Director of Public Prosecutions v Richardson
[2023] VCC 1048
•22 June 2023
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
N10816740
Case No. CR-22-02418
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| CHRISTOPHER RICHARDSON |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE DOYLE |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF PLEA: | 2 May 2023 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 22 June 2023 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Richardson |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2023] VCC 1048 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Criminal Law - Sentence
Catchwords: Guilty plea – aggravated burglary – intentionally cause injury – criminal damage – theft – fail to answer bail
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958 s 77, s 18, s 197, s 74
Cases Cited:Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169; R vVerdins [2007] VSCA 102
Sentence: 11 months imprisonment in combination with a CCO of 18 months
s6AAA declaration: 3 years with a minimum of 2 years
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr B. Sharp | Solicitor for the Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr J. Portelli | Nadanh Pty Ltd |
HIS HONOUR:
1Christopher Richardson, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary for which the maximum penalty is 25 years’ imprisonment, one charge of intentionally causing injury – 10 years’ imprisonment, one charge of criminal damage – 10 years’ imprisonment, one charge of theft – 10 years’ imprisonment, and a summary offence of failing to answer bail for which the maximum penalty is 2 years’ imprisonment.
2You were born in July 1983, and you were 39 years old at the time of the offending. The Opening describes you as homeless at the time of the offence, but it seems that not so long prior to that, you had been with your girlfriend, Ms Nguyen, although exactly where you had been living is not entirely clear.
Circumstances of the offending
3The circumstances of the offending are set out in the Prosecution Opening dated 11 April 2023 and the incident was fully captured on CCTV. The recording was tendered in evidence, and I have watched it several times. The Prosecution Opening accurately reflects what is on the CCTV footage.
4On 24 of April 2022 at about 3.00pm, you attended Hotel 115, at 115 Cotham Road, Kew, Victoria. You had booked and paid a room online via Expedia.com. When you attended, Mr Robert Lanz who was working at the counter took a copy of your Victorian license and a 'token' from your ANZ bank card to be used as a security deposit. You told Mr Lanz that there was no money on the card, and he told you that a $300 cash security deposit was required before you would be able to check in. You said you did not have that amount with you, and you would return. You were wearing distinctive red pants with stripes at that time.
5At around 8.13pm police attended a job at 14 Nelson Road, South Melbourne for a male who had been allegedly assaulted in the afternoon. Police recognised the male as you from prior dealings with you earlier that week. You said you had paid for a room at Hotel 115 and you wanted to return there. Police took you back to Hotel 115 and dropped you off at approximately 8.55pm. You were still wearing the red pants with white stripes, a ripped t-shirt, and a single black shoe on your left foot. It is clear from the video that you were in disarray at that time.
6Mr Lanz was still working, unluckily for him. You demanded a refund of the amount that you had paid through Expedia.com. Mr Lanz said this was not possible; you became irate, yelling and banging your fist on the counter. You rifled through the guest booking slips on the counter.
7When Mr Lanz attempted to call for assistance, you knocked a purple charity collection tin off the counter before grabbing the phone from Mr Lanz’ ear causing the cord to break. As Mr Lanz attempted to retreat, you took a computer monitor from the desk and threw it at him, narrowly missing. This is the basis of Charge 3 – criminal damage.
8Mr Lanz ran toward the front door to escape. As he did you threw a box at him, striking him in the back. When he got to the front door, he pushed the door release button to get outside but you chased him down from behind and grabbed him around the neck with both hands choking him, causing him to have difficulty breathing. You then delivered a kick and a flurry of punches aimed at Mr Lanz’ head which knocked him to the ground. He got up and attempted to run out the front door, again you chased him down and pulled him back inside, slamming his head into the glass entry door and then into the stairs leading to the front entrance. Again, you placed both hands around his neck. This is the basis of Charge 2 – intentionally causing injury, along with other assaults.
