Director of Public Prosecutions v Majok
[2023] VCC 153
•14 February 2023
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
CR-22-01366
CR-22-01461
CR-22-01369
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| MAJOK MAJOK and ELIJAH JANGROOR and SARA HAMIE |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE CAHILL |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 7 November 2022; 6 December 2022; 9 December 2022 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 14 February 2023 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Majok & Ors |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2023] VCC 153 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Home invasion (Majok and Jangroor) – Aggravated burglary (Hamie)
Catchwords: Guilty plea – high utilitarian value – below mid-range offending – young offenders - parity – totality
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic); Crimes Act 1958 (Vic); Bail Act 1977 (Vic).
Cases Cited:Postiglione v The Queen (1987) 145 ALR 408; Hogarth v The Queen (2012) 37 VR 658; Carter (a pseudonym) v The Queen (2018) 272 A Crim R 170; DPP v Madden [2018] VCC 1470; DPP v Salberg; DPP v Binder [2022] VCC 1597; Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169.
Sentence: Majok – 2 years and 3 months imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 1 year and 9 months
Jangroor – 18 months imprisonment and 12 months CCO
Hamie – 2 year CCO with 200 hours unpaid community work and conviction
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms C Paganis | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused Majok | Ms N. Giorgianni | Giorgianni & Liang Lawyers |
For the Accused Jangroor Mr D. Carolan Ajak & Associates
For the Accused Hamie Ms K. Volonnino Giorgianni & Liang Lawyers
HIS HONOUR:
1Majok Majok (‘Majok’) and Elijah Jangroor (‘Jangroor’), you have pleaded guilty to:
(a) one charge of home invasion (Charge 1);[1] and
(b) one charge of theft (Charge 3).[2]
[1] Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 77A.
[2] Ibid s 74(1).
2Sara Hamie (‘Hamie’), you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary (Charge 2).[3]
[3] Ibid s 77.
3You, Majok, have also pleaded guilty to
(a) one charge of assaulting an emergency worker (Charge 4);[4]
(b) one charge of causing injury intentionally (Charge 5);[5] and
(c) two charges of resisting an emergency worker duty (Charges 6 and 7).[6]
[4] Ibid s 31(1)(b).
[5] Ibid s 18.
[6] Ibid s 31(1)(b).
4You, Jangroor, have also pleaded guilty to the summary charge of failing to comply with a direction to assist (Summary Charge 4).[7]
[7] Ibid s 465AAA,
5You, Hamie, have also pleaded guilty to the summary charges of:
(a) committing an indictable offence, aggravated burglary, while on bail (Summary Charge 3);[8] and
(b) failing to comply with a direction to assist (Summary Charge 4).[9]
[8] Bail Act 1977 (Vic), s 30B.
[9] Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 61(3).
Circumstances of your offending
6The circumstances of your offending set out in the prosecution summary.[10]
[10] Exhibit A: Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 4 November 2022.
7They are agreed facts.
8Your movements to and from Hamie’s Donnybrook home, before and after you offended, were captured on CCTV cameras at her property.
9On 5 January 2022, at 12:35 AM, you, Jangroor, and a co-offender, Zac Muterampundu (‘Muterampundu’), arrived in a blue Commodore at Hamie’s home where you met Majok and the three of you went inside the house.
10Around 3:45 am, you, Majok and Jangroor, with Muterampundu, broke into a townhouse at Thomastown.
11One of you smashed a kitchen window to force entry. The sound of breaking glass woke the occupiers, Aaron White (‘White’) and Madison Sara (‘Sara’), who were sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. White got out of bed, walked to the top of the stairs and yelled out. Sara called 000.
12You, Jangroor and Muterampundu went inside the house first. One of you, wearing face covering and gloves, ran upstairs and demanded White sit down and then directed him into the bedroom where he sat on the bed next to his partner. This offender took Sara’s iPhone from her.
13The other of you, entered the bedroom, holding a knife in a sheath, and asked, “Where are the drugs?” When Sara said they had none, this offender asked, “Are you Pepi?”
