Director of Public Prosecutions v Miller (a pseudonym)

[2025] VCC 1310

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SAMUEL MILLER (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE LEWIS
WHERE HELD:	MELBOURNE
DATE OF HEARING:	23 JUNE 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	26 AUGUST 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Miller (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 1310

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:Criminal law – sentencing 

Catchwords:             Plea of guilty - youth offender - theft – reckless conduct endangering life – culpable driving causing death – failure to render assistance after a motor vehicle accident – unlicenced driving – speeding – driving whilst drug-affected - ADHD – serious example of offence – high moral culpability – general deterrence – specific deterrence – generally good prospects of rehabilitation – recommendation for transferral to Youth Justice Centre 

Legislation Cited:    Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic); Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic); Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic)

Cases Cited:R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 295.; DPP v Neethling [2009] 22 VR 446; Cairns v The Queen [2018] VSCA 333; DPP v Guilford [2024] VCC 1438; DPP v Gallagher [2021] VCC 1528; DPP v Hill [2012] VSCA 144; Fuller v The Queen [2013] VSCA 186

Sentence:Term of imprisonment for a period of 7 years and 7 months, with a non parole period of 4 years and 6 months 

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	J. Dickie	OPP
For the Accused	C. Tom	Orenstein Lawyers

HIS HONOUR:

INTRODUCTION

1Samuel Miller,[1] on 23 June 2025, you pleaded guilty before me to:

·Two charges of theft;

·One charge of reckless conduct endangering life;

·One charge of culpable driving causing death; and

·One charge of failure to render assistance after a motor vehicle accident.

[1] A pseudonym.

2You have also agreed to this Court hearing, and have pleaded guilty to, the summary charge of unlicenced driving.

3The circumstances of your offending are outlined as follows, and constitute the factual basis upon which I sentence you.

THE OFFENDING

Circumstances of offending

4A blue Jeep Cherokee, owned and registered in the name of a person living in Cranbourne South, was stolen in the early morning of 28 June 2024.  It was stolen from outside the owner’s house, with the keys taken from inside the house.  It is not suggested that you took that vehicle at that point.  However, at about 12:41 p.m. on 2 July 2024, you entered the stolen Jeep, which was then parked near Syndal Station, Glen Waverly.  You assumed control of the vehicle, appreciating that it was stolen, and thereby stole the Jeep.  (Charge 1 Theft)

5You were unlicensed, and, indeed had never held a licence.  You should not have been driving.  (Summary charge 6 Unlicenced driving)

6You Drove the Jeep to the Ampol service station on Springvale Road, arriving at 12:47 p.m.  You put petrol in the car, before getting back in and moving it.  You sat in the car for several minutes and then moved it to a different bowser.  You put more petrol in the car and, at 12:58 p.m., drove off without paying.  (Charge 2 Theft)

7Between 1:20 p.m. and 6:41p.m, you were recorded at various times and places, including (in chronological order) Wheelers Hill, Hampton Park, Springvale South, Springvale, Camberwell, Springvale South again, Forest Hill and Balwyn North.  During that time period you picked up a number of acquaintances: Achol Kuol[2] (who was 15), Nyaluak Yengi[3] (who was also 15), Bol Deng[4] (who was 19), Deng Thot[5] (who was 16), and Chuol Majok[6] (who was also 16).

[2] A pseudonym.

[3] A pseudonym.

[4] A pseudonym.

[5] A pseudonym.

[6] A pseudonym.

8At 5:38 p.m. and 5:56 p.m. your phone was used to track the Victoria Police airwing.  Your phone was plugged into a charging source in the Jeep, and was using the Soundcloud music streaming app.

9Shortly before 7 p.m. you were driving the Jeep south along Warrigal Road approaching the Burwood Highway.  This stretch of Warrigal Road is a two-way, four-lane bitumen road running in a general north-south orientation.  A solid white line divides the northbound and southbound lanes.  Broken white lines separate the individual running lanes.  The surrounding area is generally residential.  There are houses, power poles and street lighting on both sides.  There are grassed nature strips and concrete driveways.  At the time it was dark and the streetlights were operating.  The weather was fine and visibility was good.  The traffic was light.  The applicable speed limit was 60 kph.

