Director of Public Prosecutions v Rettino

[2016] VCC 1412

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

AT SALE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-16-00597

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ADRIAN MICHAEL RETTINO

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Sale
DATE OF HEARING:	30 August 2016
DATE OF SENTENCE:	5 September 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Rettino
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 1412

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. Albore	Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr J. Anderson	Sullivan Braham Pty Ltd

Pages 1 - 8

 

 

HIS HONOUR: 

1Adrian Michael Rettino, you have pleaded guilty to the following charges; one charge of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug contrary to s.307.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment;

2One charge of possession of a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, contrary to s.307.9(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years' imprisonment;

3Three charges of possession of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, contrary to s.307.10(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 2 years' imprisonment;

4One charge of possession of a quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to s.307.7(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 2 years' imprisonment; and

5One charge of dealing with money reasonably suspected of being a proceeds of crime to the value of less than $100,000, contrary to s.400.9(1A) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 2 years' imprisonment.

6You pleaded guilty at the committal mention of this matter on 13 April 2016 and I have taken your early plea of guilty into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.  You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges. 

7The prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending maybe summarised as follows –

8On 14 June 2015 Australian Customs and Border Protection Force intercepted a package at the Melbourne gateway facility consigned to you at your home address in Sale from Hong Kong.  Upon examination the package revealed a one litre bottle labelled Pattex primer.  The liquid was analysed and found to be 1.33 kilograms of the drug Gamma‑butyrolactone (GBL).  GBL is a depressant used for its euphoric and sedative effects.  The GBL was removed from the bottle by AFP officers and a benign substance replaced it. 

9On 24 June 2015 a controlled delivery to you was carried out at your residential address in Sale and a search warrant was executed following the delivery.

10During the course of that search investigating police located the following other border control drugs –

(i) 3.4 grams of pure methamphetamine (a marketable quantity is 2 grams);

(ii) .5 grams of pure cocaine;

(iii) .1 grams of pure amphetamine;

(iv) 6.1 grams of 2CP 2CE 2CD an hallucinogen;

(v) 14 grams of vegetable material contained in Psilocybin also an hallucinogen;

(vi) $7,840 in cash in 50 and $20 notes.

11Police also located a number of other items consistent with a commercial distribution of border control drugs, in particular –

(i) two sets of electronic scales;

(ii) vacuum bag sealer rolls;

(iii) a vacuum bag sealer machine;

(iv) a quantity of plastic deal bags and;

(v) three mobile telephones. 

12Following the search you were interviewed by investigating police at the Sale police station.  In the course of that interview you denied selling drugs and stated that the drugs and items located were for your own personal use.  You also denied that you had imported the GBL that had been consigned to you from Hong Kong.  You did admit to the investigators that you used a website called "Dark Net" to purchase drugs.

13Following the interview you were charged and remanded in custody.  You were released on bail on 30 September 2015. 

14In my opinion it is clear from all the circumstances of your offending that you imported and possessed the drugs, the subject of the charges, for a commercial purpose.  I accept that you were a drug user at the time of your offending but you were also engaged in commercial activity in relation to those drugs. 

15Illegal drugs of dependence cause incalculable damage to our society and the sentence that I impose in your case must be calculated to deter others from offending in this way.  Persons such as you who engage in criminal commercial activity in relation to these substances must expect significant punishment on conviction.  It is the fundamental responsibility of this court to protect our community from offending of this nature. 

16Nevertheless the extent of your commercial activity is at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.  The GBL you imported is of a street value of between $3,495 and $5,825 and the methamphetamine is of a street value of between $2,150 and $4,300.

17Furthermore as stated by the Court of Appeal in the DPP v Maxwell [2013] VSCA 50 even though the charge to which you have pleaded guilty in relation to the GBL carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, GBL is a substance that offers relatively low financial returns from its sale. This in turn means that your moral culpability for your offending is less than would otherwise be the case. This is not to say that your offending is not serious. Plainly it is. Whilst the quantities of the other substances that were in your possession were small, as I have said you possessed them for a commercial purpose.

