Director of Public Prosecutions v Mitchell (a pseudonym)

[2022] VCC 673

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

LOGAN MITCHELL (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	16 May 2022
DATE OF SENTENCE:	19 May 2022
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Mitchell (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2022] VCC 673

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:

Catchwords:

Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:

Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr A. Brennan	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms S. Tricarico

HER HONOUR: 

1Logan Mitchell[1], you have pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing a trafficable quantity of firearm, one charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, four charges of motor vehicle theft, two charges of trafficking in a drug of dependence and one charge of handling stolen goods.  You have also pleaded guilty to the summary offences, as we have just heard of fraudulent use of a number plate and committing an indictable offence whilst on bail. 

[1] A pseudonym.

2The facts underlying your offending are as follows.  On or about the time of this offending, you were living with your then-girlfriend at premises at Batesford Road, Chadstone. 

3On the 26th of August 2020, Eastern Region Crime Squad members were operating in part of an investigation called Operation Oceania.  This was relating to possible sale of firearms and trafficking methylamphetamine. 

4On the 26th of August, the Operation Oceania commenced at which time, as I have said, you and your then-girlfriend Ms Ricardo were the occupants at Batesford Road. 

5On the 30th of September, 2020, you were arrested there for theft of a motor vehicle and taken to Box Hill Police Station where you were interviewed for the relevant offending as well as having a firearm prohibition order served on you. 

6Once this was served, police returned to the apartment at Batesford Road, to search those premises for firearms or firearm-related items.  They had to carry out a forced entry and found your girlfriend at the premises, but no significant amount of drugs was located.

7In relation to Charge 3, theft of motor vehicle, a Holden Maloo, and Charge 4, theft of a motor vehicle, a Ducati motor cycle, the underground car park of Batesford Road was searched by police who located the two stolen vehicles in the vicinity of an allocated car space for Unit 419, where you were living.

8The motorcycle had been stolen in January from Harp Road in Kew and the Holden Maloo had been stolen on the 30th of June 2020 from premises in Kings Park. 

9On the 5th of October 2020, items were seized from the Holden Maloo including a Solo drink can from which a DNA swab was obtained, your DNA being located on it.

10While you were in custody on the 30th of September 2020, two covert operatives were placed in the cells with you, and during conversation with them, you told them that police had gone to your apartment, had served a firearm prohibition order on you, that you were confident they would not find anything, that you had previously been arrested in relation to long-arm firearms and that you did not touch drugs or firearms anymore. 

11On release, you kept contact with one of the operatives, known as CO313, and you told him outside the Box Hill Police Station you could supply CO313 with drugs the next day and gave him your mobile number. 

12The two operatives then took you home and during the drive, you told them that your partner must have moved the product in the address, that there was juice and shard, that is GHB and methylamphetamine inside the apartment.  You said you had four litres of GHB and 28 grams of methylamphetamine and thought your partner must have flushed them down the toilet. 

13You told the operatives that the price for GHB was $1500 a litre, that three of your main suppliers had recently been arrested, that police had taken your car which was a 'hottie' that is stolen.  You said you were just about to re-birth it, and you were looking for another Maloo so you could copy the numbers and registration. 

14You said police took your motorbike which you said was worth $50,000 and that police could not accuse you until the prints came back.  You said you never drove a legitimately registered car.  You said your price for 28 grams of ice was $11,000 and that all other prices were based off that figure. 

15You said your stuff was good and that you could get other stuff which I understand is a certain quality of ice named 'green tea.'  You said you sold a cheaper price for multiple bags.  A bag means 28 grams.  You said it was $1500 for 3.5 grams of ice and when asked if you were trafficking, you nodded. 

16You said you had been arrested three times for pistols and you said the price for a pistol was $13,000.  You said you would be in debt because your partner had flushed down the drugs that you normally sold in ounces but sold smaller amounts as well, that your partner who was staunch had recently been gaoled, and you said you used the mobile application Signal and you provided your contact number.

17On arrival at the flat at Batesford Road, you told the covert operatives you would go into your apartment to see if you had any drugs left and would then message them, which you did, saying all the drugs had gone and you would try to get some later that night. 

