Director of Public Prosecutions v Lambert
[2022] VCC 1241
•2 August 2022
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
CR 21-01722
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LARISSA LAMBERT |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE CARMODY | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 1 August 2022 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 2 August 2022 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Lambert | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2022] VCC 1241 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence
Catchwords: Traffick a drug of dependence – possess a drug of dependence - methylamphetamine
Cases cited: Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169
Sentence: Convicted and sentenced to a two year Community Corrections Order.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr D. Vrech | The Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr T. Antos | Ann Valos Criminal Law |
HIS HONOUR:
1Larissa Lambert, on 1 August 2022 at the County Court of Victoria at Melbourne you pleaded guilty to the following charges on Indictment No.L12202138.1:
·Charge 1, trafficking in a drug of dependence which was methylamphetamine. This charge has a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
·Charge 2, possession of drug of dependence, methylamphetamine. This charge has a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
2A related summary charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime, being the sum of $200 cash on you, was transferred to this Court pursuant to s145 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009. You consented to the related summary charge to be heard by this Court and pleaded guilty to that charge. This summary charge has a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment.
3Your plea of guilty to these charges was entered after a sentencing indication hearing conducted before this court. The prosecution withdrew the related Summary Charges numbered 8, 9 and 10.
Circumstances of your offending
4The prosecutor tendered a prosecution summary for sentence indication dated 31 January 2022, this was Exhibit A.
5
On 15 September 2020, you were arrested by police with the co-accused
Anthony Grima. You were 24 years of age at that time. Mr Grima was 48 years of age. The two of you were in a drug-fuelled relationship. You resided at Portarlington with Anthony Grima.
6You grew up in Seymour and had family who lived there. On the day I have mentioned, 15 September 2020, you were with Mr Grima in Seymour. Police observed Mr Grima in the driver's seat of his Range Rover on this day which was parked off in the grass off the road. Police did not observe any other person with Mr Grima at the time, it appeared that he was on the phone.
7A short time later the police attended again at the car in response to a report of domestic violence. When police attended they observed the following; Mr Grima was leaning against the side of the Range Rover and you were trying to hold Mr Grima up and get him back into the vehicle.
8Mr Grima appeared to be suffering from a medical episode. His eyes were rolling, he was sweating profusely and could not support his own weight. Mr Grima was acting in an alcohol or drug-affected way. You told police that Mr Grima was alcohol affected. Police assisted you to sit Mr Grima in the passenger seat and you told police that you intended to drive him to the hospital.
9The police then checked the identity of both yourself and Mr Grima. You stayed at the Range Rover and said it was 'sort of' your vehicle. The searches by the police revealed that the Range Rover was last registered to Anthony Grima but the registration was suspended on 11 September 2020, which was just a couple of days before this interception.
10Police told you, you could not drive the vehicle. The police observed that Mr Grima's condition was deteriorating whilst they were there. They called an ambulance, which attended at 9 o'clock in the morning. Paramedics assessed Mr Grima. They suspected Mr Grima was suffering from a drug overdose. He was conveyed by the ambulance to the hospital under police guard.
11You were asked if there was any ‘gear’, meaning drugs in the vehicle. You said to the police, there was not. The police told you they were going to search the vehicle after paramedics had told them that it appeared Mr Grima had overdosed on drugs. You said you hadn't done anything.
12You were then arrested after the police found what they'd suspected were drugs and you were cautioned at the scene. The vehicle was searched and then you were searched and police found what appeared to be illicit drugs on you and within the vehicle. The clandestine laboratory squad were called and they made further searches. Relevantly, the searches found the following items in your white purse:
(a) Two Snap Lock bags containing a total of 57.2 grams of a mixture of methylamphetamine. This drug was 47.4 grams pure. This is the basis of
Charge 1 on the indictment, trafficking charge.
(b) A further two Snap Lock bags and a sandwich bag were found on you personally, a total of those contents were 9.9 grams as in a mixture of methylamphetamine. It amounted to 8.3 grams of pure methylamphetamine, that was the basis of Charge 2.