14When White and Sara said you had the wrong address this offender, either you, Jangroor, or Muterampundu, apologised and said you were looking for someone else.
15You, Majok, had followed Jangroor and Muterampundu upstairs and entered the bedroom after the knife was produced and the phone taken.
16After a discussion whether or not to keep Sara’s phone, one of you, either Jangroor or Muterampundu, took it with you when you left (Charge 3 - Theft).
17Blood droplets on the kitchen and bedroom floors inside the house, suggest the offender who broke the window had cut himself on entry.
18The three of you returned to Hamie’s home. CCTV caught you walking into her property through the garage at 3:54 AM.
19At 4:07 AM, you, Jangroor, left in the blue Commodore. You, Majok, remained at Hamie’s home.
20In text messages and telephone calls, between 2:34 AM and 3:40 AM, you, Hamie, gave directions to Majok to go to a garage at a property at “152” where you believed a person you knew kept money and or drugs. You told Majok the person was not home and directed him to “jump the back fence and get into the garage and get everything … even if you have to break it”.[11]
[11]
21Before the break-in, you, Majok, sent Hamie messages you had been knocking but no one was answering.
22As it happened, you, Majok and Jangroor, with Muterampundu, broke into the wrong house.
23“Pepi,” the drug dealer, and the one you intended to steal from, was known to police. He lived at number 151.
24In the evening, on 5 January 2022, police executed a search warrant at his home where they found drugs of dependence. Police arrested Pepi. He was remanded in custody.
25By your guilty plea to home invasion, Majok and Jangroor, you admit you entered the house as trespassers, together with Muterampundu, with intent to steal, and one of you had a knife.
26By your guilty plea to aggravated burglary, Hamie, you admit you arranged for Majok, Jangroor and Muterampundu to break into the property, intending they steal from the occupier and you were reckless as to whether any person was present when they entered the property.
Arrest
27Hamie, while you were the organiser of the break in, you were not aware anyone would carry a weapon.
28Police arrested you, Majok and Hamie, at Hamie’s home in the afternoon of 5 January 2022.
29Police directed you, Majok, to sit on the ground and handcuffed you. When police were searching the premises you kicked Detective Senior Constable Victory to his thigh and leg (Charge 4 – Assaulting an emergency worker on duty).
30You, Majok, had a knife in a black sheath which was believed to have been carried by either Jangroor or Muterampundu during the home invasion.
31Police took you, Majok, to Melbourne West police station. While you were in the custody area, being logged into the attendance register, you punched Detective Senior Constable Halloran, who was standing near you, with your right fist to the left side of his face and grabbed him around the neck and kneed him to the stomach (Charge 5 – Causing injury intentionally).
32When Custody Officer Stevens intervened, you punched him to the head and threw him to the ground (Charge 6 – Resisting an emergency worker on duty). When Sergeant Easton tried to take you to the ground you punched him to the back of the neck and wrestled with him as you went to the ground (Charge 7 – Resisting an emergency worker on duty). Police subdued you with OC spray.
33You were not interviewed. You did provide a sample of your saliva for DNA profiling purposes.
34Hamie, when police questioned you, you exercised your right to remain silent. Police seized your mobile phone. You said it was registered in your name but refused to provide the pin code (Summary Charge – Fail to comply with a direction to assist).
35At the time, you were on bail for further other offences, including dangerous driving (Summary Charge – Commit an indictable offence on bail).
36Police arrested you, Jangroor, at your Truganina home on 13 April 2022.
37You were taken to Werribee police station.
38In a conversation with a police officer in the sallyport you said, “It wasn’t meant to be like that… No one was meant to go inside.” You said when you saw the occupants you realised they weren’t the people “… it was supposed to be.”
39When asked who organised it, you said, “Sara”, a reference to Hamie. You said you expected to be paid but you “hit the wrong house.” You said you regretted what you had done.
