Director of Public Prosecutions v Lakkis
[2014] VCC 1506
•8 September 2014
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| IMAD LAKKIS |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE SACCARDO | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | ||
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 8 September 2014 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Lakkis | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2014] VCC 1506 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Sentence
Catchwords: Trafficking in a Large Commercial Quantity of a Drug of Dependance
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms R Sharpe | |
| For the Accused | Mr D Sheales |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Imad Lakkis, you have pleaded guilty to:
· One charge of trafficking in no less than a large commercial quantity of methamphetamine the weight of which was 1,329 grams, which offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment; and
· One charge of trafficking in cocaine the weight of which was 297.7 grams, which offence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
2 The circumstances of your offending are set out in detail in the prosecution opening, which is Exhibit A in the matter. No issue arises with respect to that opening and little point is served in the course of my sentencing comments in repeating in detail the content of that opening.
3 It is appropriate however that I state that the charges in this instance arise out of the investigation undertaken by the Victoria Police Drug Task Force, which was code named Operation Tide. In the course of that operation between April and July 2012, surveillance and telephone intercepts were undertaken which revealed you to be involved in negotiations to purchase the drugs the subject of these charges from a source in New South Wales which process culminated in the drugs being delivered to you by a courier on 21 July 2012.
4 Your offending in this instance involves offences committed on one day only. There is no issue however that but for your arrest, the outcome of your trafficking would have involved the release of significant quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into the community.
5 Trafficking in drugs of dependence represents a scourge on our society. Every day this Court is confronted by either primary or secondary victims of drug-related offending. In the course of your plea if was accepted that you were the most senior person in the distribution chain involved in thisoffending in this instance in Victoria.
6 As a trafficker of no less than a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependence you are in my opinion appropriately described as being a prime link in the movement of a drug of dependence and I am satisfied that it is appropriate in that sense to categorise you as being involved at a very significant level in an industry which is responsible for social carnage within our community, given;
· The destructive effect which the use of drugs of dependence has upon the lives of those using such drugs, and developing an addiction to them and
· The flow-on effects of such addiction upon innocent members of the community who are victims of, and are exposed to the range of serious crimes performed by such users and addicts.
7 There can be no issue taken with the fact that charge 1 involves a crime of the highest gravity as is demonstrated by the maximum penalty fixed for the offence namely life imprisonment.
8 I accept the position put on your behalf that the quantity involved in charge one is at the lower range of the quantities normally associated with that charge and give appropriate weight to that fact in sentencing you; there can be no suggestion however that the quantity involved in this charge gives rise to a mere technical commission of the relevant offence given the fact that the quantity involved exceeded that necessary to satisfy the count by some 30 per cent.
9 As to charge 2, the quantity of cocaine involved is not insignificant and the activity giving rise to that charge involves significant criminality as is demonstrated by the maximum penalty of 15 years which that offence carries.
10 In sentencing you I give due weight to the fact that that the activity the subject of the charges occurred in the course of a single transaction on the one day.
11 Whilst you come before me with a number of prior convictions, I accept the position put on your behalf that they have little relevance to the sentencing task required of me, other than for the fact that it cannot be said that you come before me without prior convictions.
12 In the course of your plea a report from Mr Patrick Newton, a forensic clinical psychologist, was tendered on your behalf. Your relevant background and history is set out in that report.
13 You are the second of six children of your parents who migrated from Lebanon to Australia. Your parents have worked hard operating a string of convenience stores for over 40 years in order to establish their life and an opportunity for their children in this country.
14 Due to the fact that your parents moved frequently during your childhood, you attended a number of schools up to the completion of your Year 8, at which time you attended the Penleigh and Essendon Grammar private school, where you completed your Year 12. You then commenced tertiary studies with the purpose of obtaining a degree in psychology which you discontinued after approximately 18 months, when you took up studies in law. You gave up those studies when you were informed that your prior convictions would make it difficult for you to practise in that profession. You subsequently commenced training as a motor mechanic and were primarily involved in that type of work for some ten years.
15 You have two children who were born in 2002 and 2006 respectively. Your relationship with your former partner was described as being turbulent and one which you told Mr Newton was significantly detrimentally affected by chronic financial pressure, your drug use and difficulties which you had in trusting your partner. You and your partner effectively separated in 2008.
16 Whilst after that time your relationship with your partner continued in an off-and-on basis, when you were remanded with respect of these charges in 2012, that relationship ended and you have had only two supervised contact visits with your children since that time.
17 Your drug use commenced in 2004 and escalated to the level which you reported to Mr Newton that by 2008 you were using 1 gram of cocaine each day and that your drug use had continued up to the time of this offending.
18 You told Mr Newton that since being remanded with respect to these offences, you have withdrawn from drugs and have undergone some drug education. Mr Newton notes that you did not present him with any urinalysis or similar test results to verify these statements made by you to him. You told Mr Newton that your involvement in this offending arose by reason of your general involvement in the drug culture.
