Director of Public Prosecutions v Pike

[2014] VCC 1761

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

AARON PIKE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	20 October 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v PIKE
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 1761

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	Ms C. Parkes	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Offender	Mr R. Davis

HIS HONOUR: 

1Aaron Pike, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary, one charge of causing injury intentionally and one charge of making a threat to inflict a serious injury.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of 25 years, ten years and five years respectively. 

2You are now 37 years of age.  You pleaded guilty at the earliest reasonable opportunity, and I accept that that plea of guilty is now accompanied by appropriate remorse.  You must of course also get the utilitarian benefit of that plea. 

3There has now been a delay of some 12 months since the committal, and whilst that is not said to be anybody's fault, it is a significant factor when one is dealing with charges now, something in the order of 16 months old. 

4You do have worrying prior convictions.  The two of most concern are that in June 2005 you were convicted in the Magistrates' Court of recklessly causing serious injury and were placed on a community based order for 12 months.  In April 2007 you were convicted of aggravated burglary with a person present and sentenced to nine months to be served by way of an intensive corrections order.  You also have a community corrections order from September 2012. 

5Each of those prior convictions for violence, as I understand it, involved alcohol.  I am now told and accept that you are basically free from drug and alcohol problems, largely because of a relationship that you are in, and the fact that you now have a five month old child. 

6The other aspect of those prior convictions is that you have completed each of those community based orders.  As your counsel forthrightly put, the trouble with that is it would appear that they did not work.  But be that as it may, I think this is a situation where the community will be best served by your ultimate rehabilitation if that is possible. 

7A summary of the offending is that you had known the victim, a Mr Brenton Owen, for about four to five months.  I accept that these offences took place within a certain milieu and that Mr Owen is no stranger to the criminal justice system.  I am told that you had on previous occasions been asked to intervene in circumstances where he was engaging in domestic violence, and I am told that he has, subsequent to this, been in fact gaoled for domestic violence.  Bearing in mind your childhood, that is of some significance I think. 

8In any event, Mr Owen was sharing a house with one Ms Palomino.  You were in a relationship, and still are, with a Ms Tayla Ireland.  On the morning of Wednesday 19 June 2013, Owen was at home with Palomino and Ireland, and at that time, you and Ms Ireland were fighting with each other and had been exchanging text messages.  At around 9.50 am, Ms Palomino received a telephone call from you and there was a conversation.  You were upset as Palomino was aware of some allegation that you had been unfaithful to Ireland and you wanted to know who told her about it. 

9During the conversation you asked her who she was home with.  She told you that Owen was home, and you then said, "I'm gonna come around and smash your door down, smash everything inside and smash Brenton".  That gives rise to Charge 3, of the threat to inflict serious injury. 

10

The call ended, and a short time later, you arrived.  You parked outside, went up and started banging on the sliding door.  Mr Owen was apparently sitting at a desk in his bedroom.  Ms Palomino went to the back door and told

Ms Ireland to go and hide.  Ms Palomino opened the curtain over the door and saw you.  You were yelling at her.  She opened the door and went outside.  There was an argument where you demanded to know who had told her about the allegation.  She refused to tell you, and closed the door behind her.  You pushed her to the side and she lost her balance.  You pushed past her, opened the door and walked inside the house. 

11Mr Owen came out of his bedroom.  You then ran up to him, grabbed him, and - on the Crown summary - punched him a number of times to the face.  He said, "What are you doing?  What are you punching me for?".  That gives rise to the charge of causing injury intentionally. 

12The injuries that he received are not such that required medical assistance and indeed he declined the offer of it when police arrived. 

13

Ms Palomino and Ms Ireland then tried to separate the two of you, at which stage you fell to the ground.  You stood up.  Ms Palomino then told you it was Damian who had told her about the allegation.  That overall conduct and the going in without permission with the intention of assaulting, knowing that

Mr Owen at least was inside gives rise to the charge of aggravated burglary. 

14

Insofar as the circumstances of it are, I think it is at the lower end of aggravated burglary.  It was very much situational, just your priors are cause for concern.  I note also that when police attended and spoke to Mr Owen the police officer said, "What's happened here today?".  Mr Owen said, "Ah it was just Pikey, he came in the back and bashed me".  Mr Owen does not seem to have been too upset about the matter, and I note that neither he nor

Ms Palomino have taken the opportunity of making victim impact statements.  As I said, going all the way back to Spring's case, one has to try and deal with these matters as they fall. 

15I note, as was pointed out by your counsel, that there was no use of a weapon, no weapon was taken with you and things did not get totally out of hand.  One of the purposes of sentencing for aggravated burglary is the risk of what can occur in such a situation, and I take that into account obviously. 