40During the recorded police interview, you exercised your right to remain silent. You denied the earlier conversation.
41Police seized your phone. You refused to provide the pin code to it (Summary Charge – Fail to comply with a direction to assist).
42The three of you were remanded in custody after you were charged.
43Originally, you were charged with more serious offences. After committal case conferences, the proceedings were resolved into the charges on the Indictment.
Victim impact
44I have read the victim impact statements of White and Sara.[12]
[12] Exhibit B: Victim Impact Statement of Aaron White dated 30 October 2022; Exhibit C: Victim Impact Statement of Maddison Sara dated 30 October 2022.
45As a result of your crimes, White stated that he has difficulty sleeping and suffers regular flashbacks to your offending. He has experienced worsening symptoms of anxiety and thoughts of suicide. He feels wary of his surroundings and is less social with strangers.
46Sara described having difficulty trusting strangers. She has previously been a victim of crime, and the home invasion brought back past feelings of “fear[,] … anger … and anxiety.”[13] As she wrote, her life has “forever changed as a result of someone else's reckless decisions and actions.”[14]
[13] Exhibit C: Victim Impact Statement of Maddison Sara dated 30 October 2022, p.4.
[14] Ibid.
47Following your crimes, White and Sara moved house as they no longer felt safe in their home. They incurred the costs of breaking their lease and moving to an apartment with higher rent. They remain fearful of another break-in.
Criminal record – Majok
48You, Majok, have admitted a criminal record of five Children’s Court appearances, between 19 April 2018 and 11 December 2019, and two Magistrate’s Court appearances, on 13 September 2021 and 18 October 2021.
49On 19 April 2018, you were placed on a youth supervision order for offences which included two counts of armed robbery.
50On 3 July 2018, you were placed on another youth supervision order for trafficking methylamphetamine.
51On 8 April 2019, you were sentenced to 33 months’ Youth Justice Centre (‘YJC’) detention for offending, including affray and assaulting an emergency worker on duty, which breached both youth supervision orders.
52On 4 October 2019, you were sentenced to a further period of 4 months’ YJC detention for robbery, assaulting a youth justice custodial worker and attempted escape from a YJC.
53On 11 December 2019, you were sentenced to 21 days’ YJC detention for assaulting an emergency worker on duty.
54On 13 September 2021, at Werribee Magistrate’s Court, you were sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment for trafficking heroin and other offences.
55It was only weeks after you served your prison term that you committed the current offences.
Criminal record – Jangroor
56You have admitted a criminal record of three Children’s Court appearances and one Magistrate’s Court appearance between 4 August 2017 and 22 November 2021.
57On 4 August 2017, you were placed on a youth supervision order for dishonesty and violence offending which included a charge of home invasion.
58On 22 November 2021, at Werribee Magistrate’s Court, you were sentenced to 226 days’ imprisonment with a 12-month Community Correction Order (‘CCO’) for offences which included aggravated burglary.
59You were subject to the CCO, which had commenced on 22 November, when you committed these offences.
Criminal record – Hamie
60You have also admitted a criminal record.
61Your only court appearance was on 22 September 2016 when you were released on an adjourned undertaking, without conviction, for possess and use methylamphetamine.
Personal circumstances – Majok
62You were born in January 2002. You were 19 years old when you offended. You recently turned 21.
63Your personal circumstances are contained in a Children’s Court Clinic report which a psychologist, Carla Lechner prepared on 30 August 2017.[15]
[15] Exhibit MM2: Psychological Report of Carla Lechner dated 30 August 2017.
64You are the second of six children.
65Your parents are from South Sudan. During the Civil War they fled to Egypt where you were born.
66When you were 17 months old, your family migrated to Australia as refugees.
67Initially, your family lived in Sydney where you attended primary school.
68In your early secondary years, your family moved to Melbourne. You did three years at Baden Powell Secondary College and, in Year 10, transferred to Tarneit Secondary College.
69You were 15 years old when Ms Lechner assessed you. She considered you to be of average intelligence.
