Director of Public Prosecutions v Magro

[2025] VCC 1661

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CIRMINAL JURISIDICTION

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

CR 25-00511

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SAM MAGRO

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MURPHY
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	20 October 2025 and 13 November 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	14 November 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Magro
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 1661

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:  Criminal Sentence

Catchwords:  Commercial quantity; drug of dependence; 1,4 Butanediol; proceeds of crime; imprisonment; sawn of shotgun; firearms.

Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:

Sentence:  Total effective sentence of four years and five months

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr Sheedy
For the Accused	Dr Gumbleton	Mr S. Andrianakis

HIS HONOUR:

1Sam Magro, you have pleaded guilty to charges of unauthorised possession of a trafficable quantity of firearms, trafficking in a drug of dependence commercial quantity namely 1,4 Butanediol, a rolled up count of trafficking in a drug of dependence namely cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, testosterone, and trembolen . You have also pleaded guilty to a rolled up charge of possession of a number of drugs of dependence including cannabis and a number of other derivatives of testosterone.

2You have pleaded guilty to uplifted summary charges of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime, namely $8,000 cash, possessing a prohibited weapon without exemption namely a sword, and possessing cartridge ammunition without a licence.

3The relevant penalties are set out in the prosecution opening which I incorporate by reference.

4The circumstances of the offences are set out in the prosecution opening which was read in open Court on the plea and which I incorporate by reference.

5In brief outline on 14 May 2024 police executed a search warrant at your home in Vautier Avenue, Mickleham where you were living there with your wife and three children. Upon entry into the house you, your wife and two of the children were present.

6A search was conducted and three firearms and $8,000 were located as well as commercial quantities of 1,4 Butanediol and a number of other drugs. In the garage there was a storage box containing large amounts of testosterone vials as well as numerous other drugs, many packaged in Ziploc bags. In addition to that there was a box containing twenty-four 500 milligram black bottles of
1,4 Butanediol. It was addressed to 'Mark' at your address. There was also a small quantity of cannabis buds.

7In addition, there were large amounts of paraphernalia for drug trafficking including syringes, needles, and testosterone labels. There was also a list of names with different amounts of money and drug names listed in what appeared to be records of transactions. There were also instructions for the making of pharmaceutical drugs.

8After your arrest you were taken to the police station where you made a no comment record of interview. At the time you did not have a firearms licence.

9The two firearms that were located were two homemade shotguns and the third firearm was a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun. They were all located in a cupboard in the garage along with the shotgun and other ammunition.

10Other drugs and paraphernalia including cocaine were found in the house in various containers including in the kitchen, and in a number of glass vials and Ziploc bags containing pills were also located in your vehicle.

11The police seized the various items and following identification of the various drugs and the quantification of them, this led ultimately to the three drug trafficking charges, the second two of which were rolled up charges, the most serious charge being trafficking in a drug of dependence in a commercial quantity namely 1,4 Butanediol where 15.9 litres of that drug were found (8 times the commercial quantity). It was found in a box where the containers had not been opened.

12You have pleaded guilty to the various charges on the basis of being a single date of being in possession of the relevant drugs for sale.

13You were arrested and charged on the date of the offending and on 15 June 2024 made a successful bail application.

14The matter was then listed for a committal mention to occur on 26 March 2025. Prior to that date your solicitors made an offer to resolve the matter and after further discussions the matter resolved with the prosecution, and you were committed to this Court.

15The matter was listed for plea on 13 June 2025 and you were arraigned on that date and the matter was then adjourned for a plea on 20 October 2025.  On that day the plea commenced and you were remanded in custody and the plea resumed yesterday, 13 November.

Offence seriousness and moral culpability

16Your counsel did not dispute that this was serious offending. The police found at your home and in the garage literally a cornucopia of illegal drugs. The 1,4 Butanediol was eight times the commercial quantity, the other drugs the subject of the rolled up trafficking charge of cocaine were multiple times the trafficable quantity being 77 times in the case of cocaine, 15 times in relation to MDMA, nine times ketamine, and the steroid substances three times.