(c) The police also found $200 in your Mimco wallet together with an ice pipe. This is the basis of the related Summary Charge 7.
13The police found other illicit drugs and weapons which are the basis of the charges which were made against Anthony Grima. Your premises at Portarlington were searched by police and no further matters relevant to any prosecution were located there. You exercised your right to make a 'no comment' record of interview on the advice of your legal representatives.
14You were remanded in custody on that day, 15 September 2020. You were granted CISP bail on 9 October 2020. You have served 25 days' pre-sentence detention; it was your first time in custody.
15An examination of your phone revealed that you had sent a number of text messages on 11th and 12 September 2020, offering methylamphetamine for $10,000 an ounce or for a quarter ounce, $2,500. You admit to sending these texts but you have done so at the behest of Mr Grima in the general circumstances of your drug-fuelled relationship with him.
Personal circumstances
16You are now 26 years of age. At the time of your offending you were 24. You have grown up in the Seymour area. You have two older brothers. Your parents are both employed and currently provide you with accommodation and general support in helping you to raise your seven month old daughter, Mia. You have given a history of sexual abuse at the age of 13 to your psychologist Ms Cidoni, which was in her report and is Exhibit 2.
17You currently receive counselling for this and other diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder from Ross Johnson, a psychologist. His report is Exhibit 4. Your post-traumatic stress disorder developed in the relationship with Mr Grima due to the drug use and his domestic abuse of you.
18After your arrest, you were in custody for 25 days. This was your first contact with the criminal justice system. Your custody time was in the height of the COVID-19 restrictions for prisoners. You have no prior convictions.
19Your education was to Year 12. You have then completed a Diploma of Justice but have not worked within the justice system, although obviously you have been exposed to it now. Upon your release from custody in October 2020, you obtained employment as a sales representative at Beta Electrical. You remained employed for nearly a year, prior to the birth of your daughter in January 2022.
20You have engaged with mental health treatment with Mr Johnson and drug and alcohol rehabilitation with Ms Pamela Heers, who provided a report from GV Health, which is Exhibit 3.
21You have been drug free from the time of your release from prison on your report. Further you have been drug-tested regularly for the period between 19 March 2022 and 26 July 2022. All of those tests are clear of any illicit substances and they are part of Exhibit 7.
22This is a significant effort on your part, given your history of commencing the use of methylamphetamine at the age of 19. Further, your two year relationship with Mr Grima up to the September of 2020 involved daily use of methamphetamine and GHB.
23After 25 days in custody, you have successfully gone 'cold turkey', and cleaned up your drug addiction up to this court hearing date. As you know, this is going to be a daily battle for you for the rest of your life. Your plan is to return to paid employment in the future. You have the support of your parents who were in court on the day of your plea and your partner Randall Williams. Your motivation to stay clear of the drugs and the criminality that goes with them, is your daughter, Mia.
Sentencing Considerations
24The basic purpose for which a court may impose a sentence of just punishment, deterrence both specific and general, rehabilitation and denunciation of your actions and the protection of the community. In sentencing you, I must have regard to a range of factors, such as the seriousness of your offending, your culpability for it and your personal circumstances. I am also required to balance the interest of the community in denouncing your criminal conduct with the interest of the community in seeking to ensure as far as possible that you as an offender are rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.
25I am also required to take into account current sentencing practices in fixing your sentence. That enquiry is directed particularly, but not exhaustively to the kinds of sentences imposed in comparable cases and the statistics for the sentences of those cases. I have considered the statistics and current sentencing practices, mindful that each case must be considered in the light of its own particular circumstances, and many of the cases would be distinguishable from your case, as indeed they are from one another. Of course, current sentencing practices is but one of the considerations I am required to take into account when determining a just sentence for your offending.
26This case resolved after a second sentencing indication hearing was conducted before me. I have had you assessed for a community corrections order; you have been assessed as being suitable.