70You completed psychometric testing which indicated some anxiety and depression but not to a clinical level.
71You told Ms Lechner that you had been smoking about one gram of marijuana a day and occasionally binge drinking on weekends prior to offending in 2017.[16]
[16] Ibid p.5.
72Overall, at interview, you were “largely non-communicative, especially in relation to [your] family background and [your then] offending behaviour.”[17]
[17] Ibid p.8.
73Your attitude is not changed.
74Your counsel, Mr Barker, told me you recently declined to see a psychologist your solicitors had engaged to provide a forensic assessment for your plea hearing.
75He also told me you would give him no instructions in relation to your offending.
76He did tell me you had some labouring work for a few months when were 19.
77He also told me you have experimented with drugs in the past but they did not play a role in this offending.
78You are living with your parents and will return home when you are released. You have not told them about those charges because you do not want them at court.
Defence Submissions - Majok
79In comprehensive written[18] and oral submissions, Mr Barker, contended while your offending was serious, the episode was relatively short, the victims were not physically harmed and, when you realised you had gone into the wrong property, you were immediately remorseful.
[18] MM1: Outline of Plea Submissions on Behalf of the Accused dated 5 November 2022.
80He also submitted your role, inside the house, was less than your co-offenders’.
81He acknowledged, because home invasion is a category two offence, I must impose a prison sentence.
82In mitigation of penalty he relied on:
(a) Your guilty plea, made at the earliest available opportunity, for its high utilitarian, and as evidence of your remorse.
(b) The additional Worboyes consideration
(c) The greater hardship of prison for all prisoners during the public health pandemic and the hardship for you as a young and impressionable person
(d) Your youth. You were only 19 when you offended.
83He acknowledged you have a relevant criminal history of violent offending, which includes assaults similar to the emergency worker charges before the court.
84He also acknowledged your prospects for rehabilitation must be guarded but nevertheless, as a young person, who has shown remorse, your sentence, whether served in prison or youth detention, should be moderated.
Personal circumstances – Jangroor
85You were born in February 2000. You were 21 when you offended and you have just turned 23.
86Your parents were also refugees who fled South Sudan. When you were two years old your family came to Australia.
87Your parents worked hard to give you a stable upbringing.
88You left school, after year 11, to pursue an automotive studies course at TAFE. You were halfway through the course when you were arrested, and remanded in custody, this in July 2021.
89In your late teenage years you started misusing Xanax and abusing alcohol.
90After three children’s Court appearances, you were sentenced, on 22 November 2021, in the Magistrate’s Court, to a 226 day prison term, which expired on that day, and a CCO. When you were released, you got work, in the south-western suburbs, at a cold storage facility and a beverage company.
91I was told you relapsed into abuse of substances including alcohol, cocaine and MDMA, and offended in this context.
92In prison you have completed the limited courses made available to you.
93Your family are supportive. Your father and brother were present for your plea hearing. When you are released from custody, you will return to your family home.
Defence submissions - Jangroor
94In mitigation of penalty, your counsel, Mr Carolan, relied on the following factors[19]:
(a) Your guilty plea, made at the earliest available opportunity, for its high utilitarian and as evidence of remorse.
(b) The additional Worboyes consideration
(c) The greater hardship of prison for all prisoners during the public health pandemic
(d) Your relative youth. You were 21 years old when you offended.
[19] Exhibit EJ1: Outline of Submissions on Plea dated 4 November 2022.
95He submitted your family support, and your ability to get work are protective factors for your rehabilitation.
96Overall, he characterised you as an active and willing perpetrator in a planned home invasion.
97While he accepted I must impose a present for that offence, he submitted the imposition of a therapeutic CCO on the remaining charges would give you the opportunity to progress your rehabilitation which, in his submission, is already underway.
Personal circumstances – Hamie
98You were born in December 1997. You were 24 years old when you offended. You are now 25.
99Your personal circumstances are set out in the psychological report of Warren Simmons.[20]
[20] Exhibit SH4: Psychological Report from Warren Simmons dated 7 June 2022.