17While you were abusing drugs at the time the amounts that you have pleaded guilty to were well above the amounts for personal use.

18You were supplying amounts to acquaintances apparently as well as using yourself. The extent to which you were in the business of supplying drugs did not emerge on the plea. Rather the plea was on the basis that you had the various drugs in your possession for sale on a single day. You are to be sentenced on that basis.

19In relation to the $8,000 cash found you did not seek to adduce evidence that it had been lawfully obtained although you were in business in trucking and construction at that time. No real explanation was provided for the possession of the ammunition.

20The sword to which you have pleaded guilty had been in your possession for many years and in fact had been seized by the police 20 years earlier.

21You told the police that the two homemade firearms were not yours, but you were looking after them for someone else.

22Your counsel emphasised that the firearms were not to be seen as used for any criminal purpose. You claimed that the 1,4 Butanediol had just been delivered to your property. It had not been opened.

23Before turning to consider the seriousness of the offences and your moral culpability, I need to consider your prior convictions.

24You were born in June 1982. Your first appearance was before the Magistrates Court on 24 January 2000 where you were fined $350 without conviction for possessing a dangerous article. You would have been under 18 at that point.

25On 7 May 2004 on charges of cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis you were sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment.  On the charge of possessing a drug of dependence you were sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, and on a charge of theft two months' imprisonment, and on the charge of possessing an unregistered handgun, apparently a pen pistol, two weeks' imprisonment and possessing ammunition one week. The total effective sentence was 19 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine months, and the sentencing reasons were before me.

26You were before the Magistrates Court on 28 November 2012 for stalking where you were fined $500. In 2013 you were before the Magistrates Court on charges of driving whilst suspended and using a mobile phone and you were fined $700.

27The learned prosecutor submitted that your prior conviction for cultivation of a commercial quality of cannabis enhanced your moral culpability for this offending. You had been sentenced to imprisonment for a prior offence of cultivating cannabis, and 20 years later you were involved in trafficking illegal drugs. You must have been aware that what you were doing was wrong given your prior imprisonment, even though it was at a young age.

28Your prior conviction is relevant in that it is clear that this offending cannot be seen as being one-off or out of character.

29On the other hand, there has been a period of 20 years since that prior offending and thus while it does enhance your moral culpability, in my assessment it has only limited salience in terms of your risk of reoffending. That is relevant to the operation of the serious offender provisions.

30Your prior conviction for cultivating a narcotic plant in a commercial quantity makes you a serious drug offender and has the effect that your conviction for trafficking of a commercial quantity means that under s6B of the Sentencing Act 1991 the protection of the community is to be the principal sentencing consideration. Further there is a presumption of cumulation in relation to the sentence for that offence.

31In considering the significance of this prior conviction, it is relevant that you were aged around 21 when the offending occurred, and the serious offender provisions do not apply to persons under the age of 21. You were with an older offender who was aged 34. The sentencing judge stated that the major factor in your favour was your youth and your prospects of rehabilitation. That explained the sentence disparity between you and the co-offender.

Personal circumstances

32I turn to your personal circumstances. They are set out in your plea submission and also in the report of Dr Stelios, neuropsychologist.

33You are aged 43. You have an older brother. Your childhood was marred by the fact that your father was an alcoholic and had periods of unemployment. He was prone to violent outbursts.

34You left school during Year 11. You were the subject of sexual abuse while at primary school.

35After you had left school you had difficulty establishing yourself in the labour market as an apprenticeship that you thought you were undertaking, had not in fact been properly registered. You then worked in a number of occupations and according to the sentencing remarks in 2024, you were feeling despondent about your future at that time.

36Following your period of imprisonment it is clear that you were able to get into the workforce and establish a business in demolition and contracting. You at one stage had a couple of employees and owned trucks. You encountered financial difficulties after you were on remand in 2004. You returned to the business at that point but had to downsize your operations.

