Director of Public Prosecutions v Plose
[2023] VCC 1731
•19 September 2023
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Suitable for Publication | |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
CR 23-00668
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| CORY PLOSE |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE HARPER | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 5 September 2023 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 19 September 2023 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v PLOSE | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2023] VCC 1731 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Burglary – theft of firearms – theft of motor vehicle
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991
Cases Cited:
Sentence:1 year 9 months imprisonment, NPP 1 year 3 months
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr A. McCowan | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr L. Cameron | Stary Norton Halphen |
HER HONOUR:
1 Cory Alan Plose, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary, one rolled up charge of theft of firearm, and one charge of theft relating to a motor vehicle. The maximum penalty for the offences of burglary and theft is 10 years' imprisonment in each case, and for theft of a firearm it is 15 years' imprisonment. You have a significant criminal history which I will return to later.
2 The circumstances of your offending were fully outlined in Exhibit A, the amended summary of prosecution opening dated 4 September 2023. I will summarise those facts here.
3 On 13 May 2022, George Scerri went to 9 Talofa Avenue, Ringwood East, the address of his brother John Scerri who had passed away on 10 May 2022. Mr Scerri discovered that the home had been burgled and that multiple items had been stolen. This burglary is the basis of Charge 1.
4 Mr Scerri rang the police who arrived shortly after. It was discovered that you had stolen multiple items, including one unregistered air rifle stored in the front bedroom cupboard which goes to Charge 2, and one unregistered musket style rifle stored in the attic, which also goes to Charge 2, and a 2002 red Holden Commodore utility bearing Victorian registration 1AX 1HR, which was parked in the driveway, the basis of Charge 3.
5 You were arrested on 13 May 2022 for an unrelated matter. As a result of this offending your Apple iPhone was seized. On the mobile phone police found the following: a Snapchat video dated 11 May 2022 depicting you inside
John Scerri's residence walking around and talking about a deceased estate; a photograph of the stolen Holden Commodore utility bearing Victorian registration 1AX 1HR; a video depicting you walking up to, and sitting inside the driver's seat of the stolen Holden Commodore, and videos depicting your distinctive tattooed hands handling a firearm identified as the unregistered air rifle stolen from John Scerri's property.
6 On 23 May 2022 you were arrested and interviewed at Lilydale police station. You made no admissions and denied any knowledge of the burglary; however you told police the following. You knew the Scerri residence stating:
'I know that's near my mum's address. I was living there at the start of this year and a couple of months ago'.
7 When asked about Mr Scerri's residence you stated it has got an overgrown front yard with no fence or gate. You stated you knew there was a Commodore usually parked there but could not state any further details about the vehicle. You told police that the last time you were at your mother's address was last Saturday, being 21 May 2022, and a week before that, being 14 May 2022. You also stated that you were coming and going through this time and could not provide any specific dates and times you were in the area.
8 After the interview you were charged and bailed. A later interrogation of your mobile phone found the following. On 11 May 2022 you sent a text message to Jaden Boyles stating that you had a deceased estate that 'needs to be done' and referred to there being cars at the address. You then stated you heard Mum talking, 'He doesn't have kids'.
9 On 11 May 2022 at 9.36 pm you sent a Facebook message to the account of Leon Nguyen which included video of the stolen Holden Commodore.
The video appeared to be taken on the road out the front of 9 Talofa Avenue, Ringwood East. You also sent a message with the video stating, 'New ute, boy, and deceased estate'. At 10.48 pm Leon Nguyen replied, stating, 'Send addy', to which you replied, 'Come to Ringwood East, Eastwood Primary School'.
I note Eastwood Primary School is approximately 700 metres from John Scerri's house.
10 On 12 May 2022 at 1.20 am you received a Facebook message from an account in the name of Mitch Dennis, who stated, 'Oi, is it like this one, the air rifle?' The message included two photographs of brown air rifles. You replied by sending a video of the stolen brown air rifle in the boot of a vehicle. At 1.22 am
Mitch Dennis replied to the video stating, 'Give to me and we'll call it even for the $250 and the three points', and you replied, 'I'll speak to Boyles later'.
On 16 May 2022 you sent a Facebook message to an account named Jords, stating, 'Who wants a red VU ute'.
11 It is the prosecution case that you attended the Scerri residence and stole the two firearms, and that another offender later stole the Holden Commodore but you were complicit in the theft of the vehicle. On 31 May 2023 the Holden Commodore utility was located unattended by police on South Gippsland Highway in Cranbourne.
12 On 7 June 2023 a search warrant was executed at your acquaintance
Jaden Boyles' residence where both stolen firearms were recovered. Both firearms were forensically tested and were found to be operable.
13 These are standard examples of burglary and theft, aggravated by the theft of the two firearms which is a particularly serious offence. Fortunately, both the vehicle and the two firearms were eventually recovered, although they were no longer in your possession. There is no victim impact statement, although I
note this must have been both distressing and inconvenient offending for
George Scerri, who was already dealing with his brother's death.