100You grew up in Broadmeadows. Your mother worked in a bakery and, later, a takeaway store, and your father had his own business as a mechanic.
101You have two younger brothers who are aged 22 and 14.
102You had a good upbringing.
103Your family is nominally Muslim. They celebrate Eid, but do not observe other festivals or religious practices.
104You attended Camp Meadows Primary School, and then Pascoe Vale Girl’s Secondary College.
105Your closest relationship was with your maternal uncle. He arrived in Australia at the age of 10, and grew up with your family.
106When you were 12 years old, he was shot and killed a few streets away from your home.
107After his death, you stopped caring about school. You left after Year 10.
108When you were 16 years old, you met your first partner through a school friend. He was 20 years old. You were together for more than a year in a positive relationship.
109On your 18th birthday, you married a man who was six years older than you. He was a drug user who became violent when he could not obtain drugs. On one occasion, he fractured your rib but would not let you attend hospital for treatment. You ended the relationship, after two years, because of his violence.
110He introduced you to methamphetamine and you became addicted.
111You have been with your current partner for two and a half years. He is a painter. The two of you are living with his parents. With his help, you stopped using drugs at the end of 2021.
112He supported you at court.
113Following your arrest, you spent 34 days in custody until you were admitted to bail. You completed four introductory behavioural programs while you were in jail.[21]
[21] Exhibit SH6: Bundle of four Atlas Certificates.
114Since your release from prison you have undergone counselling and provided weekly urine samples for drug and alcohol screens. They indicate you are in remission.
115The counsellor provided three reports.[22]
[22] Exhibit SH1: Drug and Alcohol Court Letters from Nadia Barbagallow, Counsellor and Addiction Specialist dated 4 November 2022, 1 August 2022, 6 June 2022 and 2 February 2022.
116She described you as prompt, reliable and engaging in your sessions. She wrote, “… she appears future focused and sincere in her wish to remain abstinent”.
117In her opinion you have the potential to remain abstinent longer term with the continuation of treatment.
118You have yourself commenced a diploma in drug and alcohol counselling[23] with the plan to make a career for yourself in that field.
[23] Exhibit SH7: TrainSmart enrolment verification for the Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs dated 10 June 2022.
119You have previously done business, travel and security courses.
120You worked as a security officer at Melbourne airport for 18 months until you were stood down when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
121Currently, you work part-time, during the evenings, as a receptionist.
122Mr Simmons assessed you on 6 June 2022[24].
[24] Exhibit SH4: Psychological Report from Warren Simmons dated 7 June 2022.
123You told him the intended target owed you money and you gave the others directions to get your money back. You described your behaviour as stupid. You showed insight into the harm of your offending and said you feel “horrible and bad” for what occurred. You expressed remorse for your actions.
124Mr Simmons did not identify any significant antisocial personality traits in you. He considers this, with your limited history of prior offending and your stable relationship, to be protective factors for your rehabilitation.
125Your neighbour,[25] who has known you for five years, wrote prison changed you and she’s delighted to have watched you since turn your life around. She is a single parent and you regularly help her out.
[25] Exhibit SH2: Reference letter from Melanie Errico (neighbour and friend) dated 3 November 2022.
126A friend, who was a lawyer, also considers you have learned from your mistakes. He wrote you are remorseful for your actions and want to improve in every aspect of your life.[26]
[26] Exhibit SH3: Character reference from Mr Aroshi Panduwawalla.
127On 26 September 2022 you were sentenced to a 12-month CCO for dangerous driving and drug possession.
128You have been compliant with the CCO. You have attended for supervision as required. You have commenced at-home community work and you have been referred to ACSO for assessment for drug and alcohol treatment[27].
[27] Exhibit SH5: Email from Emma Webster (CCO Case Officer) dated 4 November 2022.
Defence Submissions – Hamie
129Mr Thomson, who appeared on your behalf, submitted I should release you on a composite sentence of a prison term, equivalent to your presentence detention, and a CCO.
