Director of Public Prosecutions v Mann
[2015] VCC 1081
•7 August 2015
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-15-00905
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| NATHAN MANN |
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JUDGE: | His Honour Judge Grant | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 7 August 2015 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 7 August 2015 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Mann | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2015] VCC 1081 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr N. Hutton | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms J. Hardy | James Dowsley & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Nathan Mann, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary and one charge of intentionally cause injury. The maximum penalty for the first charge is 25 years' imprisonment and the maximum penalty for the second charge is ten years' imprisonment. 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.
2 Briefly, around the time of the offences you had been living a transient lifestyle with no fixed address. On 19 December 2014, you had been living at the victim’s house with your girlfriend, for a period of two weeks. The victim had asked you to move out. You were packing your belongings into a car outside the premises. At approximately 5.00 am you walked into the house with an associate, Corey Miller. You were ‘going off’ at the victim and accused him of hurting your girlfriend. You assaulted the victim, punching him to the head. The victim then jumped the fence and ran to another house to ask the occupants to call the police. You left the scene. The victim returned to his premises to find Miller and another male in his garage with his truck running. He went to the corner store and again asked them to call the police. The police arrived and the victim ultimately made a statement of ‘no complaint’ in relation to the punches to the head. This conduct is not the subject of any charge on the indictment, it simply provides context to your offending.
3 Later that day, at approximately 12.00 pm, the victim was asleep on his couch. He heard loud banging on the door and he opened it. You were with Tony Cooper and Inger Cremin. The victim let Cooper in and, as he tried to close the door, you and Cremin pushed your way into the premises. You were both in possession of knives. This is the conduct that constitutes the aggravated burglary. The victim moved to his bedroom and you followed him and stabbed him in the stomach. This conduct constitutes the second charge. You ran out of the room and returned, saying, "I should have put a hundred holes in you". The victim again jumped the back fence and asked a neighbour to call 000.
4 Police attended and the victim was taken to Echuca Hospital where he was identified as having a wound to his peritoneal cavity. He underwent an operation to repair the abdominal stab wound. He was discharged the next day, with pain relief.
5 You were apprehended and searched on 23 December 2014. You were found to be in possession of a sheathed knife. You were arrested and interviewed.
6 Mr Mann, this is serious offending. Not only did you force your way into the victim’s home, you did so whilst armed with a knife. You then used the knife to stab the victim in the stomach. At the time you showed no remorse. When interviewed by the police you denied the offending. The fact that you were acting under the influence of methamphetamine offers no excuse.
7 This is a grave form of aggravated burglary. Fortunately the victim seems to have made a reasonable recovery from his physical injuries. However, his victim impact statement makes it clear that he is still suffering emotional and psychological harm. After the incident he did not feel safe in Echuca and he has had to move.
8 Mr Mann, general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment are all central sentencing considerations in this case.
9 I now move to matters relevant to your background and in mitigation.
10 You are a young man who – even though you have tested your parents' love over and over again – still have their strong support. You are fortunate in that regard.
11 As a child you were diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. You were disruptive at school and left Echuca Secondary College in year 9. You had poor literacy skills. Since leaving school you have had a number of jobs. You have been out of work for much of the last 12 months.
12 You began smoking cannabis at the age of 13 and abusing methamphetamine at the age of 16. Dr Turnbull, a psychiatrist who assessed you in custody, states that your longstanding and problematic methamphetamine use meets the criteria for a substance use disorder.
13 From the age of 16 you have led a wayward itinerant lifestyle. Drugs increasingly became an important part of your life. You turned your back on your family and your ability to work was compromised. Inevitably, you started to become involved in criminal offending. Between November 2014 and May 2015 you were involved in a number of offences that are listed for a consolidated plea hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 24 August 2015. Some of the offences listed at the Magistrates' Court were committed whilst you were on bail on the current offences.
14 After your arrest on the matters that are before me, you were remanded in custody until your release on bail on 18 March 2015. You were bailed to live with your parents and to comply with other strict conditions. It is concerning that you relapsed into drug use and committed a further offence on 7 May 2015. You have been on remand since that date.
15 As I have already said, you are fortunate that you still have such strong support from your parents. They have been visiting you in custody every week and they are obviously prepared to support you in the future. According to them, there has been an observable change in your attitude since your remand in May. You have come to accept that if you really do want to rebuild your life, you need to remain abstinent from the use of drugs. I accept that you have been using your most recent period in custody constructively. You have resumed your education and participated in an intensive drug and alcohol course. You have also engaged weekly with Narcotics Anonymous. These matters are to your credit.
16 I accept that rehabilitation is an important sentencing consideration in your case. You are still a young man with a very modest prior criminal history.
17 Although you were not remorseful initially, you have now accepted your responsibility. You entered an early plea of guilty and in doing so expressed remorse for your offending. Your plea has also saved the victim from the onerous task of giving evidence and also saved the community the cost and expense associated with a criminal trial.
18 You have required anti-psychotic medication whilst in custody. I accept that your psychiatric state makes you vulnerable in the way identified by Dr Turnbull. I accept that the fifth and sixth principles of Verdins have application in your case.
19 In determining your sentence I have considered the order made for your co-offender, Ms Cremin. However, your position is much more serious than hers. You actually stabbed the victim and, as a result, have the additional charge of intentionally cause injury. This is a powerful reason for making a different order in your case.
20 I agree with the submission of your counsel that your prospects of rehabilitation are largely dependent on your ability to remain drug free. If you are able to achieve this your prospects will be greatly enhanced.
21 Mr Mann, whilst there are a number of matters that mitigate sentence, the seriousness of this offending does not permit the making of the sentence proposed by your counsel, namely, a term of imprisonment followed by a community corrections order.
22 However, the matters in mitigation have persuaded me to have you assessed to see if you would be suitable to undergo a sentence of detention at a Youth Justice Centre. I have a received a favourable assessment and I intend to make such an order.
23 Mr Mann, on the first charge you will be convicted and ordered to be detained in a Youth Justice Centre for a period of 18 months. On the second charge you are convicted and ordered to be detained for a period of 12 months. I order six months of that sentence be served cumulatively on the sentence on Charge 1. This makes a total effective term of two years' detention.
24 I make a declaration that you have served 163 days pre-sentence detention.
25 Had you been found guilty after a trial, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of three years' imprisonment with a minimum term of two years before you would be eligible for release on parole.
26 I make the disposal order sought by the prosecution.
27 Pursuant to s464ZF of the Crimes Act, I order that you undergo a forensic procedure for the taking of a scraping from your mouth. If you fail to co-operate in the taking of the sample, the authorities may take a blood sample and may use reasonable force to obtain that sample. I make the order because of the seriousness of the offending, the making of the order is not opposed, and the making of the order is in the public interest.
28 Mr Mann, what has happened is that you have been sentenced to a period of two years' detention with 163 days declared as already served. I would think that once you are sent to Malmsbury, the Parole Board would meet fairly quickly and consider your position. It is a matter for the Youth Parole Board as to when you will be released on parole, but I would imagine they would start planning your release fairly quickly after you attend at Malmsbury.
29 You will not be taken to Malmsbury today because there are warrants remanding you for the Magistrates' Court matters. You have heard Ms Hardy explain that she will endeavour to have the Magistrates' Court matters listed on Monday so orders can be made by a magistrate transferring your remand orders to the Youth Justice facility. There is a process for that to happen, and Ms Hardy, who has worked diligently on your behalf, is continuing to do that and will endeavour to have orders made on Monday which will enable you to be transferred to Malmsbury.
30 Thank you. Are there any other matters?
31 MS HARDY: No, Your Honour.
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