18In relation to Charges 7 and 8 which are charges of trafficking in a drug of dependence, on the 9th of October 2020, covert operative 313 engaged with you via Signal and you agreed to provide him with methylamphetamine and GHB.  You agreed to sell 3.5 grams of ice for $1500, 250 mls of GHB for $2 a ml, and agreed to meet the covert operative at the apartment to complete the transaction. 

19Later that day, covert operatives 313 and 303 went to Batesford Road and met with you in the car park where you told them to wait at the B1 security gate while you went to your apartment to get the drugs. 

20You then met them at the security gate and guided them to a car space in the underground car park.  You got into their car and handed covert operative 313 a plastic Woolworths bottle containing 250 mls of GHB and a Ziploc bag containing 3.5 grams of ice. 

21Covert operative 313 gave you $2000 in cash, and the two of you engaged in conversation where you said:

'The green tea was the superior product.'

22You said that police had taken your Holden Maloo but you still had a key to it which you would use to retrieve the tools inside as you knew where the car was, and you said that police had attended the apartment complex recently.  Your customers had been stopped leaving or had been arrested.

23The drugs you sold were analysed as 245 mls of GHB and 3.4 grams of ice of 83 per cent purity.  On Thursday the 15th of October, covert operative 313 spoke to you during which conversation you said that you had GHB which would cost $1250 a litre. 

24On the 27th of November, 2020, investigators got access to remotely viewed CCTV cameras from the Batesford Road building and were able to access cameras in the public car park, elevators and apartment block entry.

25During that investigation, the cameras were used to identify persons of interest coming and going from Batesford Road.

26In relation to two further theft of motor vehicle, between the 4th and 5th of December 2020, a white 2015 Volkswagen Jetta sedan was stolen outside premises in Ringwood. 

27On the 6th of December, 2020, two registration plates from that car were located on your car in Clayton.  In relation to Charges 5 and 9 which are theft of a motor vehicle, the Volkswagen Jetta, and handling stolen goods which relates to the stolen registration plates, on the 8th of December 2020, you were seen in the early hours of the morning on CCTV driving the Volkswagen Jetta bearing stolen plates, into the car park at Batesford Road. 

28It was confirmed that a fob linked to your apartment was used to enter the security gates at that time.  You were then captured on CCTV driving that car out of the car park at about 5 am. 

29On the 9th of December, 2020, vehicle IGA10H bearing stolen plates ICFFKR - that is, the Volkswagen Jetta - was located by police outside premises in Glen Waverley,  after being involved in a single car collision, the driver of the vehicle fleeing before police arrived, and that driver remains unidentified. 

30In relation to Charge 6, the theft of an Audi, on the 10th of December 2020, at about 3.40 in the morning, a car ACS051 which was a 2014 Silver Audi sedan was stolen outside premises in Toorak. 

31At about 7.48 am that day, you were seen on CCTV driving the Audi bearing the number plates ACS051 into the car park at Batesford Road.

32At about 8.02 am you were seen on film entering the lifts at Level B1 and fob access confirmed that the fob linked to your apartment was used at the main car park and lift access at the relevant times. 

33At about 2.30 in the afternoon the car was located by police in the car park at Batesford Road, and towed away to be forensically processed. 

34Between the 29th of January 2021 and the 30th of January 2021, a burglary occurred at Conn Street, Ferntree Gully, premises owned by the victim, Mr Burrows. 

35A gun safe was stolen from the rear bungalow which contained seven firearms.  Unknown offenders had forced the safe which weighed about 60 to 70 kilograms from the shelving unit to which it was bolted and carried it away.  Those firearms included a Remington 243 Win calibre bolt action rifle with a particular registration number and two Adler 12 gauge shotguns. 

36On the 25th of January 2021, a surveillance and optical device application for your premises in Batesford Road was granted, a warrant issued and on the 24th of February 2021, a listening device was operated into your apartment and an optical device facing your front door.  This was activated and live monitoring was commenced. 

