Director of Public Prosecutions v Lykourinos

[2019] VCC 609

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 18-00406

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MARIA LYKOURINOS

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE CAHILL
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	30 April 2019
DATE OF SENTENCE:	2 May 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Lykourinos
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 609

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

---

Subject: common law assault and theft

Catchwords: guilty plea – low-end offending – four-year delay in prosecution – satisfactory compliance with other punitive and therapeutic community corrections orders since 26 April 2018

Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:

Sentence: Community Correction Order for 12 months with supervision

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms S. Gleisner	Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms T. Sawyer	Valos Black & Associates

HIS HONOUR:

1Maria Lykourinos, you have pleaded guilty to one count of theft and one count of common law assault. 

2The circumstances of your offending are set out in the prosecution opening for plea which was Exhibit A.

3In summary, during the day on 8 May 2015, you were visiting a friend, Camila Chakar, at an Alphington apartment which the Women's Domestic Violence Service had arranged for her the previous date.  You had a friend, John Schmetzer, with you.

4Around 6 pm, you argued with Chakar about $170 you had given her earlier.  You got angry and you pushed her with both hands backwards onto a couch.  When she pushed you back, Schmetzer moved towards her to restrain her.  That conduct constitutes part of the charge of common assault against you.

5You swore at her and you told Schmetzer to grab the laptop.  Schmetzer picked up the MacBook from the coffee table and you picked up her iPad and a handbag which contained her mobile phone and car keys. Your taking of the iPad and the handbag constitutes Charge 1, theft against you.

6After Chakar had struggled with you to get her handbag back, Schmetzer held her to restrain her.  Schmetzer gave the MacBook to you and the two of you left the apartment.  Chakar followed you to the car park, she yelled she had been robbed and asked for someone to call police.

7When you got to the front passenger seat of Schmetzer's car with Chakar's handbag and MacBook, Chakar opened the front passenger door and demanded her things back.  When she did this, you kicked her away twice to her upper body.  That conduct also forms part of the charge of common assault.

8You told Schmetzer to drive off but he could not find his car keys.  He got out of the car and went back to Chakar's apartment to look for the keys.  She followed him.  When you got out of the car, Chakar tried to stop you from leaving.

9It would appear the apartment complex manager heard Chakar's screams.  He separated Chakar and you and told you to move on.  You told Schmetzer to find the car keys and get out of there.

10You then left on foot.  Chakar returned to her apartment.  She found the car keys, locked the car remotely, called 000 and remained in her apartment until police arrived.  Her stolen items were in the locked car.

11Schmetzer left and, when he returned later that evening, police who were present, arrested him. 

12At the interview, Schmetzer gave a false account of his knowledge of both Chakar and you and of the day's events.  I accept the reason he lied was substantially to protect you from detection and apprehension.

13Police arrested you on 12 September 2015.  You denied the allegations made against you.

14Eighteen months later police charged Schmetzer and you with armed robbery.

15A committal hearing was held on 23 February 2018 and the armed robbery trial was listed in this court on 19 November 2018.  On that date, the prosecution discontinued the armed robbery proceeding and you, with Schmetzer, pleaded guilty to the current charges.

16There has been a delay of nearly five years between the time of your offending and your plea hearing.  About 11 months of that delay appears to be attributable to your failure to appear at all at the Magistrates' Court on 27 January 2017 for a committal case conference and your failure to appear on time on 9 August 2017 when the committal hearing was first listed.

17Mr Sawyer, who appeared on your behalf, made written and oral submissions.  His written submissions are Exhibit L1.

18In support of those submissions, he relied on a number of supporting documents.  Exhibit L2 comprises reports, dated 16 May 2018 and 26 April 2019, of Francois Joubart who is your treating psychologist.  Exhibit L3 comprises reports, dated 19 March 2018 and 29 April 2019, of Dr Ignacio Komitso who was your treating general practitioner.

19Exhibit L4 is a letter, dated 15 March 2018, of Sharon Bourke, your drug councillor, in 2018.  Exhibit L5 comprises prison drug screen results, for the period from 7 to 19 February 2018, which relate to a period your spent in gaol between November 2017 and February 2018.

20Exhibit L6 is a letter, dated 28 April 2019, of a Phillips coordinator of Small Business Advisory Services and Exhibit L7 is a certificate of registration of business name dated 2 July 2018.  Exhibits L6 and L7 related to you taking steps with your partner to establish a small business.

21Exhibit L8 is a letter, dated 26 April 2019, of your partner who has been in a de facto relationship with you for some five years.

22Exhibit L9 comprises prison program certificates which related to courses that you undertook during your time in gaol at the end of 2017 and Exhibit L10 is a community corrections progress report dated 12 April 2019 which related to your progress on a number of community corrections orders, which had been in force since 26 April 2018, and which run until 25 July 2019.  That community corrections progress report stated, notwithstanding your subsequent offending, you have made a positive response to the community corrections orders made.

23You are the subject of three community corrections orders and have been under the supervision of the Community Corrections Office since 26 April 2018.  You have complied with conditions of community work and drug treatment and rehabilitation which, in combination, have been quite onerous.  You also have the solid support of your partner who provided an impressive reference.

24Suffice it to say, the delay in the prosecution of these charges has been a punishment for you and, given your existing and continuing community corrections obligations, I see no utility in adding to them with a further community correction order with community work and rehabilitation conditions.

25Ms Sheridan-Smith, who appeared for the prosecution submitted your offending, whilst a low-end example of the type, was nonetheless of a nature sufficiently serious to warrant the deterrent and denunciative aspects of a community correction order.  I accept that submission.

26She, helpfully and, properly, in my view, submitted, given your positive response to the three community corrections orders to which you are currently subject, all objectives of sentencing would be met by a further community correction order which would require you to be under supervision.

27Ms Lykourinos, stand please.

28You are convicted of the charges of theft and common law assault and released on a community correction order for 12 months.

29The only special condition of the order will be that you be subject to supervision.

30You are required to report to the Moorabbin Community corrections Service at 1140 Nepean Highway, Highett, within two working days of today's date.

31A section 6AAA declaration is not required.

‑ ‑ ‑