Director of Public Prosecutions v Mamonitis
[2017] VCC 391
•28 February 2017
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-16-01658
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| KYRIACOS MAMONITIS |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE GRANT |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 29 November 2016 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 28 February 2017 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Mamonitis |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 391 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director | Ms S. Lanthall - 29 Nov. Ms Karamicov – 28 Feb. | OPP |
| For the Accused | Ms M. Walker | Melinda Walker & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Kyriacos Mamonitis, you have pleaded guilty to eight charges of Armed Robbery and one charge of Attempted Armed Robbery. 'The maximum penalties for these offences are as follows:
· Armed Robbery - 25 years' imprisonment; and
· Attempted Armed Robbery - 20 years' imprisonment.
2 I have heard a summary of the offending. It is not my intention to repeat the whole summary. It has been tendered as Exhibit A in the plea proceedings.
3 Briefly, you committed eight armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery between 14 September 2015 and 7 June 2016. Seven of the offences occurred at the same Thirsty Camel liquor store in Mulgrave. A similar modus operandi was used for each offence. You entered the store typically wearing sunglasses and a dark cap. On one occasion you wore a black mask covering your nose and mouth and on another, no disguise at all. You generally dressed in a way that concealed identifying features such as tattoos and birthmarks. You were armed with a knife which you produced to demand money. Clearly the offences whilst not highly sophisticated, were pre-planned.
4 You were arrested on 9 June 2016, two days after the last offence was committed. You initially denied any involvement in the offending, however upon being remanded in custody you asked to participate in a further police interview where you made full admissions to the offending. This is a matter to your credit.
5 Mr Mamonitis, this is very serious offending. Over a period of ten months you committed nine serious offences. You chose soft targets. You armed yourself with a knife, you endeavoured to disguise yourself on all but one occasion and you were threatening towards the victims. One of the victims was present at four of the armed robberies. In his victim impact statement he explains how he has lost weight and how he feels depressed all the time. He has suffered financially because as a casual employee, he was not paid when he took time off work to recover from what had happened. He is a man with limited work opportunities and he was compelled to continue to work in an area where he felt unsafe all the time. Other victims, whilst not providing statements to the court, told the police, unsurprisingly, of how scared and distressed they were by your criminal behaviour.
6 General deterrence is the paramount sentencing consideration in this case.
7 You have a relevant prior conviction. On 14 November 2011 you were sentenced on appeal in the Supreme Court of Victoria to three years' imprisonment with a two year minimum for an offence of armed robbery. This means specific deterrence and protection of the community are relevant sentencing considerations.
8 You are 32 years old.
9 Your background is discussed fully in a report prepared by Dr Vowels, neuropsychologist and in the Forensicare report prepared by Dr Deacon. Your parents are both of Greek background. They were very hardworking and, as a young child, your grandmother cared for you. Dr Deacon said this about your schooling – “Mr Mamonitis attended primary school at St Elizabeth’s and he completed year 10 at Lazarus College. He performed reasonably well in his studies up until year 9 and he performed particularly well in mathematics. He denied a history of any behavioural problems and for a long period he socialised with many friends. He started experiencing difficulties in his mid-adolescence correlating with the onset of a sustained period when he was subject to sexual abuse from one of his father’s work colleagues.”
10 The sexual abuse left you feeling confused and guilty. You were confused about your sexuality and you developed a drug addiction in your mid-teens in response to the abuse you had suffered. Dr Deacon notes that you did not disclose the abuse until you were 21 years old. You have engaged in sporadic counselling since that time but it has not been to any great effect.
11 You began using cannabis when you were 12 years old and by the age of 15 you were using it regularly. You commenced smoking heroin at 15 and started using intravenously at 16. You have a longstanding addiction to this drug.
12 On 6 June 2010 you committed an armed robbery. You were with a co-offender, Mathew Green. You committed the offence to obtain money for heroin.
13 In October 2010 you entered the Odyssey House program for a short period of time.
14 On or about 8 December 2010 you entered a plea of guilty on the armed robbery charge and you were remanded for sentence. The judge who sentenced you noted that your parents had supported your many efforts to rid yourself of the heroin addiction. Her Honour noted in her sentencing remarks that your addiction was “a difficult addiction to deal with and you had suffered many relapses.”
15 After your release on parole you went to live with your parents. Your counsel told me that after completing your parole you began to again dabble with drugs. You moved away from home and began a relationship with another drug user. You became a heavy user of amphetamine and methamphetamine. You developed a serious addiction to methamphetamine in the 12 months prior to your arrest.