37At about 2.13 pm on the 24th of February 2020, your co-accused Luca[2], attended the flat where you and Ms Ricardo[3] were already present. 

[2] A pseudonym.

[3] A pseudonym.

38Later that afternoon, Luca received a call from an unknown male believed to be another co-accused, Kurt Carr[4].  As a result of inquiries, police discovered Luca’s phone number and there were checks on him, calls going in and out, and at 3.25 that day a conversation between you and Luca occurred in which Luca was talking about only getting pure GHB and mentioning a third drug supplier from Sydney. 

[4] A pseudonym.

39At about 4.50 pm there was a conversation between you and Luca where Luca boasted about:

'Being good at selling drugs.'

40There was then a conversation recorded between you and Luca at about 5.30 that day, where Luca said he used to have a grenade in the back of his TV and you said, 'Do you want to take one of these now?' and there was a sound of a firearm action being locked back.  Then he talked about speaking to his mate Kurt about juice and shard, that is ice and GHB. 

41There was a conversation about going out to Tullamarine where you said you would bring the stuff.  At about 7.20 pm there was a conversation about storing firearms between yourself and another associate, O’Brien[5].  You told Mr O’Brien that you needed, 'something like a metre long or longer, like a tool bag' and there was a discussion about needing a sports duffel bag or a guitar case and there was the sound of cash being counted. 

[5] A pseudonym.

42Then at about just after midnight on 25th of February 2020, you were seen on CCTV footage arriving at Batesford Road, in a white Mitsubishi Lancer.  You were then seen entering the lift in possession of a large black case branded, 'ToolPRO' and seen going into your flat with that case.

43There was then a conversation at around about 5 am between yourself and Ms Ricardo where you talked about having a 12 gauge with a clip.  You also talked about how that would cost $8000 and there was then the sound of a firearm action being locked back. 

44You were then recorded talking to an unknown male.  It was a general conversation, talking about firearms, referring to, 'shotty's.'  You were saying it was, 'Eight grand', you said it was a spring-loader and there was the sound of the gun action being racked. 

45Later that day at 11.48 am, you rang an unknown man and engaged in what seemed to be a video conversation where you said to the person to,

'Say hello to my little friend.' 

46You said it was a 12 lever, a 12 gauge.  He said, 'Mate -' being asked about how much it cost - 'Mate they want 24 or 25.'  He said it was a 12 gauge and you said,

'If you want to go, we can go.' 

47You were then heard on the phone discussing firearms saying,

'The other one's got like silencers and stuff.'

48There was then a conversation between yourself and Luca relating to guns and what they would cost, whether they would be about $20,000 and so forth, then another conversation about drugs, then you were seen leaving with Luca at 1.14 pm and you were carrying a large black case. 

49You left the apartment driving a blue Ford Falcon utility, bearing a registration, UWJ291 - this underlies the summary charge, fraudulent use of registration plates - in convoy with a white Toyota Camry being driven by Luca.  These vehicles were kept under observation.  You drove to premises in Sonia Court where you met Mr Carr.  They took the large bag out of the back of the car. 

50In relation to Charge 1, possession of a trafficable quantity of firearms:  At about 1.43 pm the Special Operations Group were deployed at Sonia Court to enter the premises.  When they got in you were sitting on a chair inside a garden shed at the rear of the premises.  You had a satchel bag on your lap with a shoulder strap over your shoulder and seemed to be pushing something into it. 

51Luca ran from the house towards the rear, holding a shotgun and bolt action rifle.  He threw them over the back fence, then he ran towards you, said something to you and then you, Carr and another man Foley[6] and Luca, all ran through the backyard to get away from the SOG operatives.  

[6] A pseudonym.

52You tried to jump the rear fence but your satchel caught on the fence, you fell into the yard of No.11 which backed the house where you were, and were there arrested by an SOG operative.  You were taken back into Sonia Court and ultimately conveyed back to the Box Hill Police Station for questioning. 

53Police canvassed the area for CCTV footage from Sonia Court which is in Werribee.  This showed you arriving there and Carr and Luca grabbing the large black case from the rear of the car that you were driving. 