9When you released him, Mr Lanz attempted to flee out the rear entrance, but you chased him down once again and delivered a punch to his head causing him to collapse instantly. You then stood in the doorway of the rear door preventing Mr Lanz from leaving. Unable to escape, he retreated to the staff side of the front counter. You approached the counter, standing on the customer side, and continued to confront him from the other side before suddenly leaping over the counter where you delivered further punches to his head. It is that leap over the counter which is the basis of Charge 1 - aggravated burglary. It is put that you entered that part of the building with an intent to assault and Mr Lanz was present when you did so.
10You then dragged Mr Lanz to the ground and put him in a head lock before releasing him to deliver further punches, part of Charge 2 – intentionally cause injury.
11You then yelled at Mr Lanz from close range. He retrieved a key from one of the drawers and opened the till. As he was doing this, you entered the back office and ripped the CCTV monitor from the wall and pulled another piece of computer equipment from the desk before returning to the counter area. This is the basis of Charge 3 – intentionally damage property. You removed notes from the till before punching Mr Lanz to the head causing him to fall on some furniture in the lobby. The taking of the money is the basis of Charge 4 – theft; and the further assault is part of the intentionally causing injury. Finally, when Mr Lanz got up, he made his way to the front door, and you allowed him to leave.
12You removed some more money from the till and rifled through various drawers at the front counter before returning to the back room where you pulled a server stack from the desk. As you were doing this you noticed a safe in the back room which you attempted to open but you gave up when you found it was locked. You stole items of clothing from a clothing rack outside the back room and then left via the rear door of the hotel. Those latter items you took are part of Charge 4 – theft.
13The offending, as I said, was captured on CCTV and your state of disarray can be seen quite plainly on the footage.
14The above events were witnessed by a Melissa Scalzo who called Triple 0.
15When Mr Lanz left, he spoke to a woman at the tram stop on Cotham Road and asked her to call Police. They attended and spoke with him. Mr Lanz was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance.
16He was assessed by a doctor who determined that he had suffered superficial injuries to the head, and he was prescribed analgesia for the pain. He was discharged 12.35am on 25 April 2022.
17On 26 April 2022, he attended the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine where his injuries were photographed by a doctor who says that his injuries were consistent with blunt trauma, and included 'periorbital bruising below the left eye, an abrasion on the upper forehead, and bruising of the right helix as well as behind the left ear'.
18The property damage you caused was assessed to a total value of $6,410.76. The major items included $1,500 damage to a Lenovo computer and $3,023 damage to a Kaba FDU key cutter. There were other items damaged are set out in the Prosecution Opening.
19The float in the till at the hotel is $250. It was determined that $218 was missing from the till as a result of your theft.
20You were arrested and interviewed:
(a) You admitted attending the hotel and said that you had provided your driver's license and a credit card to the staff.
(b) You said your recollection of the events after that was not clear.
(c) You admitted attending at the hotel again later on in the evening and said you were refused entry and slapped by the staff member and that you then left of your own accord.
(d) You were shown the footage from the hotel and first stated the offender depicted in the video was not you because you do not act like that. You then went on to say that the person shown in the video had similar tattoos to you, was of a similar build and a similar haircut but it was not you on the basis that if you had punched someone, that person would be unconscious and therefore it could not have been you.
(e) You described the footage as 'entertaining’; and
(f) You said that the victim deserved the assault depicted in the video because he had refused service to a previous ADF service member on the day prior to Anzac Day.
21You were remanded in custody following this interview.
22No Victim Impact Statement was provided in this matter; however, it is plain from the footage that this would have been a terrifying incident for Mr Lanz, and he said in his statement he was terrified and scared for his life.
Guilty plea
23You pleaded guilty at the fifth committal mention in this matter. This was a guilty plea at an early opportunity. Whilst you did not show any remorse in the record of interview, I accept that now you have some remorse, and your guilty plea was consistent with that. I also accept that your guilty plea reflects your willingness to facilitate the course of justice. The utilitarian value of your plea is significant and is heightened in the current circumstances where this Court still faces a backlog of trials because of the suspension of trials during the pandemic. I apply the principles in the case of Worboyes. Your guilty plea must attract a palpable amelioration of sentence.
