Director of Public Prosecutions v Reid

[2017] VCC 1502

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

AT SALE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-17-00256

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JOHN REID

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Sale
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 October 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Reid
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1502

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. Albert	Office Of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr A. Marshall	Rainer Martini & Associates

Pages 1 - 6

 

 

HIS HONOUR:

1John Alan Reid, you have pleaded guilty to Two charges of negligently causing serious injury, contrary to s.24 of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is ten years imprisonment;

2One charge of failing to render assistance after a motor vehicle accident contrary to s.61(1) paragraph B of the Roads Safety Act 1986.  The maximum penalty for that offence is ten years imprisonment; and 

3The related summary offence of being an unsupervised learner driver, contrary to clause 46(2) of the Roads Safety Regulations 2009.  The maximum penalty for that offence is 20 penalty units. 

4You pleaded guilty following a contested committal proceeding and so your plea is not at the earliest opportunity.  However, it was indicated shortly after the committal and it has spared witnesses and the community the burden of a criminal trial.  I have taken your plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.

5You have admitted an extensive criminal history for a range of serious offences and have spent many years in prison.  Your driving history is especially poor and you have numerous convictions for unlicensed driving, driving whilst disqualified, dangerous driving, careless driving and exceeding a prescribed content of alcohol.  You have never held a driver's licence and plainly, you are a danger to other road users. 

6A summary of prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows - 

7In February 2016, you were released from prison and at that time, you had received a substantial sum of money by way of compensation for physical and sexual abuse that you had suffered whilst a ward of the state, as it was then called, in Victoria.  You were released from prison with few supports and travelled to Warrnambool where you purchased a vehicle. 

8On 18 March 2016, you and an associate drove from Warrnambool to Sale and following this, the vehicle broke down in Traralgon.  You then purchased another vehicle and made arrangements to repair the first vehicle that you had purchased. 

9On 23 March 2016, at approximately 5.30 am, you were driving in the northbound lane of Gibsons Road, Sale.  The area was a 60 kilometre zone and there was some fog present.  You had been working on the repairs to the other vehicle since the previous day and were tired. 

10Daniel Monahan, Brent Richardson and Michael Hartwell were cycling along Gibsons Road.  Each of their bicycles was fitted with flashing red strobe lights.  There was street lighting operating and despite the fog, visibility was clear.  You struck Monahan and Richardson with your vehicle from behind.  Hartwell managed to avoid your vehicle at that time. 

11One or both of the cyclists you struck hit the bonnet and windscreen of your vehicle.  Monahan was knocked unconscious and was later taken by ambulance to Sale Hospital with spinal injuries.  He was discharged the following day but was unable to work for a period of eight weeks.  Richardson suffered more serious injuries, including a fractured skull, two fractured vertebrae and a fractured elbow.  He was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and spent 11 days there. 

12Both victims have now recovered from their physical injuries but Victim Impact Statements tendered, together with the Victim Impact Statement of Michael Hartwell, disclose the significant and ongoing trauma your offending has caused to them and their families. 

13In my opinion, you must have realised that you had probably struck a person or persons.  But despite this, you failed to stop to assist them.  However, whilst I accept that you panicked, it was inexcusable for you to drive away. 

14You then took steps to obscure the damage to the vehicle at the premises at which you parked it, before returning to Warrnambool and then subsequently to South Australia, where you were arrested on 1 April 2016.  You provided a false account of your offending when interviewed and following extradition to Victoria, were remanded in custody where you remain. 

15Whilst there is no evidence of excessive speed or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or other like aggravating features in this case, you failed to keep a proper lookout and were driving when sleep deprived. 

16Your offending is serious but I accept that Charge 1 and 2 fall at the lower end of the scale of seriousness for offences of this nature.  However, Charge 3 is a serious example of that offence. 

17The sentence I impose in this case must be calculated to deter others from offending in this manner and plainly, specific deterrence is an important factor in this case when consideration is given to your criminal history and driving offending history. 

18Whilst your plea of guilty is some evidence of remorse in your case, I do not accept that you were truly remorseful for the trauma you have caused.  You must also be punished for these offences and your offending denounced by the court.  Cyclists and entitled to the safe use of our roadways and the courts must protect them from other road users who offend in this way. 

19I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You were born on 1 January 1978 and you are now aged 39.  Your entire life has been one of disadvantage and deprivation.  You were a ward of the state between the ages of three months and 16 years and were seriously abused, as I have already observed, whilst in care.

20Your contact with your family has been infrequent and it would appear that you only have contact with an uncle who resides in Melbourne.  You have no ongoing relationships and no dependents.  You have a history of alcohol and drug abuse.

21During the course of the plea hearing you spoke, however, with some insight into your circumstances and described yourself as institutionalised.  This is, no doubt, clearly the case. 

22I have received, in evidence, a psychological report of Mr Jeffrey Cummins, detailing your background and psychological profile.  I accept that you suffer from personality disorders caused by your disrupted development and the abuse that you suffered as a child. 

23You have never received any psychological or psychiatric treatment despite the obvious necessity for it in your case. 

24In my opinion, your prospects for any meaningful rehabilitation are dependent upon you receiving intensive support and supervision on parole when in the community.  I do not accept that in the circumstances of your case that you can simply be released into the community without such support or supervision. 

25My sentencing remarks will be forwarded to the Parole Board for its consideration when your eligibility for parole arises.  It is also of considerable concern that you were previously released without support and with complete access to the substantial sum of compensation that you had received. 

26You dissipated those funds very quickly and without any appropriate advice or support. 

27It is also obvious that you must, at some stage, take steps to obtain a driver's license. 

28It is clear that your capacity for reasoned and mature decision making is either undeveloped or impaired by reason of your institutionalisation and the abuse that you have suffered.  This contributed to your offending in this case and had you stopped and rendered assistance to your victims, no doubt this would have tempered the trauma that you have caused.

29Nevertheless, in my opinion, your case calls for a greater degree of mercy than would otherwise be the case. 

30In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows –

31On Charge 1, the charge of negligently causing serious injury, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years and nine months. 

32On Charge 2, the charge of negligently causing serious injury, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years and three months. 

33On Charge 3, the charge of failing to render assistance, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 18 months. 

34I order that one year of the sentence on Charge 2 and six months of the sentence on Charge 3 be served cumulatively on each other and cumulatively on the sentence imposed on Charge 1.  This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of four years and three months. 

35I direct that you serve two years and six months before becoming eligible for release on parole. 

36I declare that you have served 565 days by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today. 

37But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of imprisonment of six years with a non-parole period of four years. 

38On the charge of driving, being a learner driver whilst unsupervised, you are convicted and fined the sum of $400.  I order there be a stay of one month in relation to the payment of that fine.   

39All licenses held by you are cancelled and you are disqualified from obtaining a license in the state of Victoria for a period of three years, that period to commence on 1 April 2016. 

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