54Eventually a search of Sonia Court revealed one sawn-off 12 gauge brand sawn-off black shotgun which was found on the shed roof of Linda Court where it had been apparently thrown by Luca, a Remington .243 Win calibre bolt action rifle also found on the garden shed roof of Linda Court.  There were latex gloves found.  The vehicle TLD729, bearing cloned plates UWJ291, driven by you to the Sonia Court address was searched and two false registration plates, TQF318, were located. 

55Inside Sonia Court, the following items were seized:  CCTV hard drive, a shoulder bag containing vacuum sealed bags containing a white crystal substance and $100,000 in cash, a large black Pelican case containing an Adler A110 level action firearm and one Adler B230 semi-automatic firearm were found on the kitchen floor.  Another vacuum sealed bag containing white powder was found in the kitchen, a Ziploc bag containing GVM - green vegetable matter - was found in the kitchen as well as a mobile phone. 

56You were held on remand and conducted a no-comment record of interview with police.  You were charged on the 26th February 2021.  You have remained in custody.  Eventually this matter was settled. 

57There was a committal held on the 1st and the 2nd of February, 2022 and you adjourned to a drug court mention on the 28th of February 2022.  All right.

58So you have remained in custody ever since.  As I said to you at the hearing, Mr Mitchell, you might have come to offending late, but you got yourself very much involved with very heavy company.  I hope you realise that, listening to the offending. 

59I note, and I will refer to this later, you saying that you were led into this because of your desire for drugs and that you were doing this for drugs and that you were being influenced by other people. 

60But, as I said to you at the time of the plea, and I will repeat it.  In my view, you were much engaged in this.  You took some pride in it.  There was a lot of cocky conversations about 12 gauges and fantastic quality of GHB and ice and all those things. 

61You may very well have been led into it by associates, but by the end of this, and by the time police caught you, I am satisfied you were an active participant in extremely - what I would call - 'heavy offending' and you were not, by any means, being led around by the nose. 

62You were, if I can put it this way, very much 'one of the boys' in this enterprise involving the sale of firearms and the sale of the drugs.  Do you understand me?

63OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

64HER HONOUR:  Thank you. 

65You are now 27 years of age.  I am going to turn to your personal circumstances.  You were 26 at the time of this offending.  You are one of three children born to your parents.  You have an older brother and a younger sister.  You completed Year 12 in Mulgrave. 

66You then completed a carpentry apprenticeship and went on to develop a good work history in the building industry.  You played football at a high level, TAC level, but you missed out on the AFL draft. 

67It would appear that you started smoking cannabis when you were about 16 but then began using Ecstasy in the context of it being a recreational drug, but were introduced to ice when you were about 20 and it thereafter became a daily habit.  You were using GHB from about the age of 24. 

68Ultimately, drugs entirely took over.  It appears that ice was a problem for you almost from the start, that you were using it daily and clearly at some stage, this interfered both with your employment and as I understand it, your relationship with your parents. 

69You have a younger sister who is law-abiding, and working as a nurse.  There has been some difficulty understandably in your relationship with her. 

70You have mentioned to one of the therapists who have attended upon you, that you understand she might be frightened of you or has been frightened of you. 

71You have also spoken about disagreements with your father, in particular, when under the influence of ice.  Again, these are matters you should be very much ashamed of.  It is very clear that you have most supportive parents. 

72Your older brother has been in trouble with drugs as well.  There has been a lot of animosity between you.  You describe being bullied by him, feeling like you had to be, ' The good son' but then pulling away from that. 

73In any event, it seems that your parents have had some very difficult years with both their sons.  Hopefully this is the end of it as far as you are concerned. 

74You came to offending quite late.  You first appeared before the court in 2018 and that was the Mildura Magistrates' Court. 

75You appeared before the Mildura Magistrates' Court on the 6th of March 2018 on charges of trafficking and possessing ice, using ice, insecure storage of an unlicensed firearm, possessing a general category handgun, possessing a prohibited weapon, and possessing a controlled weapon and on those charges you were placed on a community corrections order. 