Gravity
24Your assault on the victim was unprovoked, sustained, and relentless. It took place over 7 to 8 minutes. It occurred at the workplace of the victim whilst he was performing his employment duties. He was alone.
25The video footage shows very clearly that you were the aggressor throughout the incident and at no time did he fight back or pose any threat to you. It is apparent from the footage that you were acting irrationally, no doubt due to the influence of methylamphetamine.
26The damage you caused represented in the criminal damage charges was senseless and not insignificant. It was part and parcel of your rampaging aggression in the hotel.
27Your leap over the service counter has been characterised as an aggravated burglary being an entry into that part of the building. Aggravated burglary is always a serious crime carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment. As an aggravated burglary, this is a slightly unusual offence, occurring not in a residential setting but at a hotel which was a workplace for the victim. Of itself that might not be that unusual but the entry here is not said to have been in the building itself but behind the counter inside the building after the assault had already commenced. You were let into the building and then the assault and aggression commenced seemingly as your irrational response to the victim’s legitimate refusal to provide you with a refund then and there. After this you jumped over the counter.
28Some of the more aggravating features often associated with aggravated burglary offences are not present in this instance of aggravated burglary, which is, as I have observed, slightly unusual on the facts of this case.
29However, that the assault occurred in the victim’s workplace and behind the counter where he was entitled to feel safe are serious features of the assault offence perhaps more so than the aggravated burglary. There is here an overlap of criminality between all the offences but especially so in relation to the aggravated burglary and the intentional injury charge.
30In assessing the gravity of the intentional injury charge, I have taken into account the duration of the assault and the number of blows that were inflicted. Additionally, it seems to me that there was a clear difference in size between you and the victim. Because of your army training, you are a person physically and psychologically equipped to engage in such aggressive behaviour. The victim was plainly dazed by some of the blows you delivered to his head. He sustained bruising to his face and had to be taken to hospital. The injuries on the evidence before me are the type of physical injuries that resolve reasonably quickly but it is fortunate, he did not sustain more serious injuries given the prolonged nature of the assault and the number of blows delivered to his head.
31I regard this as a serious incident of intentionally causing injury and I regard that offence as the most serious of the charges on the indictment.
32As I have already observed, the damage caused to property was not insignificant. It may well be that your intent in respect of the hard drive was to destroy footage of your offending.
33You also took the opportunity in the aftermath of the assault to help yourself to money you incorrectly believed you were owed from the cash register, and this was also serious criminal conduct. You later failed to appear in a bail review in this matter. It is clear from all the material that the first bail address with your mother failed and, as I have been informed, you have little contact with your mother now.
34I have been given an account of what took place before this offending by Mr Portelli and it is also included in the psychological report of Mr Warren Simmons and in the Forensicare report that I ordered in this matter. I will say this about your account: what happened to you in the CBD is difficult to unravel. Was your car stolen? It seems doubtful. Were you set upon by a group of men? I am not sure. What I am satisfied of is that you had been assaulted and that you were substance affected and, in that condition, you were trouble waiting to happen when the police dropped you back at the hotel. It is clear from the footage, and I have already made this observation, you were in disarray when you arrived back at the hotel and I think looking at the footage, it is obvious you were under the influence of drugs.
35You have a two-page criminal history in Victoria and some interstate offences which are of little significance. You have a prior conviction for burglary and theft back in January 2001, for which you were placed on a community-based order. Given the passage of time since that conviction, I do not see it is particularly significant to sentencing although you have been placed on a community-based disposition before and you are here again offending with burglary related offending. You have another prior conviction in 2009 for behaving in a riotous manner in a public place and carrying a dangerous article. You were placed on a community correction order for stealing a car and driving whilst suspended and other offences in October 2018. You contravened that community correction order, and you were dealt with for that in August 2019.
36Your history is not particularly lengthy for a man of your age, and you do not have prior convictions for assault but it is significant enough to cause concern in relation to your prospects of rehabilitation, and it is relevant to the weight to be given to specific deterrence in this matter; but, of course you are not to be punished again for your prior convictions. Additionally, the fact that you have breached a community correction order is of some significance to a case where I am asked again to place you on a community correction order.