16The normal course of events calls for the application of general and specific deterrence as well as denunciation and appropriate punishment.  There will be many situations where a custodial sentence would be imposed for such a matter, and many situations where that would be active. 

17

Tendered before me on your behalf are a number of references and also a report from Mr Cunningham, a psychologist.  That report - and you are now

37, so your childhood is starting to run out as an excuse, but in any event, that report states that you had been brought up where your mother had a series of relationships with, as you said, "Bikie sort of fellas with tatts and beards".  You were physically abused.  You stated that you had a hard life when living with your mother and you were happiest when with your grandmother.  You have indicated that you were a person who would stick up for others. 

18Bearing in mind the history between yourself and Mr Owen, what is described in the report of Mr Cunningham is important.  He said: 

19"Mr Pike stated that he has an anger problem when pushed.  He stated he was always defending his friends and sisters during childhood.  He stated that he was the big brother and was always the one to protect his brothers and sisters.  He stated that he was the first one to stick up for his friends.  He stated he was placed in the men's behaviour change program interpolated on one of the CVOs.  He stated this made him angry because he was in a room full of men who beat their wives.  He stated that he grew up hearing his mother being beaten by her partners". 

20

With that background I can see how animosity may have arisen towards

Mr Owen which was unrelated to what was actually taking place on that day.  It is important that you recognise that you do have an anger problem. 

21In overall terms, he describes that you went to five different primary schools.  That always causes difficulties for young people.  On the other hand, you have a very good work record.  I do not need to outline that here.  You are currently unemployed because of these matters pending, but you have clearly worked pretty much since you left school and that is very much to your credit. 

22At the present time, you have 70 per cent custody, if I can describe it that way, of a 14 year old boy who is apparently doing well, and you also have a five to six month old child with your partner, Ms Ireland, who I described before.  You have stable accommodation.  There is no reason why you cannot work.  You do not currently have a drug or an alcohol problem, and I think in those circumstances, the risk of your reoffending would be low. 

23The prospects of your rehabilitation are up to you, as I indicated during the course of the plea.  I think there is going to have to be some sort of anger management course undertaken.  I note in the opinion of Dr Cunningham that he thinks you would be best off in a one-on-one situation and I think that is right.  Obviously corrections will have a copy of that report, and I ask that they take note of it. 

24The references tendered on your behalf basically confirm what I have just said, that in more recent times you have shown a lot more sense, that you are devoted to your child, that you now see yourself as a family man, that your drinking has been reduced dramatically and that you are mainly a stay at home dad.  You have the support of the mother of your 14 year old child and she regards you as a good parent, and that, as Mr Davis said, is not all that usual in these sort of situations. 

25I also note that you help care for your 85 year old grandmother who has no dependant family close by.  Those matters do not give rise to exceptional circumstances, it was not suggested that they do.  But for you to be incarcerated now, in that situation, I think would put a great deal of stress upon you and it is a matter that I take into account. 

26There is a work reference from a company that you worked for back in 2011.  As I have said, I accept that you have a very good work record.  Each of those references says that you have a changed attitude and that you have determined to turn your life around. 

27They are the matters that I take into account.  The circumstances are that a community corrections order now can be used in circumstances where there may have been a suspended sentence, and it is, as indicated in the first reading speech, to try and stop people going to gaol when there may be a disposition which shows community displeasure, at the same time assists in rehabilitation.  I think yours, despite your criminal history - and I am very conscious of that - is such a circumstance. 

28Accordingly, if you agree, you will be placed on a community corrections order.  It will be for a period of three years.  The condition will be of mental health assessment, programs to reduce offending and 250 work hours.  I think I have not said - that is with conviction obviously. 

29I might add that I have taken into account also the fact that you did two days in custody at the outset of all this, and that you have had three days per week reporting for now something in the order of 16 months. 

30(At this stage the court proceeded with another matter.)

31All right.  Well that order is made.  Just stand up for me for a moment, if you would.  Mr Pike, I just make it clear, one of the problems with aggravated burglary as a crime is that you can go in there sometimes and people fight back and it gets all out of control.  Someone picks up the Stay Sharp and you have got a body on the floor.  That is why it is treated as a very serious crime.  Now you have got a prior for it.  I am simply saying this to you; use the opportunities that you get with corrections because if you get brought back before me for breaching this, you will go in and it will not just be for a couple of months, it will be a whack.  Fair enough?

32OFFENDER:  Yep. 

33HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Thank you, Ms Parkes.

34MS PARKES:  Thank you, Your Honour. 

35HIS HONOUR:  Thank you, Mr McKay for a very long and very well done circuit if I might say so.  9.30 tomorrow. 

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