130He acknowledged you were the instigator of the plan to break into “Pepi’s” garage to get drugs and/or money to settle a debt he owed you. Importantly, in his submissions, your plan did not involve the use of a weapon or any physical harm.
131In mitigation of penalty he relied on:
(a) your very limited criminal record;
(b) your early guilty plea for its high utilitarian value;
(c) the additional Worboyes consideration;
(d) your remorse.
132He submitted, considering the support of your prosocial family and partner, the absence of any anti-social personality traits, and the steps you have taken to address your drug addiction, your prospects of rehabilitation are good.
Prosecution submissions
133Ms Paganis, who appeared for the prosecution, submitted, considering:
(a) the home invasion occurred in the early hours of the morning when the occupants were asleep and vulnerable;
(b) it was organised, although unsophisticated, and premeditated;
(c) one of you produced a weapon although it was not used; and
(d) the victims’ suffering is significant and long-standing;
the crimes of home invasion, and aggravated burglary, are a low to mid-range example of the type.
134She submitted, in the circumstances, the moral culpability of each of you is high.
135In her submission, relevantly, you, Majok, have a criminal history of serious violent offending. You, Jangroor, also have a history of violent offending and were subject to a CCO and you, Hamie, were on bail for other offences.
136She emphasised the importance of general deterrence, to protect the privacy and security of people’s homes.
137She submitted, as you stole a single phone, the theft is a low range example of that crime.
138She accepted you each are entitled to a significant sentencing discount your early guilty plea.
139She also acknowledged you are relatively young offenders and, therefore, rehabilitation is a primary consideration.
140She submitted rehabilitation prospects of each of you appear largely dependent upon your ability to abstain from the use of drugs and/or alcohol.
141She submitted, while, previously, you, Majok, were placed on Supervision Orders and you, Jangroor, were placed on a CCO, with opportunities for therapeutic treatment, you both continued to use drugs/alcohol and reoffend. She submitted, in the circumstances, I should be guarded about your prospects of rehabilitation.
142As to you, Majok, she submitted, your lesser role in the home invasion notwithstanding, considering your history of significant violent offending and your additional offending after your arrest, I should impose upon you a total effective sentence of imprisonment with a minimum term fixed.
143As to you, Jangroor, she submitted, as one of two major protagonists in the home invasion, a term of imprisonment for that offence must follow.
144She submitted a CCO for the remaining charges may be open.
145As to you, Hamie, she submitted, as the organiser of the Thomastown episode, although you have been “doing well” while on bail, a CCO simpliciter is not within proper sentencing range.
Consideration
146The maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment demonstrates the offences of home invasion, and aggravated burglary, are objectively very serious.
147As a category two offence, imprisonment is mandated for home invasion unless a statutory exception is established.
148Neither Mr Barker nor Mr Carolan urged upon me a basis to depart from the legislative norm.
149Theft and intentionally cause injury each carries a 10 year maximum term.
150Intentionally causing injury to an emergency worker on duty (Charge 5) is a category one offence and a term of imprisonment of not less than six months must be imposed.[28] Mr Barker did not argue a special reason existed to justify a non-custodial sentence of this crime.
[28] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), section 10AA(4).
151Assaulting or resisting an emergency worker carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
152In the dead of night you, Majok and Jangroor, with Muterampundu, broke into a townhouse, after breaking a window, intending to steal drugs and/or money from a person you believed to be a drug dealer.
153There was an element of preplanning. The three of you had met with Hamie at her home beforehand. And she was texting Majok with instructions after you left.
154You, Jangroor, with Muterampundu, were the first to confront the occupants. One of you wore a disguise; the other had a knife. The knife holder made a threatening demand for drugs with the weapon and the disguised offender took Sara’s phone.
155Mr White and Ms Sara were entitled to feel safe in their home.
156They were innocent victims of your bungled raid.
157No doubt they were terrified when you confronted and threatened them.