Personal circumstances
37Your personal circumstances are set out in the defence plea submissions, the report of Mr Warren Simmons dated 27 April 2023, and in the Forensicare psychological report.
38
You are 39 years old. You were born in Kyabram and raised in Shepparton. Your mother is 63 years old. Your father died in 1992. He committed suicide. Your parents separated when you were born. You have an older brother who is 43 years old. Your mother
re-partnered with a man named Philip. They separated when you were about 15 years old.
39You describe a difficult upbringing. You physically fought with your brother whom you describe as a bully. You no longer have any contact with your brother, and it seems your last contact with your mother was when you were bailed to live with her. That placement broke down, which led to you being remanded in custody for a second time and you have been in prison ever since.
40You had a difficult relationship with your mother but say she was proud of you when you were in the army but, over the last few years, your drug use has strained that relationship.
41You were expelled from school for fighting at the age of 14. You were required to undertake counselling and to address anger and aggression issues, which you did before enrolling in another school in Year 10. You did not complete Year 10 due to a further expulsion for fighting. When you left school, you obtained a spray-painting apprenticeship which you completed, and you worked as a spray painter until you were 21 years old.
42You joined the army at the age of 21 and remained there until you were 29 years old. You enjoyed your time in the army although, on reflection, you wonder if your experiences were harmful to your mental and physical health. You sustained several injuries, the most significant being a fracture of three vertebrae during a parachute training exercise. You also sustained an injury to your face after you were hit with debris following an explosion when you were serving in Afghanistan. You served three deployments in East Timor and two in Afghanistan. Following your last deployment in Afghanistan, you struggled physically and emotionally, mostly because you witnessed the death of a colleague who was shot.
43You were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but you did not engage in counselling through the army when it was offered. You regarded that as a sign of weakness, and you wanted to remain in the army. However, your mental health problems persisted, and, in the end, you left the army.
44You obtained employment with a private security firm which involved travelling to African countries and to countries in the Middle East. Your role was to provide security to civilians. You say you were exposed to threatening incidents which included being shot at.
45Since 2018, you have worked occasionally as a spray painter and also as a personal trainer.
46You have had several long-term intimate relationships. You have a daughter who lives in Moscow. You have travelled there on several occasions to spend time with her. That relationship has been under strain because you have been in prison and unable to continue contacting her.
47The most significant traumatic incident that has led to your post-traumatic stress disorder was the incident where you saw your friend shot in the face. You indicate you have never recovered entirely from that. You describe other incidents where you have felt your life was in danger, both in the army and in private security.
48You describe hypervigilance, hyperarousal, and sleep paralysis. In prison you have been hypervigilant, hyper-aroused and 'ready to fight'.
49In terms of substance abuse, you have had problems with alcohol. In more recent times, since 2018, you have been using methamphetamine. These periods of substance abuse have been broken when you have travelled overseas to see your daughter or when you have been holidaying in South-East Asia.
50You attended drug rehabilitation in Bali, which you found helpful. Of course, to do that you breached the previous community correction order you were on. You had a period of abstinence but relapsed at around the time of this offending or leading up to it and your use of drugs was a factor in the offending.
51The recommendation in the Forensicare report is that you would benefit from counselling to address symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder and that in the event I do impose a community correction order, a referral to a specialist service experienced in the treatment of former military personnel should take place.
52The report recommends that in custody, you should have treatment for managing your environment, and for emotional and arousal control. While you have been in prison, there have been many incidents of fighting which has led to you being placed in a management unit and Barwon Prison. The report also suggests you would benefit from drug and alcohol counselling and some support in securing employment and accommodation when you are released from custody, but I have heard other evidence about accommodation available to you.
53You also require treatment to address your propensity for aggression and violence which needs to be integrated into your treatment for your post-traumatic stress. These matters are all dealt with in the various reports I have received.