76Prior to this, you had gone to a residential rehab facility.  You had undergone detox and you apparently stayed clean for about five months.  It seems that you got back into employment, but were unable to cope with it.  It also seems to me, reading between the lines of the reports that I have read, that by this stage you had a number of associates who were using ice, in particular a girlfriend.  In any event, you relapsed after about five months, started using and offending again, and on the 27th of June, 2019, you were dealt with for contravening your community corrections order and given a month’s imprisonment.

77On the 27th, that same day, you were dealt with by the Melbourne Magistrates' Court for theft of a motor vehicle again, and you were also dealt with for trafficking methylamphetamine and GHB and in relation to being a prohibited person possessing a firearm, possessing cartridge ammunition, possessing a prohibited weapon, possessing a controlled weapon. 

78I very much got the impression that you started hanging around with, or associating with pretty heavy people, criminal-wise, at a very early stage.  You were given six months' imprisonment and placed on a community corrections order. 

79Things obviously did not go well for you, particularly given the trouble that you are now in.  Your then-girlfriend apparently died suddenly of an overdose, just as you were to be released from gaol.  It appears you came out of gaol in a poor state of mind and immediately relapsed into this offending.

80In one way it could be said Mr Mitchell, this is third-time-lucky, because this last order that you are seeking, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, is the most intensive support that can be offered to a person who suffers from drug dependency. 

81There was some concern by the prosecution that there was a link between your drug use and your offending.  I am satisfied, particularly having had regard to the case management assessment report that your offending was very much linked to your drug use. 

82Essentially, you told the assessor, Ms Megan Cue, that you were often being paid in ice, that you were smoking ice everyday, you were using GHB several times a week.  You described your life at that time as being, 'all a blur.'  You said you were often bartering the guns for more money to fund your drug use.  You said that you were propositioned about moving into firearms - which I have trouble accepting - because both times that you have been before the courts, you have been involved with firearm use. 

83I am a little concerned about the way you have presented yourself in relation to the firearms.  This is the third time in the three times you have been before the court, where you have been dealt with in relation to firearms.

84So in my view, you are going into this order as a person who when you lapse, you do it in the company of serious offenders who do not just engage in large scale drug use, but engage in trafficking firearms and the sale of firearms. 

85It is an extremely lucrative game to get into and I am satisfied you have been involved in it for some time, well before this offending.  That is why I am concerned at the way you seek to present yourself.  If you are going to do well on this order, and can I say I am going to give you the opportunity of being placed on the order, you are going to have to accept that that is what you were engaged in, and do not present as, 'someone else led me into it.' 

86I do not accept that somebody who has been done three times for serious firearm offences, is a newcomer to the game, led there by heavy associates that you had not known before. 

87I do not know where, but somewhere along the line, you have met up with a crew - and I am sorry to use this colloquial language - but I would much rather you understood what I am saying; you have met up with a crew of persons engaged, as I have said, both in serious drug trafficking, but involvement in the sale of firearms and that is a very serious exercise indeed to get into. 

88Luckily for you, you have done very well whilst in custody and it is probably, unfortunately, as if often the case with young men who go racketing around committing ever more concerning offences until they finally crash and burn, which is what happened to you, gaol has kept you safe in once sense. 

89I note that in terms of case management there has been a bit of undesirable activity by you insofar as the use of buprenorphine is concerned, but that appears to have resolved. 

90I am also pleased to see that the relationship that you were involved in, has ended.  That partner was a consistent drug user.  She has been unable to deal with her drug habit and you have ended that relationship and that is about the wisest thing you could do, Mr Mitchell. 

91One of the first things you have to do, if you are going to get off drugs, is cease all association with other people who are using drugs. 

92If you think for one minute, if you meet up with an old drug using associate they are going to say, 'Don't worry Logan, I know you're trying to get off drugs.  I'll just have a smoke, but don't you' then you are dreaming.  It will be, 'Come on Logan, have a taste, have a taste.'  Ice users do not like - or drug users - do not like using alone.  You got me? 

93You need to stay well away, and even if Ms Ricardo comes back and says, 'I've got off it, I've got off it, I'm doing well,’ you cannot go back there.  Matter for you, but if you do there will be an amazing - a world of trouble awaiting you.

