Director of Public Prosecutions v Marks

[2023] VCC 275

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT BALLARAT

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

CR-22-01108

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

GREG MARKS

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE GUCCIARDO
WHERE HELD:	Ballarat
DATE OF HEARING:	23 November 2022
DATE OF SENTENCE:	23 February 2023
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Marks
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VCC 275

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

---

Subject:         Criminal law. Sentence upon plea of guilty.

Catchwords:   Aggravated burglary – Causing injury intentionally – Common law assault –

Theft – Contravene a family violence order intending to cause harm or fear -

Persist contra family violence order – Possession of a drug of dependence –

Commit an indictable offence whilst on bail - Abuse an animal – Absence of

an early plea of guilty – Covid-19 delay – Alcohol and drug abuse –

Deprived childhood - Extensive criminal history – Guarded prospects of

rehabilitation.

Legislation Cited: Family Violence Protection Act 2008.

Cases Cited:   Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169; Bugmy v The Queen (2013) HCA

37; Marrah v the Queen [2014] VSC 119.

Sentence:      Total effective sentence of 4 years and 4 months imprisonment with a non

parole period of 2 years and 9 months.

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms D. Caruso	Ms C. Eckersley
For the Accused	Mr W. Blake

HIS HONOUR:

1Greg Marks, you have pleaded guilty to an indictment which contained
eight charges and two summary charges related to the indictment charges.  Circumstances of your offending were summarised in a prosecution summary for plea which was exhibited as agreed facts. I will briefly recite the circumstances and note the charges to which they give rise as I note them. 

2You and Natalie Turner[1] were in an in/off relationship spanning
11 years.  There had been four previous family violence incidents between you, all of which named you as the perpetrator and all occurring in 2021. On
7 April 2021 the Horsham Magistrates Court issued a warrant to arrest you for the offence of failing to comply with a community corrections order. 

[1] A pseudonym.

3On 31 August 2021 the Ballarat Magistrates Court issued an interim family violence intervention order listing you as the respondent and Ms Turner as the affected family for an incident at Ms Turner’s unit on 28 August 2021.  The interim intervention order was served on you on 4 September 2021 by Sergeant Brett McChonachy and the conditions were explained to you.  Between 10 September 2021, at approximately 6.53 pm and 16 September 2021 at approximately 1.30 am, you and Ms Turner had been communicating by Facebook Messenger. 

4The messages varied from pleasant conversation to abusive, threatening an accusatory message from both Ms Turner and you.  Hundreds of messages were exchanged.  You accused her of sexual activity, included recorded sexual activity with other men.  You attempted to call her through Facebook Messenger many times asking her to confirm where she was and you asked her to drive you. 

5At approximately 7.22 pm on 11 September 2021 you said, 'Now you both of you, both are fucked when I get back'.  At approximately 8.30 pm the same day you sent a long message which included, 'Just stop, please.  Stop living.  I am going to get my son and Josh and go see your mum and dad tomorrow and then after that we are going to Timmy, okay'.  The victim replied, 'You have completely lost it'.

6At approximately 1.30 am on 12 September 2021 you sent a long message which contained, 'You're the one with the head problem, not me.  You fucked me around for the least time O be there later'.  You sent more messages after that and at approximately 3 am on 12 September 2021 you sent, 'Fuck off slut.  You're sleep deprived because you've been up for days, fuck head.  Wait until I get there later', amongst other things.

7At approximately 8.37 am on 12 September 2021 you sent, 'Answer the fucking phone or I will just come and fuck up the house you're in'.  You sent multiple more messages and attempted to call her using the Messenger application.  At about 9 o'clock am you sent a long message containing, 'I'd be on the next bus that me and the boys are coming for you and anyone who gets in our way'.

8At approximately 9.39 pm on 12 September 2021 you sent this, 'Say something, fuck this shit cunt, all my mates are coming to you, fucked up, just answer the phone', amongst other things.  Ms Turner did not respond. At about
9.45 am you sent, 'Sus dog, don't think I'm not here.  I'm coming for right now.  You're fucked.  By all of this nothing so you can go get fucked, slut'.  You and Turner continued to exchange messages.  You repeatedly asked where she was and she shared her location with you multiple times to calm you down. 

