follows.
6 On 12 March 2010 you resided in Blackburn, and you had a hotel room at the Rydges Bell City Hotel.
7 You and the victim, Jono Jahjono, had met earlier that day. You were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, Nyoman. Nyoman had introduced the victim to you, as the victim wanted to purchase an ounce of cannabis.
8 The victim arranged to meet you on Friday, 12 March 2010 in the afternoon. He drove a green Hyundai Excel.
9
At approximately 2.27 pm you and the victim are identified on CCTV entering the lift together at the Rydges Bell City Hotel. The victim went into your hotel room but you did not have the cannabis in your room.
10 In the hotel room you had a conversation with an unknown person on your mobile telephone. You were unable to supply the cannabis at that stage and the victim left and returned to his car.
11 Nyoman was waiting downstairs in the victim’s car. He and the victim then drove away from the hotel, with Nyoman driving the car.
12 You then telephoned the victim after he had driven off to inform him that you now had the cannabis with you. You arranged to meet in the hotel’s car park.
13 When Nyoman and the victim arrived back at the hotel, Nyoman left the car. The victim waited in the car for you. You then entered the passenger’s side seat of the car and directed the victim to drive to along Bell Street, Preston and into Neale Street Preston to meet your friend. The victim agreed to do this.
14 You then directed the victim to stop the car, and once stationary in Neale Street, you produced a knife and demanded money from the victim. You put the knife against his neck and said, “Give me your money.” The victim attempted to push you away. He was stabbed in the hand. He still had his seat belt on at the time. The victim attempted to move his feet to kick you out of the car and he was stabbed again in the hand.
15 The victim managed to take his seatbelt off and get out of the car. At some stage during the incident, the keys were removed from the ignition.
16 Three independent citizens witnessed the incident. One of those witnesses describes seeing a man (who was you) leaning in through the passenger door, reaching over to the other man and trying to pull him out of the car through the passenger side. You had a hold of the victim with two hands and were attempting to pull him out of the car. The victim was screaming “Get off” or “Help”. The victim then fell out of the driver’s side of the car. The witness described the victim as being covered in blood and called police.
17 Another witness described the scene and said he yelled out to you. You heard him and fled the scene. This witness then got into his car and chased you. He followed you until you entered a private property in a nearby street, ran up the driveway and fled over a side fence.
18 The victim was transported to St Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance. He sustained stab injuries to his hands which included:
· On his right hand: a through-and-through laceration between his ring and middle fingers. There was a loss of sensation to the digital nerve distribution of his radial aspect ring finger;
· On his left hand: small peel-like skin loss of the epidermal layer of palm;
· On his face: abrasion of inner aspect of his lower lip and some tenderness to the nose on the right.
19 The victim required surgery, which was undertaken by a plastic surgeon on 14 March 2010, to repair the nerves to his right ring finger and closure of the lacerations.
20 Following the incident and after you had fled the scene, you made a call to “000” and alleged that you had been robbed. You told the operator that you had engaged in a conversation with a man in a car who then produced a knife and “cut me a little bit”. You told the operator that the man then jumped out of his car and chased you. You directed that the Police should look for the man behind Harvey Norman.
21 You also rang the victim after the incident and asked him, “Why did you rob me?” The victim was confused as to why you were calling him.
22 On 21 March 2010 you were arrested in Collingwood. You participated in a record of interview on 22 March 2010 where you stated that you were attacked by the victim after trying to purchase cannabis from him. You stated that:
· you had met the victim through a friend that day;
· you had intended to purchase an “ounce of choof” from him;
· he had insisted that you get in his car to make the purchase;
· he had pulled a knife out from under the seat of the car and said words to the effect of “give me the fucking money”.
· he attacked you and you defended yourself and he got out of the car and chased you.
23 I now turn to your personal circumstances.
24 As I noted earlier you are now 31 years of age, having been born on 5 May 1981.
25 You are one of five children to Greek parents. Your mother speaks little English and your father is a priest in the Greek church. It appears that your siblings have all maintained productive lives but you have experienced a disruptive life from your early years.
26 You had difficulties at school, both in primary and secondary, and completed Year 10 at a “special school” for “difficult” students. You have thereafter worked in the construction industry in plastering, cladding and roofing.
27 Your father has provided a character report which also refers to your failure to progress at school. Your father recalls you having been assessed as suffering attention deficit hyperactive disorder while still at school and how he was reluctant at the time to have you medicated for that condition. It seems clear that in subsequent years you have attempted to self-medicate your mental restlessness by the use of illegal narcotics, and in the process you have developed a longstanding drug addiction, despite attempts to control it via diversion therapy treatments such as methadone implants and oral supplements.
28 A report from Dr Michael King, clinical psychologist, was tendered on your plea. Dr King interviewed you and conducted clinical testing over a period of two hours whilst you were in custody. You had described concentration and thought management difficulties. Clinical testing was commenced after a short period of therapeutical treatment, involving hypnosis-based self‑management training.