10As you approached the intersection with the Burwood Highway you moved from the left lane into the right lane, before stopping at a red traffic light behind another vehicle.

11When the lights changed you swerved into the left lane and overtook the car that you had been stopped behind.  The driver of that vehicle estimated that you were easily doing 80 kph at the time.  You overtook a number of other vehicles as you approached the intersection with Highbury Road.

12Highbury Road ends in a t-intersection where it meets Warrigal Road.  From your perspective, driving south on Warrigal Road, Highbury Road was to your left.

13At this point, CCTV captured you travelling fast in the left lane.  One driver described how you “flew past” him.  In driving in this manner you were engaging in conduct that endangered the lives of your passengers.  (Charge 3 reckless conduct endangering life)

14A Toyota Corolla sedan driven by Mr William Taylor was travelling north along Warrigal Road at this time.  Mr. Taylor was intending to turn right into Highbury Road.  There is a right-turn lane where Highbury and Warrigal Roads intersect and Mr. Taylor’s vehicle was in that lane.  He was facing a green traffic light and entered the intersection.

15You drove the Jeep at high speed towards the intersection, reaching 129 kph.  You braked a second before colliding with Mr Taylor’s car, striking the passenger side of the vehicle.

16Mr. Taylor’s car was pushed rearwards into the front garden of a house on the southeast corner of the intersection.  Your vehicle continued southward for a short distance before hitting a large tree on the eastern nature strip, where it came to a halt.

17Prior to the collision you were driving fast and your passengers had repeatedly told you to stop.  Approaching the intersection with Highbury Road with the Corolla ahead, they started screaming for you to stop but you kept saying, “Nah, I’m going to make it”.

18Mr Deng recalls you almost crashing just prior to the collision due to you weaving in and out of the traffic.  He told you to slow down.  You, however, responded by turning the music up so loud that no-one could be heard.  Mr. Deng saw Mr. Taylor’s car ahead and called out, but because the music was now so loud, does not believe that he was heard.  He was not wearing a seatbelt and, when the collision occurred, was thrown into the pillar and hit his head.

19The chief victim of your offending, however, was Mr. Taylor. William (or Will) Taylor was 28 years old. He lived in Ashburton with his parents, Nick and Denise, and his brother and sister.  He had a partner, Dennise, who he introduced to his family at Christmas 2023 and with whom he had recently travelled.  Mr Taylor went to Ashburton Primary School and Box Hill High School. He graduated from Monash University with a degree in Economics.  After university, he worked as a data analyst at PointsBet.  This allowed him to combine his analytical skills with his passion for sport.  He loved all sport, but his passion was for soccer. He played through juniors and into seniors at Ashburton United Soccer Club and in the last four years at Mount Waverley City Soccer Club.  On 2 July 2024 he was driving home from soccer training.

20As a result of the collision, his car was very significantly damaged and Mr. Taylor suffered extensive and serious injuries from which he died.  You were negligent in that you failed, unjustifiably and to a gross degree, to observe the standard of care that a reasonable person would have observed in all the circumstances.  You drove at an excessive speed towards and into the intersection, ignoring the cries of your passengers.  (Charge 4 culpable driving causing death)

21The Jeep sustained a significant impact and some airbags deployed.  However, neither you, not your passengers appear to have been injured.

22Notwithstanding that, having regard to the nature of the collision, you were in a position where you knew or should have known that someone had been killed or seriously injured, you quickly got out of your car and ran off.

23You ran about 100 metres south to Park Avenue, where you crossed the road and ran into Burwood Reserve.  (Charge 5 failure to render assistance after a motor vehicle accident)

24One witness described you as appearing panicked.

25Your three male passengers also left the Jeep and ran in a similar direction.  The two girls initially walked off but a witness, who had stopped his car, ran after them and stopped them.