9You sent pornographic images to her, accusing her of sexual activity with other people, accused her of being the person in the pornographic images.  At some points with a text she accused you of cheating an abused you. All of that amounts to Charge 6, persistent contravention of family violence notice or order. 

10At about 9.15 am on 15 September you sent a message which read, 'Just fucking stop, I am coming back soon, cunt'.  Ms Turner replied
three messages, 'I won't be there'.  'Wanna like, wanna be like that'.  'You not coming here'. 

11At approximately 9.47 on 15 September 2021 you sent this message, 'You do all of this'.  She replied, 'You can't instil fear and terror into someone and then expect them to love you'.  After a few more messages you said, 'I'm coming to Stawell, slut'.

12At approximately 1.30 am on 16 September 2021 you sent the last message in the exchange via Messenger.  You said, amongst other things, 'What coco'.  You didn't send any further messages and Ms Turner messaged you multiple times trying to find out where you were but got no response.  That day at about 10.17 am you were walking on the Western Highway between Stawell and Ararat heading in a westerly direction towards Stawell.

13Stawell police members, First Constable Cole and First Constable Flakemore attended and spoke to you.  You stated that you were walking to Stawell from Ballarat. You held your hands behind your back throughout most of the interaction.  Flakemore was standing to your side and her body worn camera depicts you holding a wire-like object behind your back. 

14Due to another unrelated incident Cole and Flakemore were unable to assist you and you continued walking in a westerly direction towards Stawell.  Between 11.30 am and 12 pm you attended Ms Turner’s address in Stawell.  The front of her unit has one set of sliding doors which are the front doors and one set of windows which are in her bedroom.  At the time she was in bed in her bedroom writing a message to you on a mobile phone.  She had been trying to contact you because she did not know where you were.

15You slid the front window of the unit open and climbed into her bedroom.  You held a metal cable in your hand that appeared to be a road barrier cabling about 20 centimetres long. That is Charge 1 of aggravated burglary,
Summary Charge 9, committing an indictable offence whilst on bail.

16You began screaming at her, accusing her of sleeping with your cousins and abusing her because you had walked all the way from Ballarat.  You used the metal cable to poke and prod Ms Turner, causing scratches and cuts to her neck and face.  You abused her and accused her of cheating on you.  She described you as in a manic stake. 

17You pinned her to the bed and held a cable in your right hand striking her to her face and her left cheekbone.  Ms Turner’s eye socket area began to swell and this is part of Charge 2, intentionally cause injury and part of Charge 5, contravene a family violence intervention order intending to cause harm or fear.  You continued to stand over Ms Turner who covered her face with her arms to protect herself.  She told you, you had gone too far and to drop the cable.

18You calmed down slightly and dropped the cable.  Your behaviour however escalated again and you pinned her down again, putting both of your hands around her neck, climbing on top of her.  She began to lose her ability to breathe and pushed you enough to loosen your grip.  That is Charge 3 of common assault, part of Charge 5, contravene family violence intervention order intending to cause harm or fear.

19You then picked up a black electrical cord and attempted to tie her to the bed.  She pulled her hand away before you were able to tie it.  You wrapped the cord around your hands leaving a segment of the cord dangling and you used the cord to whip her three to five times to her thigh, shoulder and face.  Part of Charge 2, intentionally cause injury, part of Charge 5, contravene family violence intervention order intending to cause harm or fear.

20Ms Turner grabbed the pillow to protect herself in an attempt to reduce the pain from the blows. She pushed you back and continued to push you away from her into a corner of the room near the doorway.  She tried to get the cord out of your grip and begged you to leave.  You moved in front of the bedroom door and refuse to let her leave and she pleaded with you saying, 'Get away from me', and, 'Back off, let me out'.

21You picked up a coat stand and pushed it. You pushed Ms Turner in her chest with it.  She grabbed the coat stand and used it to create a barrier between herself and you.  She used it to push you into the corner.  She then jumped onto the bed and opened the front window and she left her unit through the front window to get away from you.  You climbed out of the window following her.  You told her, 'Get back inside, you're making a scene'.

22Ms Turner believed if she stayed outside that you would not assault her in view of other people.  She picked up a piece of wood as you continued to advance upon her.  She moved to a seat outside of a property on Cooper Street, Stawell.  She sat there for about 10 minutes speaking with you.  You then entered her unit again.  Ms Turner got the attention of witness Stevenson standing out the front of her unit on that street while she was on the phone.