54Mr Portelli submitted that principles 5 and 6 of Verdins apply. He argued that your hyperarousal or 'combat mode' arises from your PTSD and this has led you becoming involved in aggression within the prison system and this in turn has led to you being placed in management, which means you are locked in your cell for long periods. The submission is that therefore the burden of your imprisonment is greater than someone without your psychological disorder. This is really an application of principle 5 and I take this into account as a mitigating factor of some weight, fairly modest in the circumstances.
55I also take into account that you have been in prison during the restricted conditions that have prevailed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has further increased the burden of your imprisonment. You have not been able to participate in programs and courses generally, and your ability to have contact with your daughter over WhatsApp has been curtailed.
56You have now expressed remorse and regret for what you did. You further reiterated to the author of the Forensicare report your embarrassment and shame at the attitude you displayed in the record of interview. That statement rings true to me.
57I accept that you are now remorseful for what you did, which is a start to some meaningful rehabilitation. However, you have a significant enough criminal history, and this offending was disturbing. It is plain from all the material before me that you do have a problem with aggression and violence and see fighting and assault as a means of dealing with circumstances that confront you. Until you reject these notions, you remain a risk to engage in aggression, particularly if you continue to abuse drugs. You will need to engage in counselling for the various psychological and substance abuse problems that are at the heart of your offending.
58I have had regard to the two psychological reports that I have referred to and to the extended pre-sentence report from Corrections who assessed you as a high risk of general recidivism. I think you have reasonable prospects of rehabilitation and probably good prospects if you can stop using drugs.
59Your partner, Ms Thi Nguyen, who is in court today, gave evidence at the plea hearing in this matter. I was impressed by her evidence. She lives with some of her family, and she gave evidence that you can live with her. You have lived together in the past.
60She does not take drugs and disapproves of your drug use. It seems that you have removed yourself in the past from her when you have been using drugs.
61She is your main support in the community. She gives me some hope that you can successfully complete a community correction order which is what I have decided to do in combination with a prison sentence.
62Mr Portelli submitted that the period you have served in prison is sufficient punishment and that I should impose a combination sentence with the time served being sufficient. The prosecutor, Mr Sharp, submitted that the prosecution accept that a combination sentence is within the range of appropriate sentences in this case.
63In deciding the sentences to be imposed I must have regard to general and specific deterrence - general deterrence is the need to send a message to others who might be minded to engage in such aggression that significant punishment will result; specific deterrence is the need to bring home the message to you that there will be punitive consequences if you engage in this type of behaviour again. I also need to have regard to denunciation of your outrageous behaviour in the hotel in Cotham Road and the protection of the community, given your propensity for aggressive conduct. I must also have regard to just punishment in fixing the penalties in this case.
64However, I must also have regard to your rehabilitation and as best I can facilitate that rehabilitation within the orders that are available to me.
Sentence
65In this matter, I have a decided on a combination sentence. You will have to serve some further period of imprisonment. I have given careful consideration to that. I thought of making you serve an extended period but in the end, I have decided that a relatively short further period followed by a community correction order is the appropriate sentence in this case.
66I also indicate that I have considered totality in deciding the sentences in this case, that is, the overall sentence I impose must reflect the total criminality of your offending. In this case, apart from the failure to appear, all your offences occurred in one incident within a short time frame, in fact within 7 or 8 minutes.
67I have decided to impose individual sentences which are compressed because they are in combination with a community correction order and I have decided to impose concurrent sentences given that all offences arise out of one event but I say to you, if you breach the orders that I impose and I am in a situation where I resentence, the figures will be more significant and it is likely there would be cumulation in a resentencing, Mr Richardson. I will explain that further to you.
68The sentences that I impose are as follows:
(a) On Charge 1 of aggravated burglary, you are convicted and sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment.
(b) On Charge 2 of cause injury intentionally, you are convicted and sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment.
(c) On Charge 3 of intentional damaging property, you are convicted to 6 months’ imprisonment.
(d) On Charge 4, of theft, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment.
(e) On the summary offence of failing to appear, you are convicted and sentenced to 7 days' imprisonment.