37You were introduced to cannabis at the age of 15 and you have been using since that time. You were also using methylamphetamine and developed an addiction for some 15 years until you were aged approximately 30, and your use has reduced in the past years. You did engage in counselling apparently in 2022.

38A significant protective factor highlighted on the plea is your relationship with Ms Dickson. You have three children with her.

39Significantly the second child Lily has a rare genetic defect known as DiGorge syndrome.  As a result, she has required multiple serious surgeries and has to be supported by a full-time aide in kindergarten. She suffers significant anxiety and has difficulty self-regulating emotionally. You have a very close bond with your daughter and according to your partner in her reference to the Court, you are essential to managing her anxiety and emotional challenges.

40A central thrust of the plea was that the impact on you of your separation from her should place materially downward pressure on the head sentence and the non‑parole period.

41The learned prosecutor conceded that the onerous condition of prison in those circumstances called for a degree of downward pressure.

Prospects of rehabilitation

42The serious offender provisions of the Sentencing Act require that protection of the community be the principal sentencing consideration. This is always a consideration in sentencing, but the serious offender provisions require an explicit undertaking of a risk assessment.

43Here, I regard your risk of reoffending as relatively low for a number of reasons. First, your age. You are now aged 43 and you are a mature individual.  It is not insignificant that after you were dealt with in 2004 for cultivating a commercial quantity, you led a relatively blameless life for some 20 years after that offending.

44You have been in employment and in business and thus you are fully aware of the upside of a productive crime free life.

45Next, you have the factors of your partner of 14 years Ms Dickson, and the three children including the one who has the special needs and who you have a very significant mutual bond with, if not co-dependency by her on you.

46The period since your arrest and release on bail is also a matter to be taken into account. You were placed on onerous bail conditions and during that period you undertook an 18-week course with a drug and alcohol counsellor. The counsellor reports that you used that opportunity to reflect on ultimately redirecting the trajectory of your life.

47It is now 18 months since the offending and you have nothing outstanding against you.  Thus, it can be said that you are on the path to rehabilitation.

Psychological report of Dr Stelios

48Your counsel relied heavily on a report from this well-known clinical neuropsychologist.

49I found his report of considerable assistance in analysing how you have got into the position that you are now in.

50He attributes this to unresolved and untreated childhood trauma and unaddressed drug addiction. Thus, at para 7.2 he said:

{You] presents with a complex psychological and neurocognitive profile shaped by multiple intersecting developmental, social, and familial factors. His early life was marked by a superficially stable but emotionally precarious home environment, with chronic parental unemployment, alcohol misuse, and periodic violent outbursts that, although not directly targeted at him, created a climate of instability and heightened vigilance. Within this context, [you] experienced repeated sexual abuse during [your] primary school years, which [you] described as profoundly traumatic ….  [He says] This early trauma appears to have disrupted normal emotional and interpersonal development, leaving him vulnerable to difficulties with emotional regulation, self-concept, and attachment.

51He then goes on to refer to your long-term relationship with the three children and he says:

… these protective elements have been offset by severe and chronic familial stressors. [He refers to the diagnosis of DiGeorge syndrome] and has introduced intense caregiving demands, ongoing medical crises, and significant emotional and financial strain. Mr Magro's self-reported guilt and self-blame about his daughter's condition, combined with feelings of inadequacy in fulfilling his provider and parental roles, have contributed to depressive episodes and have acted as powerful triggers for episodic relapse into methamphetamine use.

52Then he goes on at 7.3:

Overall, Mr Magro's developmental history, trauma exposure, substance use trajectory, and cognitive weaknesses form a coherent picture of an individual whose maladaptive behaviours are best understood in the context of cumulative adversity rather than isolated criminality. [Your] long-term relationship, caregiving role, and prior work history highlight important strengths and protective factors that can be leveraged in ongoing rehabilitation. However, without sustained trauma-informed psychological intervention, ongoing addiction treatment, and family support services, he remains at elevated risk of relapse under stress.

53This is an important conclusion relied on by your counsel and is relevant to the sentence to be imposed.