23Ms Turner then asked Stevenson to call the police.  You left the unit and told Ms Stevenson not to call police, threatening her, 'Don't call police or I'll smash up your house'.  Ms Stevenson retreated to her unit away from you.  You again returned to Ms Turner’s unit.  As soon as you were out of sight Ms Turner ran to Ms Stevenson's address and pleaded with her to call police. Ms Stevenson called Triple 0.  You realised police had been called and walked away from the address, stealing as you did, Ms Turner’s mobile phone.  Charge 4 of theft. 

24Ms Turner’s dog, a Border Collie, followed you as you left the address and you abused and kicked the dog to get it to stop following you.  That is Summary Charge 17, abuse an animal.  Witness Ellis called Triple 0 to report your behaviour.  The dog stopped following you at the corner of Sloane Street and Cooper Street and witness Studd stayed with the dog until council workers attempted to pick it up.  You continued walking in a westerly direction. 

25At about 1.35 pm on 16 September 2021 First Constable Cole and
First Constable Flakemore attended the address and spoke to Ms Turner. 
Ms Turner stated that she felt traumatised and in shock due to the events.  The police officers obtained a statement from her and photographs were obtained of her injuries and her unit.  Ms Stevenson's disclosure was captured on First Constable Campbell's body worn camera. 

26At approximately 8.10 pm police attended at 3 Robinson Street, Stawell and conducted a search of the premises to locate and arrest you. 
Sergeant Bartorelli located you in the bathroom of the address and placed you under arrest.  You were given a caution and rights by Detective Williams who conducted a pat down search.  Ms Turner’s phone was at your feet and you told the police that it was Natalie’s phone and then a small quantity of cannabis was found in your front left trouser pocket, Charge 8, and also located a small quantity of methylamphetamine in the front left trouser pocket, Charge 7.  You were taken to the Stawell police station by police for processing and you refused to be interviewed and you then were remanded in custody. 

27Aggravated burglary is a serious criminal offence which carries 25 years imprisonment as a maximum penalty. Intentionally cause injury carries
10 years imprisonment, as does theft. Common law assault carries a maximum of five years, as do the charges of contravention of order intending to cause harm or fear for safety and persistent contravention of family violence notice or order, both pursuant to the Family Violence Protection Act 2008. Possession of a drug of dependence carries a financial penalty and the two summary charges of committing an indictable offence on bail carry three months or
30 penalty units.  A charge of abuse an animal has a one-year imprisonment maximum of 250 penalty units.

28A victim impact statement was received by the court from Natalie Turner.  She writes that for six months after the offending against her she felt traumatised, highly anxious and withdrawn and had trouble sleeping for at least four months with nightmares. She took time off work and felt depressed and stressed.  Receiving medical and mental health treatment was traumatising as it brought up emotions and trauma again.  She continues to feel pain to her face and eye socket.  She was forced to relocate, creating financial concerns, paying high rent.  After 17 years of work she felt she had to start all over again.  She was hyper vigilant for months, felt insecure and mentally drained, worthless and her passion for life had been effectively crushed.  I take this statement into account.

29This type of domestic violence fuelled by anger and substances continues to be an urgent emergency and a scourge on our society.  The criminal law has recognised the devastating effects of family violence.  Its effects are not limited to physical injuries. Often victims are violated and beaten over a significant period, experiencing serious and long lasting psychological trauma. 

30As in this case, the physical effects of the violence erode over time the victim's confidence and self-esteem and reduced their ability to work productively and have serious financial effects.  As was noted in this matter, there had been four other previous instances of family violence in which you were the perpetrator in 2021 and in August an interim family violence intervention order against you issued and were served upon you and its conditions explained to you by a police sergeant.  It did not deter you.

31These matters are often a prelude to further offending, as was the case here.  You went onto this course of conduct in September 2021 and fortunately it did not end more tragically.  This course of events makes both specific and general deterrence very important factors in sentencing you.  In cases of domestic violence general deterrence is fundamental.  The community looks to the court for protection and its effected delivery is conditioned in sending an unequivocal message to would be perpetrators of domestic violence that their criminality will be met with lengthy periods of imprisonment, so they are no longer in a position to harm others.

