Director of Public Prosecutions v Parker (a pseudonym)

[2020] VCC 326

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MATTHEW PARKER (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE GUCCIARDO
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	4 March 2020
DATE OF SENTENCE:	25 March 2020
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Parker (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2020] VCC 326

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 N. Batten
For the Accused	Mr D. Dempsey

HIS HONOUR:

1Matthew Parker[1], you pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated burglary, two charges of causing injury intentionally and one of making a threat to kill, as well as the related summary charge related to commanding a dog to attack.

[1] A pseudonym

2The circumstances of your offending were contained in a document tendered by the prosecution and exhibited a number of a summary of those circumstances will suffice for purposes of this sentence.

3At the time of the offences, you were 37 years of age and you lived in Cobram.

4On 19 September 2019, at about 6.15 pm, the victim Jason Edwards[2], whom you have known since childhood was at the home of Donna Pittman[3], your ex-girlfriend.  Edwards was a new partner.  You and Pittman had been in an on and off again relationship for about three years before this date, a relationship which had ended some four months before in May 2019.

[2] A pseudonym

[3] A pseudonym

5She had left the house by car but had seen you walking in the direction of her house and you had yelled something to her.  She called Edwards and told him to lock the doors but by the time that she did that, you were already in the house.

6You were holding a meat cleaver in your hand and you had your Boxer cross breed dog with you.  Edwards thought you were going to kill him.  You said something like, 'You're the cunt that's fucking my Mrs'.  You raised the meat cleaver in the air as you moved towards Edwards, but he managed to grab the weapon with both hands.

7Pittman could hear the commotion on the phone and decided to return home.  You hit Edwards three or four times, by punching him, connecting particularly with his eye.  The two of you wrestled over the weapon.  He fell back onto a wooden and glass cabinet and then you told your dog to 'Get him'.

8Once he had heard the command, the dog bit Edwards’ right hand and upper left arm and his thigh and before leaving the house, you told him, 'I'll fuckin' kill you'. 

9The victim had a swollen eye and head, dog bites to his arm and thigh.  He was treated in hospital for his injuries.  Some hours later Edwards and Pittman returned home.  This time, with Edwards’ mother.

10At about 11 pm that night you returned to Pittman’s house and when Edwards came to the front door you asked her, 'Your boyfriend's in there isn't he?'.

11Before she could answer, you swung a wooden stick and damaged the glass pane in the front door and she was showered with glass.  You then put your arm through the door and opened it.  You forced your way in pushing Pittman.  You had cut your hand on the glass and were bleeding as you yelled, 'I'm going to kick it in'.

12You entered the home as Pittman ran away into the kitchen in fear.  You came into the kitchen.  At that time, two neighbours had entered the premises in an endeavour to help Edwards and Pittman and one of them, Mark Estrada[4], had a baseball bat with him.  You took the bat from Estrada at which point the two neighbours ran away.  As Edwards went to open the front wire door as you were attempting to escape, you swung the bat at his head hitting the back of his head.  Blood came pouring out of that wound.  You hit him two more times to the back of his head.  Eventually Pittman forced you out of the home and you left.

[4] A pseudonym

13Medical reports from Cobram District Hospital which treated Edwards noted he had a periorbital bruising and swelling, as well as blurred vision to the left eye, a laceration to the head, bruising and swelling to the back of the head, puncture wounds caused by your dog on his left upper arm and right inner thigh.  Bruises and soreness, laceration to the back of the head, a large bruise to the back of his left thigh and a large bruise to the left side of his chest.

14The next day the police arrested you.  You were interviewed and while you denied the allegations put to you about the offences committed the day before, you admitted that you lived with a Boxer-cross-Husky dog and that you owned a meat cleaver found in a backpack at your home.  You were remanded and have been in custody since that time. 

15There is no victim impact statement from the victims but I can reasonably infer that the injuries inflicted would have caused significant pain and discomfort, and probably caused ongoing health issues, at least for a little while, until it resolved.