26Several drivers stopped to assist and many called 000.  A man stayed with Mr. Taylor, holding his hand, talking to him and providing him reassurance as he passed away.  Police, fire rescue and ambulance promptly attended.  Mr. Taylor, however, was not able to be resuscitated.

27At 7:07 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. you used your mobile phone to track the Victoria Police airwing again.  At 7:11 p.m. you tried calling Ms Kuol and at 7:16 you texted Mr. Deng.  You went to Burwood Railway Station and boarded a train at about 7:27 p.m.  You got off at Alamein Station about ten minutes later.  From about 7:56 you walked along the Malvern East Railway Station freeway overpass, and through the station towards your house on Dandenong Road.  Your mobile phone records indicate that you used the phone’s flashlight at various times between 7:12 p.m. and 9:30 p.m..  Between 6:56 p.m. and 8:52 p.m. your phone’s data recorded that you walked 5.7 km.

28Between 8:38 p.m. and 9:59 p.m. you used your phone multiple times to search Crimestoppers, news sites and the Victoria Police airwing.

29At 10:40 p.m. police officers attended your home as part of what was considered to be a curfew check arising from bail conditions (although I understand there may have been some sort of error about this).  You were found to be in bed with the covers pulled up to your chin.  Your mother told police that you had been home since 7:30 p.m.

30The following day, Wednesday 3 July 2024, you did further internet searches, including on a fatal collision in Burwood. At 10.34 a.m., on a search function on your phone, you asked, “What is the punishment for a minor who commits involuntary manslaughter” and “how long would a 17 year old get for a manslaughter charge”.

31At 1.07 p.m. you sent a message to two associates in a group chat, one of whom seems to have been Ms Yengi’s sister, asking, “R the girls all good.”  A response was sent indicating they were still in the cells and not yet fit for interview.  At 1.20 p.m. on 3 July 2024 Mr Deng sent a message to you asking, “Did you all get away safe?” Further updates were sent. You did additional searches relating to what happened. At 4.01 p.m. you sent messages to an associate that included “Delete chats”, “From today” and “N last night”.  At 5.48 p.m. you received a message from a person believed to be Ms Kuol stating “Clear chats” and “Ill call you when I’m home.”  You were sent a news reel on the collision from Ms Yengi’s sister.

Investigation

32Ms Yengi told police that she had only met you on the day of the collision and that she had asked you to drive her home.  She said that at the time of the collision you had just come from a house about six minutes’ drive away.

33A reconstruction expert provided an opinion based on inspecting the scene and other evidence.  The damage was considered to be consistent with a frontal impact by the Jeep into the passenger side of the Toyota Corolla.  The expert was of the opinion that the Jeep was travelling at 129km/hr about one second before impact, slowing down to about 95km/hr on impact. The Toyota was, at that time, travelling about 26km/hr.

34Crash data from the Jeep’s airbag control module indicated that, over the bulk of the five seconds of data available before impact with the Toyota, the Jeep travelled at between 108 kph and 129 kph.  The accelerator pedal was engaged 100% and the engine at full throttle.  There were only minor corrective steering inputs.  Five seconds beforehand, the Jeep was about 165 metres away from the impact point.  About 1.1 seconds prior to impact, the accelerator pedal was at zero, and there was steering input consistent with right-hand steering.  The speed remained at 129 kph.  About one second prior to impact, the brakes were applied and the right-hand steering input increased to 37 degrees.  At 0.9 seconds before impact, speed started to decrease.  At 0.4 second before impact, there was a steering input to the left.  By 0.1 second before impact, the Jeep was travelling at 102 kph.  The brake remained on.  At impact, the Jeep was travelling at 95 kph.

Remand and initial interview

35About 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday 3 July 2024 police officers executed a search warrant at your home and you were arrested.  When asked for your phone, you falsely told police you had lost it the week before.  Police found and seized a mobile phone belonging to you hidden in a drawer under your bed.

36You were interviewed from 12.22 a.m. on Thursday 4 July 2024 at St Kilda Police Station.  You exercised your right to make no comment.  You agreed to provide your fingerprints.  You did not consent to provide a DNA sample.  You were charged and remanded overnight to appear the next day at the Children’s Court at Melbourne.