32The Court of Appeal of this State has made repeated statements in sentences imposed for family violence that sentences imposed for this should be set at a level which will send an unequivocal message. The prevalence and seriousness of such behaviour needs condign punishment to denounce and deter those who would use violence as a means of control and punishment.

33This is a social evil which the court must address.  Your partner in this case was entitled to your protection and care, not violence at your hands.  The offending involved, as it always does, a breach of trust and I consider that it involves significant moral culpability.  It was not a spontaneous act done in the throes of rage or impulsive reaction. Your intoxication by drugs at the time is not mitigatory.

34You embarked on what was described during the plea on a 'journey of intent' over a number of hours and over a distance to ultimately inflict the intentional injury that you inflicted only some two weeks after the court order was made.  I considered that though the injuries you inflicted are at the lower end of the spectrum of injuries for offending of this type making your intentionally cause injury offence sit towards the lower level of that scale, however this was rather more by fortune than intent. 

35You were armed with a heavy metal cable with which you struck the victim's face.  You strangled her with your hands around her neck, impacting her ability to breathe.  You whipped her with an electrical cord about her thigh, shoulder and face causing serious bruising.  Despite her protestations and defensive actions you used a coat stand on her and just to top off this shameful and cowardly attack you kicked a dog.

36She suffered a haematoma about six and a half centimetres long and three and a half centimetres wide to her intraocular area of the face, trauma to her temporal area and apart from superficial cuts and scratches to her neck and face, an 11-centimetre circular haematoma to upper left thigh and three small haematomas to her lower left leg.  I take the victim impact statement and these injuries into account.

37I take your plea into account.  The offences were committed in September 21.  The committal took place in June 22 and at a case assessment hearing in this court in September 22 the matter resolved to a plea with a plea in late November.  The plea was not made at the earliest opportunity but nevertheless it has the utilitarian value of having avoided a criminal trial.

38At the committal it was said it was run on some limited basis confined to the issue of whether a false imprisonment had been committed.  The victim was not cross-examined at committal I was told.  The plea was made at a time when pandemic conditions have rendered a delivery of justice outcomes difficult with significant delays to the criminal justice system, so the acceptance of guilt and responsibility is of value in facilitating the course of justice.

39The plea further was made at a time when there was a reasonable expectation of a disposition of imprisonment during the pandemic period and a period of detention pre-sentence has been in the same period.  This has meant for most of that detention that your reclusion was severely affected by isolation, lockdowns, restrictions on access and movements, limits on programs and visits, educational and work opportunities which impacted on correctional services and have been marked by the potential for contagion in the closed prison environment.

40Many of these restrictions still persist.  In accordance with the Worboyes principles I take into account the timing of the plea and as requiring a real and palpable reduction of sentence in consideration of this condition.  Your plea will reduce your sentence.  I will discuss your sense of remorse in a moment when referring to psychological material.

41I take your personal circumstances into account.  You are 44 years of age.  You were born to Aboriginal parents but never raised by them and you have no significant knowledge in relation to your heritage.  You were moved into foster care around 18 months of age and you so remained until 18 years old.  You left school near the end of Year 7 aged 13.  You were never subjected to domestic violence or sexual abuse in these early years, however your life was blighted by drug use from an early age.

42Your father died of alcohol related symptoms and up until his death you had very limited contact with him.  Around the same time your mother whom you also had rarely seen also died of alcohol related symptoms.  You were 21 years old but the drug use by then was entrenched and you had already been involved in the criminal offending in the criminal justice system.  Although you had some 15 siblings including half siblings and step siblings, you have never had any regular contact with them.

43Having left school you became involved in alcohol and cannabis use.  You believe that your long history of cannabis has made you dependent on it.  You told Mr Cummins, a clinical and forensic psychologist, that you have smoked up to seven grams a day.  Alcohol was also immediately a problem from about the age of 16, but instead you opted for heroin and speed and then ice which have remained daily substances ever since.

44You have probably as a result of this substance use been in and out of gaol since the late 90s.  Although this does not appear in the Victorian prior criminal history, you told Mr Cummins you served a two-year sentence for armed robbery in Queensland.  You had used alcohol and OxyContin on which you were dependent at the time. 