54He then goes on in para 7.4 to refer to the gains that you have achieved since your period on remand and the need to maintain 'a stable home environment'.  But then he said:

… long-term incarceration presents a significant risk to this fragile recovery. Extended imprisonment would disrupt the stability and structure [you have] built, curtail [your] ability to participate in ongoing treatment or community-based relapse prevention programs, and deprive [your] children of their primary source of financial and emotional support.

55He therefore concludes:

In clinical terms, long-term incarceration would therefore erode key protective factors that underpin [your] current stability, and increase [your] vulnerability to relapse upon release, and compound the intergenerational effects of trauma and disadvantage …

56Then he concludes at para 7.6, I incorporate the whole of that paragraph but he notes you have:

… expressed motivation for change, insight into [your] difficulties, and [your]ongoing role as a caregiver for a medically complex child all point to enduring strengths that can be leveraged in a rehabilitation plan. [He concludes} In combination, these protective factors increase the likelihood of sustained abstinence and psychosocial stability when appropriate treatment, supervision, and support services are in place.

57So the report of Dr Stalios supports my conclusion that you have reasonable prospects of rehabilitation but you require significant psychological and other support.

58His report also supports a submission of your counsel that imprisonment will have a significant impact on your mental health, and that is a matter that I need to take into account in your favour.

59The report also supports the submission by your counsel that a significantly longer period of parole eligibility would be the most appropriate way to address your rehabilitation and, in the long-term, protect the community. In formulating a sentence, I have acceded to this submission.

References

60Before the court were supportive references from a scaffolding company that you have worked for since April 2023, and a principal of that company was present in court to support you on the plea.  That company would be prepared to offer you full time employment. You have expressed remorse to the principal of the company and he and another friend were in Court to support you.

61There was also a reference from another company that you had been contracting for since November 2022.

62A reference from your sister-in-law indicates your emphasis on strong family values and commitment to members of your family and you are a person who can be relied on. She particularly refers to your relationship with your daughter.

63And as I have indicated your partner Ms Dickson has provided a powerful and moving reference.  She refers to the impact of the genetic condition on your daughter. She also refers to the extreme impact on the family of your daughter's condition and the support that you have been providing to your young daughter in relation to her emotional regulation and ill mental health. Since your remand her condition has deteriorated and your prolonged absence from her life will be detrimental to her development and mental health.

64I have sought to take into account the matters that are raised in her reference, in sentencing you.

Sentencing issues and Comparable cases

65On the plea the learned prosecutor brought the attention of the Court to a number of cases that had dealt with commercial quantities of 1,4 Butanediol. Your counsel referred to a number of cases and submitted that an appropriate sentence on that account should be in the range of three to four years.

66The learned prosecutor did not dissent from that submission.

67I must have regard to those cases as evidencing current sentencing practises. In sentencing for this type of offending, because the offending in terms of quantity is often relatively similar, comparable sentences in my view ought be given considerable weight as a matter of comparative justice.

68The requirement that there be a cumulation between counts in relation to sentencing of a serious drug offender creates tension with the requirements of totality.

69The learned prosecutor submitted that there ought to be substantial accumulation between the counts. Your counsel submitted that there should be little accumulation.

70In considering the issue of accumulation the offending here in relation to the three drug counts, is part of a single transaction, namely being in possession of various drugs for the purpose of sale and in possession of the drugs.

71Notwithstanding the serious drug offender requirement, considerations of totality and the principle of a single transaction in sentencing for multiple offences remain relevant. Further, the antiquity of your relevant prior conviction means that it carries less salience in terms of your risk of reoffending and protection of the community.

72The offending, captured by the various counts here is both similar and different. The trafficking of firearms is clearly of a different in nature. The charge of trafficking or possession of a traffickable quantity is clearly different in nature, and certainly so is the charge of possession of property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.

73As the charges all relate to a single day, I do regard the drug trafficking and possession charges as a course of conduct and this calls for substantial concurrency between the sentences in order to avoid a disproportionate sentence.