158You, Majok, followed the others into the bedroom after the knife was produced and the phone taken.
159When the three have you realised you had the wrong address you stopped and were no longer a threat. One of you apologised. And you all left.
160The victims of your crimes were not physically harmed.
161It was an episode of relatively short duration. You drove from Donnybrook to Thomastown, found the apartment, broke into it and confronted the occupants, and returned to Donnybrook within 10 minutes approximately.
162I assess the objective seriousness of your home invasion, and aggravated burglary, to be below mid-range.
163In Hogarth v the Queen,[29] the Court of Appeal said home invasion “is a particularly nasty form of criminal conduct”.
[29] (2012) 37 VR 658 at [1].
164Deterrence, both general and specific, and denunciation are important sentencing considerations.
165There are mitigating circumstances which must moderate the sentence, and the type of sentence, I impose.
166In the circumstances, each of you has made an early guilty plea.
167It has high utilitarian value because it has spared your victims the stress of a trial[30] and because it alleviates the pandemic related strain on the administration of criminal justice.[31]
[30] Carter (a pseudonym) v The Queen (2018) 272 A Crim R 170, [75].
[31] Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169.
168I accept it is also evidence of your remorse.
169The three of you were to be sentenced on 16 December 2022. Through no fault of your own your sentencing has been delayed. I have made a modest reduction in your sentences because of the delay.
170I accept custody has been greater for you, Majok, and you, Jangroor, because of pandemic related restrictions on visits and programs, and because of your relative youth.
171As relatively young offenders, the rehabilitation of the three of you is a primary sentencing consideration.
172Because you both have a criminal history of violence and past interventions have not been successful, I am cautious about the prospects of rehabilitation of you, Majok, and you, Jangroor.
173However, I do not lose sight of the need to imposed a sentence which promotes your rehabilitation.
174You, Hamie, have a very limited criminal record and you have taken impressive steps towards your reformation in the last 12 months. I am optimistic about your prospects of rehabilitation.
Majok – Youth Justice presentence report
175Mr Majok, because of your age, I had you assessed for your suitability for Youth Justice detention. Taking into account you were nearly 21, when you were assessed, and you have a history of aggression in youth detention, predictably, you were considered unsuitable.
176You said you did not want to be transferred to Justice Centre and your preference is to remain in prison where you have become “comfortable”.[32]
[32] Youth Justice Centre Order report dated 1 December 2022.
177Your attitude raises serious concern for the risk of your institutionalisation.
178Contrary to your expressed preference for a straight sentence, without parole, I will fix a minimum non-parole period to give you the opportunity to advance your rehabilitation under supervision in the community.
179Imprisonment is mandated for the home invasion and intentionally cause injury charges.
180I am satisfied a term of imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence for all of the offences you committed.
181I will moderate your sentence, and the minimum term, to take into account
(a) you are a young offender;
(b) you have a concerning history but your role in the actual home invasion was less than the other intruders;
(c) the need for your rehabilitation.
Jangroor – CCO assessment
182You were subject to a CCO when you offended. It is an aggravating feature.
183I had you assessed for suitability for another CCO. Given you never engaged in your previous CCO and, on your own admission, fell back to antisocial peers, and relapsed into drug use, unsurprisingly, you were found not suitable.
184However, that is not the end of the matter. You indicated you hope for another opportunity to undertake a CCO.
185Because you are relatively young, you have family support and a good work history I have concluded the imposition of a term of imprisonment for the home invasion and CCO for the remaining charges can achieve sentencing purposes in your case.
Hamie – CCO assessment
186After your arrest you spent 34 days in custody before being admitted to bail. You appear to have learned a salutary lesson from your time in prison.
187I had you assessed for a community correction order and you were found suitable.
188Considering your:
(a) supportive partner and family; and
(b) positive steps to reform;
I have concluded a composite sentence, which allows you to remain in the community, can achieve sentencing purposes in your case.