45Your prior history of court appearances is extensive, but as was submitted during your plea, there are no priors for aggravated burglary, no adult convictions for charges involving causing injury and no creatures of orders under the Family Violence Protection Act with short periods in custody. However, the record is worth noting that it shows you have been caught up with the criminal justice system in Victoria since 1997 when you were given 20 days on appeal for hinder and resisting police.

46In 1999 you were placed on a community-based order with community work for theft, possessing heroin, possess a weapon and bail offences.  That order was breached in the year 2000 and was cancelled and you were gaoled for 12 days.  In the year 2000, again for dishonesty offences, you were gaoled for 35 days.  In 2001 you received a partially suspended sentence for the thefts of cars, thefts and unlicensed driving. 

47In 2003 you were placed on an intensive corrections order in lieu of
four months imprisonment, again for dishonesty offences.  In the same year you were imprisoned for two offensive conducts in a public place and again the following year another three months for criminal damage and theft and breach of the ICO which was cancelled.

48In 2010 for going equipped to steal, possession of a weapon, dishonesty and driving offences, you were placed on a suspended sentence for four months.  Later in 2010 another four-month sentence was suspended for making a threat to kill and property damage.  Sanctions were getting heavier and more serious with time.  In May 2018 you were imprisoned for three months with an 18 month community corrections order for stalking and using a carriage service to harass and bail offences.

49These priors are qualitatively different, as was pointed out by your counsel, but they show a pattern which does not all go well for your rehabilitation or future prospects.  You have been on remand now for a significant period of time but when Mr Cummins spoke to you, you expressed being settled into incarceration, sleeping an eating well and being all right.  You told him you were working in horticulture and being currently on methadone, a treatment you have had on and off for 12 years, as well as heart medication.

50Although institutionalisation is perhaps not so advanced, nevertheless it is a concern for your long-term ability to return to the community in a productive and law-abiding fashion. You have four children which you had from a long relationship which collapsed because you kept using illicit drugs and returning to gaol.  It is a positive aspect that you report having a good relationship with all your children.

51You and Ms Turner had been together for about 12 years.  It was a turbulent relationship which is now ended.  You have a poor work history with short stints as a kitchen hand at Ms Turner’s place of work, but you reported recently applying for a disability support pension.  You recently in 2021 experienced what you described as a heart attack which resulted in two weeks hospitalisation. 

52As to previous programs to assist you, you apparently participated in a
two-month residential drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation at Galiamble Recovery Service when aged 15, a service with focus on Aboriginal men.  It did not break the cycle, the cycle of use.  Around 2018 you had a few anger management counselling sessions as part of the community corrections order active at the time, but again they appear to have had no impact on your behaviour.

53Mr Cummins report dated October 2022 assessed the factors relevant to the present charges.  You asserted it was due to a drug psychosis which however was contrasted by you having a clear recollection of the offending events.  You again accused the victim of having cheated on you and, 'Talking to other guys and lying'.  You express remorse and regret and acceptance that your conduct was unacceptable.

54Mr Cummins assessed your risk of offending as moderate with illicit drug use, management of conflict and relationships the primary factors. He recommended a violence intensive program and anger management program.  You professed an intention to stay off drugs.  He conducted a mental health assessment.  You do not have an intellectual disability, functioning intellectually in the below average range but not borderline.

55Although taking responsibility for your conduct, you still expressed a view which stated the victim deserved some punishment.  The report supports a likely antisocial personality disorder and a likely borderline personality disorder. 
Mr Cummins at paragraph 34 expressed an opinion that it was unlikely that you were actually experiencing symptoms of a drug induced psychosis and regarded your prognosis with respect to re-offending as guarded.

56Counsel relied on the principles in Bugmy (2013) HCA 37 to submit that specific and general deterrence should moderated. In relation to your childhood which I have mentioned earlier, the submissions emphasise that having been made a ward of the State and placed into foster care you moved to many families, some of which you do not recall. It was said that as a child you felt you were not properly cared for or ever forming a bond with any of the families.

57You did spend a significant time with your aunt and uncle when about six, but there you were not fed regularly and lived in very poor conditions in which you were largely neglected.  Your uncle never spoke to you or provided for your needs.  You were not taken to school and you were left to yourself for extended periods.  In fact, you were not adequately provided with adequate bedding, school supplies and you became malnourished and sick.