Other matters in mitigation

74Your counsel relied on a number of other matters in mitigation. He referred to your early plea. I accept that the plea was entered into by way of an offer to the prosecution which was later accepted at the time of the proposed committal. It was thus an early plea and you get full credit for facilitating the course of justice, and accepting responsibility for your conduct, and I also accept that it is evidence of remorse. There is also evidence of remorse in the references.

75You have been on strict bail conditions since being released following the period of remand and that is also relevant.

76A key matter is the impact of a sentence of imprisonment on you. You are aged 43, and your relation with your daughter and your role as a carer for her.  It was put that a sentence of imprisonment would have a major impact on you due to that separation.

77Whilst it was not put that family circumstances impact reached the exceptional level, I am satisfied that the impact of a sentence of imprisonment on you and indeed on your partner and on Lily, are matters that I do take into account in your favour. Your counsel effectively sought a merciful sentence.

Purposes of sentencing 

78The basic purposes for which a court may impose a sentence are punishment, deterrence, both specific and general, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community.  In sentencing I must have regard to a range of factors, such as the seriousness of the offences, your culpability for them, your personal circumstances and those of the victims, if any.  I am required to balance the interests of the community in denouncing criminal conduct, with the interests of the community in seeking to ensure that as far as possible offenders are rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

79Drugs are a blight on our society. Those involved in any part of the drug distribution network can expect serious sentences. Your conduct must be condemned. General deterrence is important because of the ability to make money out of illegal drugs. The fact that you were using drugs has only limited relevance but it is clear that you do require treatment for your drug addiction.

80The support of your partner and the counselling that you have undertaken since your arrest shows that you are on the road to rehabilitation.

81Having considered all the submissions of your counsel and the responding submissions by the learned prosecutor, I sentence you as follows.  Can you please stand.

82On the charge of unauthorised possession of a traffickable quantity of firearms, you are sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

83On Charge 2, trafficking a drug of dependence commercial quantity, you are sentenced to three years' imprisonment. That is the base sentence and you are sentenced as a serious drug offender.

84On Charge 3, trafficking a drug of dependence, you are sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment.

85On Charge 4, possession of a drug of dependence, you are sentenced to one year imprisonment.  I note that the maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment, and it is a rolled up charge, as is Charge 3.

86On the summary Charge 17, dealing property suspected of proceeds of crime, you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

87On Charge 19, possession of prohibited weapon without exemption, you are sentenced to seven days' imprisonment.

88On Charge 20, summary charge, possession of cartridge ammunition, you are convicted and fined $500.

89The cumulation orders on the base sentence are as follows: three months of the sentence on Charge 1 is cumulated on the sentence on Charge 2, one year of the sentence on Charge 3 is cumulated on the sentence on Charge 2 and on the Charge 1 cumulation, and two months of the sentence on Charge 17 is cumulated on the other two sentences, making a total effective sentence of four years and five months.  The other sentences are concurrent.

90I order that you serve a non-parole period of two years and three months before being eligible for parole.

91I declare that you have served 48 days pre-sentence detention. 

92HIS HONOUR:  I declare that had you not pleaded guilty, I would have imposed a head sentence of six years and three months with a non-parole period of four years.

93The prosecution are seeking ancillary orders.  A forfeiture and destruction, and I will make those orders.  Disposal order and forfeiture order for the firearm and the ammunition and a disposal order for the Schedule - the big list of the items that were found at the property and in the vehicle.  And a forfeiture order for the $8,000.  I will hand a copy of the sentencing schedule to the parties now.

94HIS HONOUR:  Mr Sheedy, are there any other matters I need to address?

95MR SHEEDY:  No, Your Honour.  Nothing else arises.

96HIS HONOUR:  Right.  I want to thank counsel on the plea and thank counsel who appeared here today.

97MR ANDRIANAKIS:  As Your Honour pleases.

98HIS HONOUR:  I wish Mr Magro all the best particularly with this child that he has got.

99Adjourn the court sine die.