29 In summary, Dr King’s assessment was consistent with your description of concentration disorder. Dr King described you suffering from a turbulent state of mind, however it might be labelled. Dr King thought the diagnosis of an attention deficit disorder is compatible with your condition as a general description, however, this description does not adequately illustrate the particular features of the case presented. Other testing revealed you to be likely possessed of a high basic intelligence and with a high prospect of successful intervention with appropriate treatment.
30 I note that you appear to have been open and frank with Dr King in speaking about your years of illicit drug use and that history is completely consistent with the long record you have as to previous court appearances.
31 You gave evidence on oath concerning your history of drug use and attempts to manage it, and I also formed the view that you were open and frank in giving that evidence in court.
32 Both your father and a further character witness, the Reverend Jordan Krikelis, wrote well about your behaviour when not under the influence of drugs. In particular, you have your family support and have expressed a recognition and determination to maintain and advance the rehabilitation you have already commenced whilst in prison.
33 The offences of aggravated burglary and recklessly cause serious injury are both treated seriously by the courts. Their seriousness is partly expressed in the maximum penalties applicable to each as set by Parliament. The consequences to the victim are expressed in his victim impact statement and include emotional as well as physical injury. The hand injury pierced completely through his hand and resulted in nerve damage.
34 Whilst these offences were committed in the course of an intended drug deal, the prosecution does not submit that this aggravates your offending and you are not to be sentenced on the basis of any illegal drug activity.
35 I accept that the offences were relatively spontaneous and did not involve considered planning. The spontaneity might also be said to be consistent with the racing thoughts and mental turbulence articulated by Dr King. Nonetheless, your crimes were frightening, extremely dangerous considering the threat and use of a knife, and were committed in the public domain in the presence of citizens going about their everyday lives.
36 As I have previously stated, you have a very extensive prior criminal history. It is consistent with regular drug use and consequential criminal acts, and you have previously had the benefit of many attempts to assist your rehabilitation by non‑custodial as well as custodial dispositions.
37 In mitigation, I accepted that you committed these offences in the context of a longstanding serious drug addition, that you have made various attempts to address that addiction and that you have intentions of continuing those attempts. Because of your history and continuity of offending I do, however, regard your prospects of rehabilitation as guarded. I note that Dr King believes that you have never really been properly treated therapeutically for the underlying cause of your mental restlessness and that your condition is “highly manageable” with the correct treatment. Your history suggests that is an optimistic conclusion. It is to be hoped, however, that you will explore that possibility of treatment with Dr King upon your release from prison.
38 Whilst resorting to commit a crime for the purposes of acquiring funds for drugs can never be a factor in mitigation, and the evidence of your thought fragmentation has not been submitted as sufficient to amount to impaired mental functioning for the purposes of reducing your moral culpability, these are matters I have taken into consideration as giving context to your struggle to live an ordered life.
39 I also take into account that the injuries to the victim, while serious, fall within the lower range of serious injury, that you have not before committed offences of violence and that you have the continued support of your family.
40 In all circumstances, it has been accepted by both your counsel as well as the prosecution that the only realistically appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment.
41 Mr Kentrotis, could you please now stand.
42 On Charge 1 of causing serious injury recklessly you are convicted and sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.
43 On Charge 2 of attempted armed robbery you are convicted and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.
44 Charge 1 is the base sentence. I direct that six months of the sentence imposed on Charge 2 be served cumulatively on the sentence imposed on Charge 1. The sentences are otherwise concurrent.
45 The total effective sentence is two and a half years’ imprisonment.
46 I direct that the sentence imposed today be served concurrently with any other sentence of imprisonment currently being served.
47 Since you are presently serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed in the Magistrates’ Court on 13 February 2012 which provides for a 6-month non‑parole period, I am required, pursuant to s.14 of the Sentencing Act, to fix a new single non-parole period in respect of all the sentences which you are to serve or complete.
48 Pursuant to s.14(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991, I fix a new non-parole period of 18 months in respect of all the sentences that you are to serve or complete. The new single non-parole period is to commence today, 7 August 2012. I direct that the new non-parole period of 18 months is fixed in respect of this sentence and the sentence you are currently undergoing.
49 In calculating this period within principles of totality, I have also taken into consideration the fact that just over 10 weeks have elapsed since the jury verdict whilst I was on circuit and on vacation.
50 At the plea hearing the Crown sought an order for the retention of a forensic sample, and I have made that order today for the reasons noted on the order, namely, the seriousness of the circumstances of the offending warrants the making of the order, your prior convictions warrant the making of the order, the order is not opposed and the granting of the order is in the public interest.
51 At the plea hearing the Crown also sought an order for payment of compensation to Mr Jahjono in the sum of $650, which again was not opposed, and I have also made that order today.
52 Mr Kentrotis, you may be seated. Counsel, are there any other matters?
53 MS RIDDLE: Nothing arising, Your Honour, no.
54 MR CHAUDHURI: Nothing arising, Your Honour.
55 HIS HONOUR: Thank you.
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