27You have pleaded guilty to these charges. Your plea of guilty was indicated, at an early stage given the nature of a sentencing indication hearing and the change from the original indictment to the plea indictment.
28Your plea does have the utilitarian value of allowing for the orderly and effective administration of justice. There is also a certainty of outcome and the resolution of the substantive issues raised by your offending. Your plea also allows for the preservation of court and police resources to deal with other matters, and your plea vindicates a public confidence in the legal system set up to protect the community.
29Your plea is also a clear acknowledgement by you that you accept the responsibility for your criminal behaviour on this occasion. Your plea also recognised you are willing to facilitate the course of justice in the community, and I accept that your plea to these charges indicates and demonstrates remorse on your part.
30In the Court of Appeal in the case of Worboyes v The Queen, reported at [2021] VSCA 169, at paragraph 39 of that decision, recently made a statement about the relatives to the sentencing process of a plea of guilty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court says as follows:
'For these reasons, we consider that all other things being equal, a plea of guilty entered during the currency of the COVID-19 pandemic is worthy of greater weight in mitigation than a similar plea and entered at a time when the community and the courts are not afflicted by the pandemic's effects. A plea of guilty during the pandemic, ordinarily should attract a more pronounced amelioration of sentence than at another time. Although a sentencing judge need not quantify the extent of any discount. He or she must ensure that the plea of guilty results in a perceptible amelioration of sentence. This is known as the Worboyes discount in sentencing law.
31Your offending is serious. The indicators of the level of seriousness are as follows:
(1) you have sought out a market for the sale of the methylamphetamine, and I rely on the text messages for that statement;
(2) you had in your possession, the drug of methylamphetamine in a trafficable quantity at the time of your arrest;
(3) you have offended in the company of Mr Grima indicating that there was planning between you;
(4) you were intercepted in your home town after travelling from Portarlington. That is a matter I raised during the course of your plea. You have taken the poison to your home country; and
(5) you had $200 on you which you admit was the proceeds of crime.
32I assess your level of offending taking into account the control and the relationship you had with Mr Grima at the lower end of the range for each of these offences. In particular Charge 2, involves a very small amount of drugs and Charge 7 is $200 which in today's language is not a large sum of money.
33The principle of parity of sentencing is a particular relevance in your sentencing process. Mr Grima was sentenced in the Shepparton Magistrates' Court for possession of a greater amount of methylamphetamine, than your charge of trafficking. He pleaded to possession of 1-4 Butanediol, weapons and ammunition, and $535 for proceeds of crime charge. Mr Grima’s sentence was 98 days' imprisonment (that is time served), and a CCO for a period of 18 months, with unpaid work of 80 hours and drug treatment conditions. Mr Grima had an extensive and relevant criminal history. You have no prior convictions.
34You are young and have shown a proven record of rehabilitation. In the almost two year delay between your arrest and now, you have embarked on a concerted and successful path of rehabilitation. The CISP report dated 5 March 2021 which was Exhibit 5, is positive in terms of your participation and achievement in respect of drug rehabilitation. I accept your rehabilitation in respect of your work, your drug free status, your settled family and relationship status, and your mental health treatment, has advanced considerably over the past two years.
35I find your prospects of rehabilitation are very good. It would be a retrograde decision to place you back into custody. The appropriate sentence in your case is a Community Corrections Order with both punishment and rehabilitative conditions to continue and reinforce the progress that you have made to date.
36There is only one thing I need to know from you at the moment, what's the name of your client's general practitioner?
37MR ANTOS: I can obtain those instructions.
38HIS HONOUR: Certainly.
39MR ANTOS: Thank you Your Honour, a Dr Hanny.
40HIS HONOUR: H-a - - -
41MR ANDERSON: - - - a-n-n-y, I believe.
42HIS HONOUR: Yes.
43MR ANDERSON: At the Seymour Medical Clinic.
44HIS HONOUR: Thank you. Would you stand please.
45On Charges 1 and 2 on the indictment, you are convicted and sentenced to serve a two year Community Corrections Order with the following conditions.