94The way a drug treatment order works, or a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order works is that there is a custodial component.  I sentence you to a term of imprisonment which will represent the period of time for which you are on the order.  If you breach, that will be the gaol sentence you face, all right?

95OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour. 

96HER HONOUR:  Excellent.  All right.  I have received reports from the psychologist and the drug and alcohol counsellor who have been regularly attending upon you whilst you have been in gaol.  Both wrote very positive reports you.  Cathy Doyle, a forensic alcohol and other drugs specialist, noted in her report, dated 2 May 2022, that you have attended on her on 26 occasions since July last year.  She stated: 

'During our time together Mr Mitchell has engaged incredibly well and he presented with a positive demeanour whilst demonstrating insight and self-reflection.  He has achieved commendable outcomes throughout treatment and I welcome the opportunity to continue to work with him in the future.'

97I also received a report from psychologist, Laura Fleming.  I think you have seen her about 22 times whilst you have been in gaol.  She diagnosed you as suffering from a Generalised Anxiety Disorder. 

98That is what you get when you use an awful lot of ice, knock around with heavy crooks and engage in highly risky behaviour.  She also believed that you had a Substance Abuse Stimulant Disorder, which was in what she called, 'enforced regression' that is, you are in gaol and you cannot get your hands on it as much as you probably would have liked to.  All right? 

99But in any event, she regarded you as positively engaging, undergoing cognitive behaviour therapy.  It seems you have been working in gaol.  She notes you have got a good employment history.  Both practitioners believe that placement on a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order would be a good idea for you, if I can put it that way.

100You were assessed both by the case manager of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order team and by the clinical advisor.  Mr Harry Howe believed that you did satisfy the diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of a stimulant use disorder.  He said he was satisfied that the treatment and supervision component of a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order would be an appropriate intervention to address your substance use disorder.  He said there were no significant concerns about your capacity to engage in the order.  You were also found suitable for the order by the case manager, Megan Kew. 

101So, in the circumstances I am satisfied you do meet the diagnostic criteria.  I am satisfied that you did have a drug habit which was linked to your offending.  Your parents have rented you an apartment which is in the gazetted area.  You pleaded guilty, you faced an immediate term of imprisonment, not exceeding four years - only just.  All right?  You keep doing drugs and firearms, your next outing, it will be six with a four and then seven with a five - if not more.  Do you understand me? 

102OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour. 

103HER HONOUR:  It is really, really heavy serious offending.  As I said to you on the plea, anyone who is involved in anything to do with a sawn-off shotgun, in my view, has entered very deep criminal water indeed. 

104As I have said, it is noted that you have expressed shame and remorse to virtually everybody who has interviewed you, in particular in relation to your parents, and indeed it is appropriate that you do feel that way, and the fact that you have been able to respond as you have to the treatment you had in gaol is probably largely due to the good, stable employment and education and supports that you have had throughout your life. 

105I do not know how much your failure to get into AFL had to do with you turning to drugs in this way, but can I say I have dealt with a number of young men who have ended up on drugs because they do not get into AFL, and really, all I can say is, 'Get over yourselves' truly. 

106It is a massive disappointment, but you are not the first young man whose whole life has virtually gone down the drain because of football not working out the way you wanted it to.  It is ridiculous. 

107I understand it is a very, very big thing, but to be so overwhelmed by this loss and to - even to let it, in anyway, influence the way in which your life has gone to the extent that you have ended up in the company I have described over and over is disastrous decision making on your part.  In this plea, committing the serious offending I have described over and over, is simply ridiculous.  When you are an older man Mr Mitchell, I suspect you will look back and just understand how incredibly immature it was, apart from anything else. 

108Now I am not saying it was the only reason, but it was clearly up there with the reasons of why you looked at your life through an absolutely glass half empty prism instead of counting the advantages you have had.  You would have met many men along the way and in gaol, who had parents who abused them from day one and introduced them to drugs, if not injecting themselves by the time they were in their early teens. 