16The offending no doubt would have caused fear and terror in the victims.  Such fear is often cause for ongoing trauma, hypervigilance, often other physical and psychological manifestations typical of this type of offending.

17Your ex-partner in a statement says it was all over her and jealousy, but that you did appear affected by alcohol, given by that time of the day she had expected you to be usually drunk because you are an alcoholic.  She was surprised at the events because she asserts you have been seeing other women and had not spoken to her for a couple of months.  However you smelt strongly of alcohol.

18Aggravated burglary is a very serious offence.  It interferes with the fundamental right of people to live peacefully and securely in their own home.  It carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment.  It is here alleged that it was committed by you twice within intent to assault on each occasion while carrying an offence weapon.

19Both making a threat to kill and causing injury intentionally carry 10 years maximum.  These maxima indicate the serious nature of the offence and are a useful primary yardstick for an assessment of the objective gravity of the offending.

20The objective factors in this offending is outlined in the summary.  Of a violent nature of the entry into a private home while armed with a weapon with an intention to assault.  During the course of the evening or later that night by surprise and confrontational in nature.

21These offences, particularly the aggravated burglary and the intentionally cause injury, are repeated within a few hours.  Therefore contumacious and of gravity which places them in my view in the mid-range of offending of this nature.

22Even the injuries sustained by the command of your dog in my view is serious, given the use of the animal to inflict injury on your victim, showing a particular level of animosity towards the victim and a disregard for the dog's own welfare.  In my view these are grave offences.

23You pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity having resolved to plead at the committal mention in December 2019.  As a result of your plea your sentence will be reduced.

24A plea has the utilitarian value of having avoided a criminal trial with its attendant cost and trauma and inconvenience to witnesses and participants.  I accept that it is accompanied by some remorse.  Remorse is sometimes difficult a feeling to assess.

25I accept that you regret your actions and accept a responsibility before the law for your offending.  I suspect that your current state of mind and capacity however may not have enabled so far to have provided you with a real and full appreciation of your wrongdoing.  However I take your plea into account and I take your personal circumstances into account.

26You are 38 years old and still reside in Cobram.  You lived alone at that place with your dog.  Unfortunately it appears that the dog will be put down because of its involvement.  I accept it will be a loss of companionship for you, but your conduct towards the creature by commanding it to attack means that you have deprived yourself of your dog and have forfeit his life for your moment of jealous rage.

27You were born and raised in Cobram.  Your parents separated when you were eight and they were local businesspeople before that occurrence.  You were one of five children.

28Following your parents' divorce, you rarely saw your father and his unexpectedly passing away during a go-karting outing with you and one of your brothers had a significant impact upon you.

29Your mother remarried when you were ten.  The family moved to Shepparton and your mother remains supportive of you. 

30You had a disrupted early education and you struggled with behavioural problems.  You had difficulty engaging in school and appeared to have learning disabilities or difficulties.  You still struggle with literacy.

31You attended one year of high school and left school at Year 8.  You subsequently had a number of labouring jobs in painting, concreting and as a handyman type work in the past as well as fruit picking.

32At the time of the offences you were in receipt of Centrelink benefits.  You indicated to police you would regularly indulge in heavy consumption of alcohol and substances.  You told them a standard daily amount of one and a half slabs of beer or a 4 litre cask of wine was your usual drink.

33In your teenage years, you began using illicit drugs often binge drinking with friends also.  You have had difficulty bringing this drinking under control.

34Cannabis use has also been problematic, being the main drug of dependence that you have used in combination with alcohol, although in more recent years you have used methamphetamine.  The impact of alcohol use and drugs is evident throughout your record of prior criminal offending.

35Your priors begin in 2002 when you were aged 20 being drunk in a public place and assaulting police.  You were fined. 

36In 2006 you had priors for possession and use of cannabis.  In 2008, drunkenness and assaulting police and criminal damage.  In 2010, there are other priors for criminal damage.

37In 2015, there is a prior for an unlawful assault.  In 2017, a prior for an aggravated assault of a female for which you were convicted and placed on a community correction orders for 12 months with work and treatment conditions.