Sentencing principles
189Because each of you is to be sentenced for a number of offences, I have had regard to the principle of totality to ensure your total sentence is “a just and appropriate measure” of your total criminality.[33]
[33] See Postiglione v The Queen (1987) 145 ALR 408, 416-417, 442-43.
190I am also obliged to impose a sentence that is no more severe than that which is necessary to achieve sentencing purposes.[34]
[34] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), section 5 (3).
191I have used the sentences,[35] to which Mr Carolan referred me, and other sentences, with relevant Appellate Court decisions, as a yardstick to measure the sentences I should impose on each of you.
[35] DPP v Madden [2018] VCC 1470 (Judge Lawson); DPP v Salberg [2020] VCC 843 (Judge Lacava) ; DPP v Binder [2022] VCC 1597 (Judge Brimer).
192I have considered the similarities and differences between the circumstances of your offending and your personal circumstances.
193Majok, your role in the home invasion was less than Jangroor’s.
194Both of you have a relevant criminal history. Yours is more serious than his.
195You are also to be sentenced for additional serious offending.
196Hamie, you were the organiser. However, you have a very limited criminal record and I assess your rehabilitation prospects to be good.
197Unlike the other two, you are not to be sentenced for a category one offence.
198There is a justifiable basis to differentiate between the type of sentence I impose on each of you.
Conclusion
199By the sentence I impose, I must denounce your conduct, punish you, and deter you and others, from committing crimes of the same or similar kind. I must also look to your rehabilitation.
200Considering the circumstances of your offending, your personal circumstances and antecedents, and endeavouring to produce a sentence which reflects and promotes the purposes of sentencing in a manner appropriate to you.
Majok
201I sentence you, Majok, as follows:
(i)On Charge 1, you are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. This is your base sentence.
(ii)On Charge 3, you are sentenced to 1 months’ imprisonment.
(iii)On Charge 4, you are sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.
(iv)On charge 5, you are sentenced to eight months imprisonment.
(v)On charge 6, you are sentenced to six months imprisonment.
(vi)On charge 7, you are sentenced to six months imprisonment.
202I direct to 2 months of the sentence have imposed on Charge 4, 3 months of the sentence I have imposed on charge five and 2 months of each of the sentences I have imposed on charges 6 and 7 are to be served cumulatively on your base sentence and each other.
203Your total effective sentence is two years and 3 months; and I fix a minimum non-parole period of one year and 9 months.
204I declare you have already served 405 days of your sentence by presentence detention.
205While there is some artificiality in the process, doing the best I can, I declare that but for your guilty plea, I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of three years’ and three months imprisonment and imposed a minimum non-parole period of two years and six months.
Jangroor
206I sentence you, Elijah Jangroor, as follows:
(i)On Charge 1, you are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
(ii)On Charge 2; and
(iii)On Summary Charge 4;
you are convicted and sentenced to a 12-month Community Correction Order which commence on your release from prison.
207I attach the following special conditions to the order:
(a) supervision;
(b) drug treatment and rehabilitation; and
(c) programs to reduce offending.
208I declare you have already served 307 days of your prison sentence by way of presentence detention.
209I declare, but for your guilty plea, I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of two years and six months years’ imprisonment and imposed a minimum non-parole period of two years imprisonment.
Hamie
210I sentence you, Sara Hamie, as follows;
(a) On Charge 2; and
(b) The related Summary Charges 3 and 4;
you are convicted and sentenced to 34 days imprisonment in combination with a 2-year community correction order.
211I declare you have already served your prison term of 34 days by way of presentence detention.
212The community correction order will commence today.
213I attach the following special conditions to the order:
(a) 200 hours unpaid community work;
(b) supervision; and
(c) drug treatment and rehabilitation.
214I direct up to 75 hours of drug treatment and rehabilitation be credited towards your community work.
215I declare but for your guilty plea I would have sentenced you to a prison term of 15 months.
Forfeiture order
216I make an order for forfeiture of the knife and sheaf which were seized from you, Majok.
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