69All of those periods are concurrent which makes a total effective sentence of 11 months' imprisonment because Charge 2, which I said, I regard as the most serious offence, I have imposed 11 months' imprisonment.
70I then intend to impose a community correction order which comes into force after you served 11 months' imprisonment, and the terms of that order will be that - the special conditions are:
·Supervision;
·Treatment and rehabilitation in respect of alcohol and drugs;
·Treatment and rehabilitation in respect of your mental health noting the recommendation that you be referred to treatment appropriate for someone with your military background; and
·Programs to reduce reoffending and I think you can expect something there, something to deal with your issues in relation to anger and aggression.
71So you have to agree to such an order, Mr Richardson. If you do, that is what I will impose.
72Now, there is pre-sentence detention in this matter, and it is 265 days. Now, that is 8.7 months, so you have got a bit more than two months to serve. In my view, 11 months is the minimum period of imprisonment I could reasonably impose in these circumstances. I thought of a longer period, but I must say I do not see what that would do for you in your current situation in a management unit at Barwon.
73I mean I do not punish you for what has happened within the prison but I think your propensity for aggression needs to be addressed and in your circumstances, I think it can be done through a community correction order.
74Now, do you consent to community correction order, Mr Richardson?
75OFFENDER: Yes, I do, Your Honour.
76HIS HONOUR: You do?
77OFFENDER: Yes, I do.
78HIS HONOUR: Now, I want to talk to you. You have been on one of these orders before. So they all have core conditions. The length will be 18 months, did I say that? I thought I did. It is 18 months.
79They all have core conditions. You have got to report to Corrections within a couple of days. So that will be a couple of days of when your 11 months is up. It will be Dandenong, all right? So, you will be living in Keysborough so it will be Dandenong Corrections. When you are released, you have got to go there within 48 hours, do you understand?
80OFFENDER: Yes, I do.
81HIS HONOUR: All right. If you do not do that, then you will breach the order.
82You have got to accept all their lawful directions. You have got to accept visits and attend as required by Corrections. You cannot commit another offence punishable by imprisonment for the next 18 months. If you do that, you will breach the order.
83And there are other obligations. If you change your address, you have got to tell them. All right? So, if you and Ms Nguyen decide to move and live somewhere else, well, you have to tell Corrections, all right?
84OFFENDER: Yes.
85HIS HONOUR: And if you go to a different location, then maybe the order has to be transferred, all right? So what you cannot do is just move and not tell them, all right?
86Additionally, if you get a job and you change your job, well, you have to tell them as well, all right? And you cannot leave Victoria without telling them. Do you understand?
87OFFENDER: Yes, I do, Your Honour.
88HIS HONOUR: If you do any - you know that because you went to Bali last time and you were in breach. You cannot just decide, 'I'm going to go and address my rehabilitation however I please'. You must do it in accordance with the orders that I have made. I have given you what I regard as a reasonably significantly discounted sentence because I am imposing this correction order, all right?
89You also have to perform all the special conditions that I have outlined. If you do not do them, then you are in breach.
90Now, Corrections are pretty reasonable about these things. If there is some problem and you cannot show up, you tell them and they are pretty reasonable so in this job you see all sorts of excuses for why people do not do their correction orders and they are very rarely persuasive. So just get it done and the aim of it is to help you, all right? So you do not show up somewhere shirtless, you know, shoeless, injured and aggressive again and engage in this sort of behaviour and you do this again, you are going back to prison for quite a long time. Do you follow?
91OFFENDER: It's not gonna happen again, Your Honour.
92HIS HONOUR: All right. So if you breach the order, then what happens is when Corrections file their charges and bring it back before me, I have a few options one of which is to resentence you. So we go back to the beginning and I impose sentences again. That is why I mentioned that I have compressed the sentences and I made some sentences concurrent in this scenario where if I have to resentence, they will not be. It will be longer and I will be fixing non-parole periods and who knows what would happen with the Parole Board, all right?
93So you need to understand that. I do not want to see you back. I mean it seems to me you are an intelligent person, Ms Nguyen supports you, you have got some skills, I have not given you community work because I want you to be free to get a job. You need to stop using drugs. If you do it again, no doubt you will become aggressive again and with your background, you are dangerous, you could be a dangerous person, all right? So that is what you need to do.