38That order was breached in 2018 and the order varied to recommence upon your release for imprisonment, for offences for which you were convicted and imprisoned for three months.

39Those offences were contraventions of a family violence order, committing indictable offence whilst on bail, threaten an emergency worker, unlawful assault on Gardner, one of the victims in this case, and intentionally destroying property.

40The original community correction orders had been imposed for an aggravated assault on your previous partner, one Susan Jackson[5], with whom you had been in a previous relationship but from whom you had been separated for about ten months.  You had an argument with her after drinking alcohol.  You punched her to the mouth causing a cut and bleeding to her mouth.  All the while as she was holding her young son.

[5] A pseudonym

41I recite these priors not because I am to punish you for them again.  But I consider your prospects of rehabilitation in a realistic frame and these would appear relatively guarded in my view.

42I note that as your general health, you were involved in a violent altercation aged 15 when you were assaulted and in which you sustained some head trauma.  In 2004, when aged about 22, you were involved in a car accident, when a former partner struck you with her car.

43I know little else of the circumstances pertaining to that matter but I accept that you've been in the past prescribed Tegretol, an anticonvulsant, to deal with seizures, as well as some antidepressants.

44You have one child but you have no contact with that child.  He is now about 14.  Although you have complied with child maintenance obligations, you have not had any meaningful contact since he was three or four years old.

45While in custody, you have undertaken some work; ground keeping work, maintenance and rubbish collection.  You also paint Aboriginal inspired artworks and certificates from the Kangan Institute were tendered to show you have undertaken some courses in relation to cannabis use, ice use, anger management and food safety.

46One urine screen for November 2019 was also included showing negative results for all substances tested.

47I take into account that your occlusion may cause you to lose your public housing rental accommodation which you have held now for some 14 years.  This is potentially extra curial punishment which I do consider important to take into account.

48I repeat that a notice of destruction of your dog has been received and lawfully this position to lawfully dispose of your dog.  I take this consequence as extra curial punishment to some extent into account.

49Your mother was in court during your plea.  Her support is a positive factor which will hopefully be of assistance to you in reintegrating into the community.  You intend to reside with her upon your release.

50Your alcohol and drug use will be a vital issue to address.  You told your counsel you had no memory of the offending.  Intoxication provides no excuse or mitigation for the crime and as you return to the community, abuse of alcohol will continue to plague you unless you address and rectify that addiction.

51You have had some contact as a result of the community corrections order and some attempts have been made including medication in relation to this addiction.  But those efforts have not succeeded so far.  Your rehabilitation will depend essentially on your own commitment to reform.

52I accept that the offending was probably fuelled by alcohol and in that sense was unplanned, unsophisticated without accomplices and some of the other accoutrements that one finds usually with aggravated burglaries, but it remains grave conduct in which your moral culpability is significant.

53Would you please stand, Mr Parker.

54On the first charge of aggravated burglary, you are convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment.  On the fourth charge of aggravated burglary, you are convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment.

55On Charge 2 of intentionally cause injury, you are convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. 

56On Charge 5 of intentionally cause injury, you are convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment.

57On the threat to kill, Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment.

58On the related summary offence of wilfully using a dog to attack a person, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.

59I order that six months on Count 4, and one month on Counts 2 and 5 each be cumulative on Count 1, making a total effective sentence to four years and eight months.

60I order a non-parole period of two years and nine months.  I declare that you have served 187 days excluding today by way of pre-sentence detention and I will have that number noted in the records of the court.

61But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of five and a half years with a non-parole period of three and a half years.

62Mr Batten, are there any other ancillary orders?

63MR BATTEN:  There was a disposal order.  That is the only ‑ ‑ ‑

64HIS HONOUR:  I will just see if I have that order with me.  That order is about to be printed and I will sign it when it is ready.  Yes, thank you, you can remove Mr Parker, thank you.  Thank you, I have signed that order Mr Batten.  Sine die please.

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