109You are walking out to an apartment being paid for by your parents, quite apart from their emotional support.  Many people before this court could only dream of that level of assistance.  Okay? 

110I understand and I forgot to mention that whilst in gaol you severely injured your Achilles tendon.  There has been some physio, there has been an ultrasound of it, but it has not healed and you have re-injured yourself, so that has been difficult for you as well and of course you have been gaoled during periods of COVID lockdown which I also take into account as to the length of sentence that I will impose. 

111Now as I have said to you, there are two parts.  There is the treatment and supervision part and there is the gaol part.  I am going to impose a term of imprisonment on you now, but that will be suspended effectively so that you can enter the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, okay? 

112The Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order itself comprises two portions.  There are what is called, 'core conditions' such as not offending while you are on the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, turning up for court review, those sorts of things.  The program conditions last for two years, the core conditions last for the entire time of the sentence that I impose upon you. 

113You really need to take this opportunity with both hands Mr Mitchell.  So does anybody basically who gets on a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order in the County Court.  You have got to the stage where it is either gaol or not.  We are not just talking about any old gaol, a big serve or not, all right?

114So I will now sentence you as follows.  Have a think about how this sentence would feel if you knew you are going to be taken straight out the back there, to begin serving it.  All right? 

115Charge 1, 18 months' imprisonment;

116Charge 2, 12 months' imprisonment;

117Charges 3, 4, 5 and 6, three months imprisonment each;

118Charge 7, 12 months;

119Charge 8, 12 months;

120Charge 9, one month;

121Fraudulent use of number plates, summary charge, one month and one month for committing an indictable offence on bail.  The base sentence will be a sentence imposed on Charge 1. 

122I order four months of the sentences imposed on Charges 2, 7 and 8, and one month of each of the sentence imposed on Charges 3, 4, 5 and 6, be served cumulatively or on top of the 18 months and each other. 

123That gives an effective total sentence of 38 months, three years and two months. 

124All right now, Mr Brennan can you assist me?

125MR BRENNAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

126HER HONOUR:  The next step is we have to print out the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order?

127MR BRENNAN:  You print out the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order and Mr Mitchell signs it, assuming he has been explained the conditions by my learned friend.

128HER HONOUR:  Do I need to go through them the way you do with a CCO?

129MR BRENNAN:  It is a matter for Your Honour. 

130HER HONOUR:  I have explained it, all right, but I might just do a pithy summary in relation to that, all right.

131MR BRENNAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

132HER HONOUR:  What it means as well, Mr Mitchell, is this.  You will be attending a very large number of appointments.  There will be urine screens, coming to court every week, there will be psychological treatment, there will be drug and alcohol treatment, there will be tasks set for you.  There will be a lot for you to do. 

133You need to make those conditions and what you have to do on the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order your number one priority. 

134I say this to young men on CCOs.  I cannot tell you how many times I have young blokes on CCOs who - 'Oh I've got a job.  What do they want from me?' - and they do not keep their conditions, okay? 

135Here is gaol, here is you; here is the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order in the middle, keeping you out of gaol.  You got it? 

136OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

137HER HONOUR:  Good.  So it may be that you will get work or you will do something else.  The Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order is absolutely number one in your life.  You are not in any event ever going to have a satisfactory life until you have dealt with your drug habit.  You are not going to be able to maintain a relationship, a job and you certainly will not be able to ever be an effective father of a child. 

138There is nothing worse for a child than having a drug user as a parent and it is because of the massive inconsistency.  One day, they are all over their children.  The next day, they are screaming at them and assaulting them, or screaming at their partner and terrifying that child. 

139None of these fundamental aspects of our lives that we all want is ever going to be yours unless you attend to your drug problem, okay?  Really, really serious. 

140Now, have you got any questions? 

141OFFENDER:  No, Your Honour.

142HER HONOUR:  Do I need to do a s6AAA, probably do?

143MR BRENNAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

144HER HONOUR:  Pursuant to s6AAA, I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of five years and six months and order that you served a minimum term of three years and six months has you not pleaded guilty. 

145MR BRENNAN:  Your Honour, there was also the pre-sentence detention Your Honour. 