58After age 13 or 14 you were in effect homeless and living on the street before finding a home with the mother of your children or her sister. That is when your formal schooling also ended.  You were 18 when your first child was born and this can be described as a highly unstable and deprived background.

59This experience as found by the High Court may leave its marks on a person throughout life, including a capacity to mature and learn from experience and remains relevant to the determination of the appropriate sentence.  It is right to give full weight to this background in the sentence.  It impacts in particular to the moral culpability where recourse to violence when frustrated is explained in part by it.

60However, the court also noted that the inability to control your response may increase the importance of community protection.  Such disadvantage nevertheless does not provide an excuse for offending, or that social disadvantage has the same mitigatory relevance for all of the purposes of punishment and diminishes the need to reflect the aspects of community disapproval and the need for general deterrence I mentioned above.  In these cases of domestic violence, see Marrah v the Queen [2014] VSC 119 at 16.

61I will moderate the aspects of specific deterrence and general deterrence as related to your reduced moral culpability, but it is my firm view that such reduction while real is limited in scope.  Your priors, history, guarded prospects, age and community protection are significant matters that limit any significant reduction.

62It was considered that Verdins principles were not enlivened in your case but that your mental health status is lacking a real causal connection.  Rather, it was said that totality should be borne in mind in the exercise of the sentencing discretion.  I am conscious in sentencing you for a number of separate offences do not exceed the just and appropriate proportionate measure of the total criminality involved, that is, your overall criminal conduct and to this consideration I have endeavoured to adhere to the need for parsimony in seeking to meet all sentencing principles to be applied.

63On aggravated burglary, Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to three years and two months.  That is the base sentence.  On causing injury intentionally, Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to one year and
six months imprisonment.  On common assault, Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to nine months imprisonment. On the charge of theft of a mobile phone, Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to three months imprisonment.  On Charge 5, contravention of the order intending to cause harm or fear for safety, you are convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment. 

64On persist in contravention of family violence order, you are convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment.  On the possession of the drug of dependence, Charges 7 and 8, you are fined $200 for each and on the Summary Offence 9, committing an indictable offence of aggravated burglary whilst on bail, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.  On Charge 17, abuse of an animal, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.

65I order that nine months on Charge 2, three months on Charge 3 and
two months on Charge 6 be cumulative on the base sentence of three years and two months, making a total of 52 months, that is, four years and four months.  I order a non-parole period of two years nine months before being eligible for parole.  But for your plea, I would have sentenced you to
five years with three years and three months non parole period.

66I have calculated the pre-sentence detention at 535 days excluding today.  I will sign the ancillary forfeiture and disposal orders in this matter. 

67Are there any other ancillary orders that I need to make?  I do not think that there are.

68MS CARUSO:  None that I have been advised of, Your Honour.

69HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Is the calculation of the sentence, Mr Blake, clear enough?  I will repeat it if I need to.  The base sentence is of 38 months and I have cumulated nine months of the causing injury charge, three months on the common assault charge and two months on the contravention of family violence order, making a total of 52 months which is four years and four months with
two years and nine months non parole period.

70MR BLAKE:  Yes, Your Honour, that calculation appears correct.  The only matter that I think I had a different calculation to Your Honour was on the
pre-sentence detention.

71HIS HONOUR:  What was your number?

72MR BLAKE:  Did Your Honour say 535 days?

73HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  I have made that calculation considering that the matter was heard on 23 November, so that's eight days in November and
31 days December and January and 22 days of February, so that is excluding today. I made that 92 days and at the plea I had been told that the pre-sentence detention was 443 days, excluding the plea date.

74MR BLAKE:  I think it was 433 days, Your Honour.  I got the calculation of
525 days pre-sentence detention and that's admittedly using an application, but that's a calculation from 16 September when he was arrested and remanded in 2021.

75HIS HONOUR:  I will accept that number.  Yes, all right.  So, the pre-sentence detention would be 525 days.

76MR BLAKE:  As Your Honour pleases.

77HIS HONOUR:  Yes, thank you.  All right.  I have a jury trial to proceed and I will stand down until we are ready to go ahead.

- - -