94The s 6AAA is 3 years with a minimum of 2 years.
95All right. Mr Richardson, do you understand all that?
96OFFENDER: Yes, I do, Your Honour. I have one question.
97HIS HONOUR: Yes. You have got a question?
98OFFENDER: Yes.
99HIS HONOUR: Yes.
100OFFENDER: So I was remanded in April through till June last year so that was 2 months. Does that - is that included in the sentence? Is that included in the time served?
101HIS HONOUR: I believe that the pre-sentence detention includes every period of time you have spent in custody. Am I right about that?
102MR SHARP: That's correct, Your Honour.
103HIS HONOUR: Yes.
104MR SHARP: The Prosecution Opening does take that into account. It has got the dates that he was remanded in April and then those - - -
105HIS HONOUR: Yes. Yes. No, look, and it has been checked by Mr Portelli.
106MR SHARP: Yes.
107HIS HONOUR: Look, - - -
108OFFENDER: And there was a - because there was a period of 22 days where I served in isolation due to COVID and that comes down to - - -
109HIS HONOUR: Well, that is a matter not for me but for the prison.
110OFFENDER: Yep.
111HIS HONOUR: All right? I have imposed a sentence of 11 months. What you are entitled to for the COVID lockdown is entirely a matter for the prison, not for me.
112OFFENDER: Okay.
113HIS HONOUR: When I impose the sentence, it goes back to prison records - - -
114OFFENDER: Sure.
115HIS HONOUR: - - - for the experts of this. They then consider your lockdown and so forth. I assume it works with the combination order but I am not an expert on that but you will find out pretty soon and, look, it may well be that you are entitled to release earlier because of all that. That is not a matter for me. I am not entitled to have regard to any of that and I have not. So I guess you will find that out when records tabulate it.
116I have imposed a sentence that I regard as the minimum I could reasonably impose in accordance with sentencing principles but which gives you a chance to get on this order and get some of the assistance you need, all right? So you will see what happens with all that.
117All right. Anything I have missed? Were there disposal orders?
118MR SHARP: Just a compensation order, Your Honour. Yes.
119HIS HONOUR: Yes. How much?
120MR SHARP: To the sum of $718.
121HIS HONOUR: $718.
122MR SHARP: Yes.
123HIS HONOUR: I will make that compensation order.
124MR SHARP: I have a hard copy if necessary, Your Honour.
125HIS HONOUR: Yes. All right. I am making the compensation order against you. That is a civil debt. You know, there is no stay I will put on that but you owe that money. Who is it in favour of? The hotel?
126MR SHARP: Your Honour, in favour of the hotel, Hotel 115.
127HIS HONOUR: Yes. You owe them $715, all right?
128OFFENDER: Okay.
129HIS HONOUR: And, you know, a lot of people do not pay these orders but you owe them. It is a civil debt and, by payment, you would show you are a decent person and you are on the way to rehabilitation, all right?
130MR SHARP: Sorry, Your Honour, confirming that amount was 718.
131HIS HONOUR: $718.
132MR SHARP: Yes.
133HIS HONOUR: That is what I said. Yes.
134MR SHARP: Yes. Thank you, Your Honour.
135HIS HONOUR: I think so.
136MR SHARP: Yes.
137HIS HONOUR: Sorry, Mr Sharp. All right. That is the order. I have signed the order. It will be sent out to the prison, you can sign it, and then you are on that Community Correction Order.
138Good luck, Mr Richardson. You need to stop using drugs, you understand? Someone with your psychological fragility, the worst thing you can do is use methylamphetamine, all right?
139OFFENDER: Absolutely.
140HIS HONOUR: All right. Nothing more?
141MR SHARP: Nothing further.
142HIS HONOUR: No. All right. Thank you to both counsel for your assistance in this matter.
143COUNSEL: Thank you, Your Honour.
144OFFENDER: Thank you, Your Honour.
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