(1) that you be supervised;
(2) that you do unpaid community work of 100 hours;
(3) that you undergo assessment and mental health treatment, under the supervision of Mr Ross Johnson, your psychologist and your general practitioner, Dr Hanny at the Seymour Medical Centre;
(4) that you continue with your drug rehabilitation in the same way that you have currently had it; and
(5) that there is a judicial monitoring that is you are to be judicially monitored by me on 21 October 2022 at 9.30 am.
46Can I say to you that you can attend that judicial monitoring by attending at the CCS office at Seymour at 9.30 with your corrections officer and we will do it by video, rather than you have to travel down here.
47OFFENDER: Yep, thank you.
48HIS HONOUR: Yes. In relation to Summary Charge 7, which is the proceeds of crime charge, you are convicted and fined the sum of $500. I made a notation on the court record that you have served 25 days' pre-sentence detention, I just do not want it to get lost in the unlikely event you breach this CCO.
49OFFENDER: No, never.
50
HIS HONOUR: All right. Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act, but for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to two years imprisonment, with a
one year non-parole period. I'll sign the disposal and forfeiture orders that were sought. I have not yet got them.
51ASSOCIATE: No, I haven't.
52HIS HONOUR: No. Mr Prosecutor, can you just somehow activate them.
53MR VRECH: Certainly.
54HIS HONOUR: That order will be printed out in a moment Ms Lambert. First of all you have to consent to the order being made, secondly, you read it, Mr Antos will take you through it.
55MR ANTOS: I'll read it, Your Honour.
56HIS HONOUR: And then if you're prepared to undergo it, you'll sign it and you're stuck with me for the next two years.
57OFFENDER: That's perfectly fine.
58HIS HONOUR: Just check the conditions carefully Mr Antos before - - -
59MR ANTOS: I will. If I can approach, Your Honour?
60HIS HONOUR: Yes, certainly. Thank you, Robyn.
61MR ANTOS: If I can approach Your Honour's tipstaff?
62HIS HONOUR: Yes, thank you. Ms Lambert, you can step out of there.
63OFFENDER: Thank you.
64HIS HONOUR: Thank you officer.
65MR VRECH: My apologies Your Honour, doesn't appear that a draft order's been prepared.
66HIS HONOUR: I see.
67MR VRECH: I don't have them on file.
68HIS HONOUR: So, in that case, what I'll do is if I can ask you to - whoever, you to activate those orders because they were sought and I'm prepared to make them.
69MR VRECH: Yes.
70HIS HONOUR: Can you send them through to my chambers and I'll sign them. I'll send you a copy Mr - I'll get a copy sent to you.
71MR ANTOS: I thereby consent to it, there's no issue.
72HIS HONOUR: Yes. Thank you.
73MR VRECH: Certainly, Your Honour, thank you.
74HIS HONOUR: Yes. Ms Lambert, you're going to get a copy of this order yourself and as will your counsel and the prosecutor, but I tell everyone I give a community corrections order to you stick that up inside the cupboard door of your wardrobe, so that everyday you get up and get dressed you've got a reminder of what your responsibility is.
75OFFENDER: Yes.
76HIS HONOUR: Because I've got to warn you, you come back here on a breach of this, and I'll deal with you.
77OFFENDER: You won't ever see me again.
78HIS HONOUR: Many people say that, and come back.
79OFFENDER: Well, I'll prove it.
80HIS HONOUR: All right. But good luck, you look after that little girl.
81OFFENDER: Thank you, Your Honour, very much.
82HIS HONOUR: That's your main go, and perhaps that bloke over there.
83OFFENDER: Yes.
84VOICE (From body of court): Thanks, Your Honour.
85HIS HONOUR: All right. I think that finalises everything doesn't it? Is there anything else?
86MR ANTOS: I believe it does, Your Honour.
87OFFENDER: Thank you for giving me the chance.
88HIS HONOUR: Yes. Counsel thank you very much for your assistance. Thank you, thank you officers.
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