18I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born in Sale on 28 October 1995 and are now aged 20. You will turn 21 next month. You are a young offender for the purposes of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) and by operation of s.20C of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) you may be punished as a young offender.

19Furthermore it is clear that your youth is a significant sentencing consideration in your case, in accordance with the principles set out in R v Mills (1998) 4 VR 235.

20You are the only child of your parents who you reside with in Sale.  You completed Year 12 at the Sale Catholic College and commenced a Bachelor of Information Technology at Federation University in Churchill.  You left that course shortly after enrolling and were working full‑time at The Reject Shop when your offending occurred.  You now work in an advertising research company.  It would appear that you are, to a degree socially isolated and somewhat dependent on your parents.  As I have already observed you are a user of illegal drugs of dependence and such use commenced when you were 15.

21Following your release on bail you have completed Youth Justice supervised bail and you are now drug free.  I have also received in evidence two reports of Mr Jeremy Parker a consulting and forensic psychologist detailing your psychological profile and developmental history.  In his opinion you suffered from polysubstance abuse disorder but this is now in remission.  He also expresses the opinion that you suffer from mild to moderate depression and anxiety and a low level of Autism. 

22The reports tendered on your behalf in respect of your Youth Justice supervised bail disposed that you have responded well to the courses and programs you have attended and have set positive goals for yourself.  It therefore is apparent that the depression and anxiety observed by Mr Parker is now well managed by you.

23As I observed during the plea hearing in my opinion you were not truthful to investigating police in relation to your offending and you continued to deny the commercial activity in relation to the drugs that you were involved in.  This suggests that your prospects of rehabilitation whilst good must also be considered with a degree of caution. 

24Nevertheless I accept that the sentence I impose must provide for your future rehabilitation by reason of your youth.  However your offending is serious and despite your youth and the other factors personal to you that mitigate your offending, general deterrence and the protection of the community are also factors that are to be considered in your case.

25Your counsel submitted that I should either impose a Community Correction Order in your case or order that you be detained in a Youth Justice Centre.  In my opinion the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed would not be achieved by the imposition of a CCO and further, the circumstances of your offending and the factors personal to you do not warrant me making a Youth Justice Order. 

26In my opinion the appropriate proportionate penalty to be imposed in your case is one of imprisonment.  However I have moderated that sentence by reason of your youth.  And further I have significantly moderated the period that you will be required to serve before release on a Recognisance Release Order for that reason. 

27In the result the sentence of the court is as follows - 

28On Charge 1, the charge of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 21 months.  I order that sentence commence on 5 March 2017. 

29On Charge 2, the charge of possession of a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 12 months.  I order that that sentence commence on 5 September 2016, that is today. 

30On Charge 3, the charge of possession of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for one month.  I order that that sentence commence this day, 5 September 2016. 

31On Charge 4, the charge of possession of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for one month.  I order that that sentence commence this day, 5 September 2016.

32On Charge 5, the charge of possession of a border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for one month.  I order that that sentence commence this day, that is 5 September 2016. 

33On Charge 6, the charge of dealing with money reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for one month.  I order that that sentence commence this day, that is 5 September 2016. 

34On Charge 7, the charge of possession of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for one month.  I order that that sentence commence this day, that is 5 September 2016. 

35This makes a total effective term of imprisonment of 2 years and 3 months.  I order that you be released on a Recognisance Release Order in the sum of $500 after having served six months of that sentence. 

36I declare that you have served 105 days by way of pre‑sentence detention not including today. 

37But for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of five years and fixed a non‑parole period of two years. 

38That means that you will be released on the Recognisance Release Order in 75 days from today. 

39When you are released you will on what's called a Recognisance Release Order meaning that you have to be of good behaviour for the balance of your sentence which is a period of one year and nine months after your release.  In the event that you breach that by re‑offending then you can be sentenced in respect of that offending and for a breach of the recognisance and you will also forfeit the sum of $500 which is the amount of the recognisance.  Do you understand that?  All right thank you. 

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