14 You entered pleas of guilty to the charges on the indictment at the committal mention stage in the Magistrates' Court. Both parties submitted this was an early plea and has significant utilitarian benefit in the circumstances. You have saved the community the time and expense of running a trial and spared witnesses the ordeal of giving evidence. As such, you have facilitated the administration of justice and you are entitled to a benefit for that.
15 The utilitarian benefit of your plea is enhanced by the fact that the Worboyes considerations are engaged. This results in a more pronounced amelioration of sentence than at other times. You denied the offending when first interviewed by police, however by your plea of guilty you have demonstrated an acceptance of responsibility for your offending and indicated a level of remorse. I will moderate the sentence to reflect this.
16 I turn now to your personal circumstances.
17 You were born in November 1997 and are now 25 years of age. The offending occurred when you were 24 years old. Your parents separated when you were two years of age, and while you witnessed no family violence or other trauma, you found your parents often moved between rental homes which was disruptive and made it difficult to build meaningful friendships in a number of different locations.
18 Your mother now lives on Christmas Island and your father has re-partnered and moved to Indonesia. They remain supportive of you but are no longer physically present. I note you speak to your mother every couple of days.
19 You were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, as a young child and oppositional defiance disorder, ODD, in high school. You completed your education at Parkville College after entering the youth justice system at an early age.
20 Your first period of detention was in 2015. You have been sentenced to adult imprisonment at various times since 2017 and have had the opportunity of several community corrections dispositions. Your compliance history is poor with community based orders.
21 I am told that your entry into the criminal justice system coincided with your commencing drug use, starting with cannabis, MDMA, and ecstasy. The following year you were introduced to methamphetamine at the age of 16 by the father of a friend. You have abused methamphetamine and GHB since this time. You began to abuse buprenorphine in custody but have now sought formal treatment involving this drug. You have expressed a desire to remain drug free.
22 At various times you have held employment and you have completed qualifications in custody, including your white card. You clearly have the capacity for training and employment should you seek to do so. I received a psychological report from Gina Cidoni dated 31 August 2023, Exhibit 2, which diagnosed you with stimulant use disorder and oppositional defiance disorder.
23 She further makes provisional diagnoses of ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder, although there is very little trauma apparent in the report on which to found this diagnosis. There was a period in which you twice attempted to end your own life following the end of a significant relationship and the unexpected termination of your partner's pregnancy, although these events seem to predate the PTSD. All diagnoses are complicated by your substance abuse issues.
24 You are currently prescribed antidepressant medication in custody. You are remanded at Hopkins Correctional Centre where, to your credit, you hold the position of billet. You have been found by Ms Cidoni to be at significant risk of reoffending, given your lack of housing, immaturity, criminal history, and absence of familial supports. You require assistance and interventions on your release from custody. I have also received a character reference from Mr Robert Farrow, Exhibit 3, but this was undated and makes no reference to his knowledge of the offending.
25 Mr Plose, your offending was opportunistic and unsophisticated, but serious in that it involved the theft of two firearms in working condition. You broke into the home of a man you knew to have just died and took items of value to you, being the guns and the car. I note that the burglary and theft charges were committed on a single occasion and that you are pleading guilty to Charge 3 on the basis of complicity; that is, someone else in fact stole the vehicle from the premises but did so with your knowledge and encouragement.
26 This is your first appearance in this court. You have a lengthy and relevant prior criminal history including multiple convictions for burglary and theft. This does, as was submitted, appear to correlate with your drug addiction. While you are not to be re-sentenced for those prior matters, they are relevant to your prospects of rehabilitation and to specific deterrence and community protection. I consider your prospects of rehabilitation to be guarded, contingent as they are on your ability to remain abstinent from drugs.
27 Your prior criminal history further leads me to find that specific deterrence is of particular importance. I also consider general deterrence, just punishment and denunciation to be relevant considerations.
28 I note you were sentenced for unrelated matters on 20 October 2022 to
115 days, which was reckoned as time served. Your pre-sentence detention for this matter then commences the following day on 21 October 2022. I note the 115 days and take it into account pursuant to the principle of totality.
29 There has been some delay in this matter while the prosecution obtained further evidence from your phone and the search warrants. I take this into consideration.
30 Mr Plose, on Charge 1 you are sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.
31 On Charge 2 you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. This will be the base sentence.
32 On Charge 3 you are sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.
33 I order that six months of the sentence imposed on Charge 1, and three months of the sentence imposed on Charge 3 be served cumulatively on the sentence imposed on Charge 2 and on each other.
34 That makes a total effective sentence of one year and nine months' imprisonment.
35 I order that you serve a minimum non-parole period of one year and
three months before being eligible for release.
36 I declare that 333 days, excluding today, has been served by way of
pre-sentence detention pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act 1991.
37 Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991 I direct that had you not pleaded guilty I would have imposed a total effective sentence of two years and
nine months' imprisonment with a minimum of two years to serve before being eligible for parole. I make the forfeiture order sought by the prosecution.
38 COUNSEL: If Your Honour pleases.
39 HER HONOUR: Thank you. Is there anything further from either party?
40 COUNSEL: No, Your Honour.
41 HER HONOUR: We will stand down till 10.30. Thank you.
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