16 When speaking about your current offending to the police you said this - “All the money was gone and there was no money for food and there’s a five year old in the house and I – you know, looked at her and I pretty much said like, ya know, ‘Now that we’ve used all the money on drugs, what do you expect us to do?’ … So I decided to go out and take it upon myself to get some money for food and other stuff as well, including drugs.”
17 Your counsel submitted that your sentence of imprisonment should be moderated because of your moderate acquired brain impairment and your history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and depression.
18 Whilst these problems undoubtedly existed at the time of the offending, and operate in a general way to mitigate sentence, they do not operate to reduce your moral culpability or have a bearing on the kind of sentence that should be imposed. Whilst Dr Vowels has expressed one view on this, it is Dr Deacon’s opinion which is to be preferred. He says this in his report – “Mr Mamonitis committed the offences largely to obtain finances to support his drug dependency. Whilst his cognitive difficulties may have at a mild level lessened his capacity to think rationally and exercise reasonable judgement, I do not consider it to have been a particularly influential factor specifically relating to his offending behaviour. Quite simply Mr Mamonitis committed the offences to obtain money to finance his drug habit. He does not appear to have planned the offences with any sophistication. He attended the same bottle shop to commit the offences knowing that it was likely he would gain financial benefit. He does not appear to have attempted to shield his identity to avoid detection. He certainly understood that he was committing offences and that his behaviour was unlawful and morally wrong.”
19 Apart from Dr Deacon's suggestion that you did not attempt to shield your identity, the opinion is, with respect, an accurate analysis of the situation.
20 I do accept the need to modify sentence to some extent on the grounds that imprisonment is more onerous for you than it would be for someone without your cognitive difficulties. You had, until your recent transfer to a protection unit, struggled significantly within the mainstream prison system. Even though protection is generally more onerous for a prisoner, your transfer has had the beneficial effect of providing you with appropriate mental health support.
21 Dr Deacon states that since receiving mental health support and whilst withdrawing off prescribed methadone, your mental health had significantly improved. You are exercising twice daily and you are currently not afflicted with depressive symptoms. You told Dr Deacon that you are sleeping well, eating well, and lately developed some hope for your future. Given this evidence, it would not be appropriate to moderate sentence on the basis that it is unlikely that your psychological conditions will be appropriately treated whilst you are in prison.
22 I am extremely guarded about your prospects of rehabilitation. Your relapse into drug use after completing a jail term and a parole period does not augur well for your ability to resist the lure of drugs in the future. Dr Deacon’s assessment is pertinent – “Mr Mamonitis has a chronic drug dependency. He must be considered at risk of relapse in the future given his longitudinal history.”
23 It is to your credit that you have maintained a drug-free status whilst in custody. It is also to your credit that you have severed your relationship with the woman who was residing with you when you committed the offences. She, like you, is a drug user. You are fortunate that your parents continue to stand by you. They will again offer you accommodation and support upon your release from prison. Whilst your history as a victim of sexual abuse (and your cognitive difficulties) are matters that operate in a general way to mitigate sentence, your longstanding drug abuse issues together with your associated offending, require me to give appropriate weight to the principles of deterrence, protection of the community, denunciation and just punishment.
24 You will be given credit for all of the following matters - you are remorseful for your offending; you arranged to be reinterviewed by the police and made full admissions; you entered an early plea of guilty; your plea has allowed the victims to avoid the stress that attaches to giving evidence at a trial; and your plea has saved the community the cost involved in a criminal trial.
25 Finally, I am required to ensure that the total sentence imposed in your case is just and appropriate for the whole of your offending.
26 Mr Mamonitis, would you stand, please.
27
You are convicted on all the offences and sentenced as follows - on each charge of armed robbery, convicted and sentenced to four years' imprisonment. On the charge of attempted armed robbery, convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. I order six months of each sentence on charges 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8, and three months of the sentence on charge 9, be served cumulatively upon each other and upon the sentence on charge 1. This makes a total effective sentence of seven years and nine months. I order that you serve a minimum term of five years and three months before you will be eligible for release on parole. I make a declaration that you have served 264 days
pre-sentence detention.
28 If you had pleaded not guilty and been found guilty after trial, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of ten years with a minimum term of eight years.
29 I make the disposal order sought by the prosecution. If you would just give me a moment, I will sign those orders.
30 MS KARAMICOV: Thank you, Your Honour.
31 HIS HONOUR: Perhaps I should just confirm that the pre-sentence detention is as I have stated it?
32 MS KARAMICOV: Yes, it is 264, Your Honour.
33 HIS HONOUR: Thank you. You can remove the prisoner.
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