19 Mr Newton described you as being slow to develop insight into the seriousness of your drug use and the offending which developed from it, saying that you initially viewed your conduct through the lens of your own drug use and as being little more serious than facilitating a recreational activity. He said, however, that your understanding of the problems associated with drug use developed into a clear understanding of the noxious effects of drugs by reason of your contact in prison with individuals suffering from severe drug problems.
20 Mr Newton diagnosed you as presenting at the time of your offending with a severe cocaine use disorder and as presenting as an immature man who harbours considerable feelings of insecurity and who employed drug use in an attempt to bolster his flagging self-esteem. He described your mental state as being essentially normal and commented that your psychological testing indicated the presence of a prominent suicidal ideation which when combined with your personality, was such that you should be considered as a genuine risk of self-harm and that appropriate precautions should be put into place to deal with that risk following your sentencing.
21 Mr Newton opined that you had responded positively to your arrest, stating that if your history of having been abstinent from drugs can be corroborated, you should be regarded as being in remission. He commented that, whilst your prognosis was guarded and was dependent upon your attitude towards rehabilitation, the more you could be encouraged to maintain positive connections to the wider community, the more optimistic he could be as to your prognosis.
22 Whilst it was put in the course of your plea that you possessed no real insight into the effect which your distribution of these drugs may have had upon their eventually recipients, I find that position to be unpersuasive having regard to the history given by you to Mr Newton as to the destabilising effect of your use of cocaine upon your life and further, the obvious detrimental effect which the use of methamphetamine has had upon the life of your brother.
23 Further, given the quantity of the drugs involved in these charges, I am satisfied;
· That these offences must have been motivated primarily by the money which you stood to make from your trafficking; and
· That the fact that you committed these offences whilst a drug user should be accorded little influence in assessing the moral culpability associated with your offending.
24 In the course of your plea a number of references were tendered on your behalf from friends, business associates and family members, who described you as possessing a kind and giving nature and as being deeply remorseful.
25 With respect to your offending, your sister, a psychologist, described you as always being a caring and thoughtful individual. She describes having visited you in remand on numerous occasions at which time she assessed you as being truly remorseful. She speaks of you working since your release on bail in the convenience store and the fish and chip shop operated by your parents and of attempting to develop a retail precinct and weekend market in Brooklyn. She describes your feelings of devastation at the estrangement of your partner and your sons.
26 Your sister-in-law, Elaini, makes similar comments to those made by your sister.
27 In sentencing you, I am satisfied that I should categorise your plea of guilty as having been entered without delay once the charges to which you have pleaded guilty were formulated and that the utility associated with that plea entitles you to a significant discount in the sentence which would otherwise have been imposed in this instance.
In the absence of any corroboration as to your abstinence from drug use I cannot be satisfied with any degree of certainty as to the prospect of you remaining drug free.
It is clear however that you have a supportive family; and I accept the evidence that you have taken steps to get your life on track since the offending. These two factors, when considered with the comments made by Mr Newton in his report would suggest that you have prospects of rehabilitation which could be described as being positive.
28 In sentencing you, I must impose a sentence which is just in all the circumstances. I must have regard to the seriousness of your offences, your culpability for the commission of those offences. I am required to take into account the need to denounce your behaviour as being totally unacceptable in our community, and to fix a sentence which ensures you are appropriately punished. I must also consider issues of general and specific deterrence and the need to protect the community, but at the same time, the interest of the community which is served by ensuring the rehabilitation of offenders and their re-integration into the community.
29 There can be no issue in this instance that the serious nature of the offences to which you have pleaded guilty justifies the imposition of an immediate period of imprisonment for a significant time. Indeed the Court of Appeal has made repeated statements that in crimes of this type a sentence involving stern punishment is warranted in almost every case and the sentence should be such as to signal to would be drug traffickers that the potential financial rewards associated with drug trafficking are neutralised by the risk of the imposition of a significant prison sentence.
30 It follows that in the present instance, the need:
· To punish you for your offending;
· To make a statement to the community that those involved in drug trafficking face the prospect of significant prison sentences:
· And the need to deter you from further offending and the need to protect the community;
are each sentencing principles of significant relevance.
31 The nature of your offending satisfies me that I should impose the following periods of imprisonment with respect to each of the charges;
· On count one you are sentenced to a period of imprisonment of 7 years and six months;
· On count two you are sentenced to a period of imprisonment of I year;
32 Taking account all relevant factors, I consider it is appropriate to order a period of cumulation in this instance.
33 The sentence I have imposed as to Count One is the base sentence. Six months of the sentence imposed as to Count Two are to be cumulated with Count One .
34 The total effective sentence which I have fixed for you is 8 years in respect of which I fix a minimum period which you are required to serve of 6 years.
35 Section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, requires me to state the total effective sentence and non-parole period which I would have imposed had you pleaded not guilty in respect of these offences. But for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you a period of imprisonment of 10 years in respect of which I would have imposed a non-parole period of 8 years.
36 I am satisfied for the reasons set out in my sentencing comments that it is appropriate to make an order that a forensic sample be provided in this instance and that I should make the disposal order sought in this instance.
37 Pursuant to the provisions of s.18 of the Sentencing Act 1991 I declare you have spent a period of 145 days including today by way of pre-sentence detention and that such period be reckoned as time served.
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