146HER HONOUR:  Yes, what is the pre-sentence detention?

147MR BRENNAN:  445 days. 

148HER HONOUR:  I declare that 445 days of your sentence has already been served by way of pre-sentence detention. 

149MR BRENNAN:  I think for the purposes of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, it is just noted and not declared. 

150HER HONOUR:  It is just noted, and not yet declared unless the order is activated.  Thank you Mr Brennan, yes. 

151MR BRENNAN:  There was just the two ancillary orders. 

152HER HONOUR:  Yes, the forfeiture and disposal orders are granted.  I think they have got to be forwarded to me? 

153MR BRENNAN:  I think they may have been filed, but I will - yes - I will organise that. 

154HER HONOUR:  I will sign them off and get them back to you. 

155MR BRENNAN:  Thank Your Honour.

156HER HONOUR:  All right. 

157VOICE (from body of the court):  (Indistinct).

158HER HONOUR:  Yes.  What is your address please?  No, it is all right.

159MS TRICARICO:  Bentleigh East. 

160HER HONOUR:  Bentleigh East.  Okay. 

161VOICE (from body of the court):  Thanks.  I'll just add that and print it off. 

162HER HONOUR:  Okay, that is no problem, I will have to sign it.  Okay, these are the core conditions. 

163Whilst you are on the order you cannot commit another offence punishable by imprisonment.  What that means is you do not have to be gaoled, you just have to commit an offence for which you could be gaoled. 

164For example, if you knock off a box of matches from Woolworths, theoretically you could be gaoled for that.  You have to go to Drug Court when required by the court. 

165You have to report to the Melbourne Drug Court House or other specified place within two clear working days, that is, by Wednesday of this week. 

166You have to report to and receive visits from a member of the Drug Court.  You have to undergo treatment for alcohol and drug dependency as specified in the order.  You have to give any notice of change of address, at least two clear working days before a change to a specified drug court officer.  You cannot leave Victoria without the permission of the Drug Court, and you must obey all lawful instructions from the Drug Court team. 

167Those conditions remain in force for the whole of the 38 months.  You must also attend the following program conditions: 

168You have to submit for drug and alcohol testing as directed.  You have to submit to a detox or other treatment specified in the order as directed.  You have to attend vocational, educational and employment programs as directed. 

169You have to submit to medical, psychiatric and psychological treatments as directed and you may not use a drug of dependence without lawful authorisation.  Are you prepared to enter this order?

170OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

171HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  Okay, we will get you to serve this.  Thank you very much.  Sign it I mean, sorry.  Just take it down the back to him.  Thank you very much.  Okay. 

172Good luck Mr Mitchell.  I hope it works very well.  Good luck Mr and Mrs Mitchell, I hope this works for your son.  You have obviously been to hell and back I imagine, through all of this.  I do hope it works out. 

173It is a very, very difficult thing to endure, but he will get plenty of support on this order.  He has just got to - how old is he now - 27?  I think 26 is actually the age where a lot of boys, a bit of maturity kicks in, and so he is about the right age to do it.  So fingers crossed and really this is your big opportunity Mr Mitchell and I hope you can really take it.  All right?

174OFFENDER:  Thanks Your Honour.

175HER HONOUR:  Thank Your Honour.  I thank counsel for their assistance and we will adjourn ‑ ‑ ‑ 

176MR BRENNAN:  Sorry, Your Honour. 

177HER HONOUR:  What else, Mr Brennan?  Am I never to get away?

178MR BRENNAN:  Sorry Your Honour, briefly - no, no, yes sorry - previously in the Drug Court determination hearings, the participant is then released from the dock at the conclusion of the plea.  I do not know if that is the case. 

179HER HONOUR:  Yes, you are - you can be released from the dock. 

180MR BRENNAN:  Thank you. 

181HER HONOUR:  All right, so that can happen, well I said he can be, so that can happen.  Is that okay prison officers?

182PRISON OFFICER:  Yes.

183HER HONOUR:  Good.  Thank you very much.  Yes, thank you we will adjourn to 9.30.  Thank you very much. 

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