37You were granted bail but on 9 July 2024 you were arrested due to non-compliance with your bail conditions.  Bail was revoked on 10 July 2024.  On 29 July 2024 you were again granted bail.

MATTERS PERSONAL TO THE ACCUSED

38You are now 18 years of age and were 17 at the time of your offending.

Family

39You were born and raised in Melbourne and are the eldest child of two.  You have a younger brother, Joshua.[7]

[7] A pseudonym.

40Your father is a teacher and your mother is a psychotherapist at a secondary school.  Your parents separated in 2016.  Initially you lived with both parents in a shared care arrangement, however, due to conflict with your father’s parenting style, you have lived with your mother since April 2024.  Whilst you had ceased contact with your father, contact resumed around Christmas 2024.

41You have a girlfriend, Emma[8], and regard your relationship with her as a positive and supportive one.

[8] A pseudonym

42In 2023 you witnessed your paternal grandmother suffer a stroke from which she subsequently passed away.  In October 2024, your cousin committed suicide.

Education

43You attended primary school but suffered poor concentration and difficulties processing auditory information.

44You started secondary school in 2020.  Your initial high school years suffered significant disruption by the Covid 19 pandemic.

45You left your school after your offending, following the extensive media reporting that resulted.

46At the start of this year you started at a new school in North Melbourne four days a week.

Drug use

47You first smoked cannabis in year seven and used it occasionally in years eight and nine.  In year ten you were using it daily.  You continue to use it on a daily basis, smoking less than a gram a day.

48You used ecstasy (MDMA) towards the end of year ten and used it occasionally until year eleven.  You had been using it regularly in the lead-up to the offending, including on the day of the offending.  I am told this was outside your usual pattern of use.

Mental Health

49You were diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 14, having developed symptoms including issues with attention and concentration, significant challenges at school, and elevated impulsivity and hyperactivity.  A cognitive assessment at the time reported an average full-scale IQ of 98.  You were trialled on various medications with limited success due to adverse reactions.

50In May of 2024 you reported symptoms of depression.  You were provided with medication, but again received limited benefit from it.

51You underwent a neurological assessment by Ms Laura Scott earlier this year.  She noted that you presented with a mild to moderate weakness in working memory and executive functions.  She found a full-scale IQ of 86, which was weaker than the 2021 result.  She regarded it possible that your current symptoms of psychological distress and challenging personal circumstances were dampening your cognitive performance.

52You were also assessed by Dr. Adam Deacon, who stated that, ‘[your] complex history of neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities, social anxiety, low self-esteem, and difficulties fostering enduring secure bonds with [your] peers, predisposed [you] to migrating towards an anti-social peer group where [you] felt [you] belonged’.  However, he does not regard your adopted anti-social identity as being rigidly ingrained.

53He described you as an anxious young man who is suitably humbled by the gravity of your offences.

Forensic history

54You have no criminal history.

IMPETUS FOR AND GRAVITY OF OFFENDING

Background

55I move now to assessing the gravity of the offending, most particularly in relation to the culpable driving charge.

56At the time of the offending you were not licenced and had never held a licence.  Accordingly, you should never have been driving at all.  However, I am cognisant of the fact that you face a separate charge for unlicensed driving and that I must avoid doubly punishing you for that aspect.

57I note, in relation to the unlicensed driving, that you drove the vehicle throughout a significant part of the day and across multiple suburbs carrying a varying number of passengers.

58As to the events leading up to the collision itself, you were an inexperienced driver, driving at high speed approaching the intersection of Warrigal and Highbury Roads.  There were a number of other road-users present.  As I have noted, at 1.1 seconds prior to impact your speed was 129 kph on a road where the applicable speed limit was 60 kph.  Not only were you travelling at this highly excessive speed, but you did so in the face of your passengers crying out for you to slow down or stop.  The danger was obviously clear to them and must have been clear to you.  You proceeded nonetheless.

59I note that there is material indicating that at the time of this offending you had taken MDMA.  Dr. Deacon states that your MDMA use “appears to have been a significant contributory factor in the offence given the marked mind-altering impact”.  He goes on to say that your experience with MDMA prior to the offence was relatively limited.

60I have already briefly outlined the history of your use of ecstasy prior to the offending, but, no matter what your experience level with the substance, the voluntary and conscious consumption of mind-altering drugs prior to driving a motor vehicle can only serve to increase your level of culpability.

61On the other hand, I note Dr. Deacon’s opinion that your ADHD can be ‘considered to be a contributing factor to the extent that [you are] more prone to reduced impulse control and poorly considered decision-making’.  That is a matter that needs to be taken into account in relation to assessing your moral culpability.

62Taking into account all of these matters, I regard your culpable driving as a serious example of the offence and, even having factored in the effects of your ADHD, I regard your moral culpability as high.  I draw the same conclusion with respect to the reckless conduct charge.

63Subsequent to the collision you absconded from the scene, giving rise to charge 5, failing to render assistance.

64I can accept that there was an element of panic in your absconding.  The descriptions of you by witnesses appear to bear out that conclusion.  Again, your culpability must be assessed in light of how your ADHD may have affected your decision making.  On the other hand, even prior to the collision you had been aware of, and concerned about, the possibility of being apprehended by police, as is evidenced by your tracking of the police airwing at 5:38 and 5:56 p.m.  So, whilst panic and impulsivity may have played a part in your fleeing the scene, your flight also served a logical purpose: to avoid responsibility for your acts.

65You had been driving a stolen vehicle and, as a result, by leaving the scene you had reason to hope to avoid having the police connect you with the vehicle and thus the offending.

66In the circumstances, this is a serious example of this offence and, again, your moral culpability, though modified to some extent, remains high.

Victim Impact

67I was provided with five Victim Impact Statements.  They each spoke eloquently of the effects of the loss of William Taylor upon those who loved him.  The depth of the loss expressed in those statements is profound, and stands in stark contrast to whatever transient joy or pleasure you derived from driving fast in traffic.

MATTERS OF SENTENCING PRINCIPLE

Plea of guilty

68You entered an early plea of guilty which meant that there was no committal hearing in this matter.  By your plea you have accepted responsibility for your offending and have facilitated the course of justice.  You must receive a palpable sentencing discount as a result.

Verdins

69Your counsel eschewed reliance on the principles contained in R v Verdins[9].  However, as I have already stated, I have taken into consideration the effects of your ADHD upon your decision-making abilities and, as a result, your level of moral culpability.

[9] (2007) 16 VR 295.

General deterrence

70General deterrence must play a significant role in sentencing for offending such as this.[10]  This is so notwithstanding your youth.  Regrettably, this sort of offending is all too often carried out by young drivers, particularly young men.  Any sentence for offending of this sort must send a clear message to anyone, particularly young, inexperienced drivers, who contemplate using a motor vehicle in a like manner.

[10] DPP v Neethling [2009] 22 VR 446.

Specific deterrence and prospects of rehabilitation 

71I have mentioned that you have no criminal record for the purposes of this sentence.  I was informed that after this offending, on 4 December 2024, you were sentenced in the Children’s Court to a 9-month good behaviour bond without conviction, after pleading guilty to theft from a shop and unlicensed driving (both committed on 11 February 2024) and theft of a motor vehicle (committed on 21 May 2024).  I understand these offences to be manifestations of your behaviour during the period that you were said to be keeping bad company.

72As I have mentioned, Dr. Deacon takes the view that your adopted anti-social identity is not rigidly ingrained at this point.  Further, he described you as presenting as genuinely contrite within the limitations of your capacity to communicate your feelings.  This observation was echoed by your de facto step mother, Ashlee Baldwin,[11] in her letter to the court.  She said that you had expressed genuine remorse and regret for your actions.  She also stated that you had taken time to reflect on the impact of your decisions.

[11] A pseudonym.

73Her letter was one of a number that were provided to me from your family and friends.  Those letters paint a picture of a young man who has the potential to develop into a useful and contributing member of society.  In addition, those letters indicate that you are well supported by those around you.

74Whilst specific deterrence remains a relevant consideration, I accept that your prospects of rehabilitation are generally good and that, as a result, the need to deter you from offending in future is reduced.

Youth

75I have said that general deterrence plays a significant role notwithstanding your youth.  However, that is not to suggest that your youth is an irrelevant consideration.  The Court of Appeal acknowledged in Cairns v The Queen that for the purposes of sentencing a youthful offender, generally speaking, the greater the seriousness of the crime, the more the mitigating influence of youth is diminished.  But the court noted that it is not completely eliminated.[12]  Accordingly, I take into account the fact that you were a child when you committed these offences as a significant matter in mitigation.

[12] [2018] VSCA 333 at [42].

Maximum penalties

76The maximum penalties for the offences to which you have pleaded are as follows:

·        Theft – 10 years’ imprisonment;

·        Reckless conduct endangering life – 10 years’ imprisonment;

·        Culpable driving causing death – 20 years’ imprisonment;

·        Failure to render assistance – 10 years’ imprisonment;

·        Unlicensed driving – 6 months imprisonment and/or 60 penalty units.

77Culpable driving causing death is a standard sentence offence, however, as a result of the fact that you were under the age of 18 at the time of the offence, the standard sentence regime does not apply in this case.

Current sentencing practices

78I was provided with a number of comparable cases that I have had regard to in formulating the sentence that I will impose.[13]  I have also made a broader assessment of comparable cases (excluding those where the standard sentencing regime applies) in order to obtain an overview of relevant current sentencing practices.

[13] Cairns v The Queen op. cit.; DPP v Guilford [2024] VCC 1438; DPP v Gallagher [2021] VCC 1528; DPP v Hill [2012] VSCA 144; and Fuller v The Queen [2013] VSCA 186.

79I note, of course, that current sentencing practices are a factor that is just one amongst many such factors that must be considered in the sentencing process.

Totality

80I have considered the total effective sentence that I will impose in order to ensure that it is not crushing in nature.  And, in doing so, I have again had particular regard to your youth in light of the nature of your offending.

81I have considered whether a sentence involving a Youth Justice Centre Order was within range. I have concluded that the seriousness of the offending precludes me making such an order. However, having regard to your youth and vulnerability, I do make a recommendation to the Adult Parole Board that it make an order pursuant to section 471 of the Children, Youth and Families Act2005, directing that you be transferred to serve part or all of your sentence in a Youth Justice Centre.  The pre-sentence report obtained from the Department of Justice and Community Safety dated 16 August 2025 should be provided to the Adult Parole Board as soon as possible to assist it in considering whether such an order should be made.

SENTENCE

82After having carefully considered, balanced and weighed all of the relevant sentencing considerations, I sentence as follows

#	Charge	Sentence	Degree of cumulation on base on each other
1	Theft	3 months	1 month
2	Theft	1 month	nil
3	Reckless conduct endangering life	2 years	8 months
4	Culpable driving	6 years	Base
5	Failure to render assistance	2 years 6 months	10 months
RSO	Unlicensed driving	1 month	nil

83I am sentencing you to a total effective sentence (TES) of 7 years and 7 months imprisonment. I declare you must serve 4 years and 6 months before you become eligible for parole.

PRE-SENTENCE DETENTION

84You have served 22 days in custody and that figure will be declared under s.18 of the Sentencing Act1991 as time having been served under this sentence.

s.6AAA

85But for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to a TES of 9 years with a non-parole period of 5 years and 8 months.

ANCILLARY ORDERS

86Pursuant to section 61(6) of the Road Safety Act 1986, I order that all licences and learner permits held by you (if any) are cancelled and you are disqualified from obtaining a licence or learner permit for a period of 6 years.

87I make a finding pursuant to section 89C of the Sentencing Act1991 that the offence was committed while you were under the influence of a drug which contributed to the offence.