Director of Public Prosecutions v Richardson

[2015] VCC 984

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JAYE RICHARDSON

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	22 July 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Richardson
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 984

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. G. Hayward
For the Accused	Ms. A. Hancock

HIS HONOUR:

1Jaye Richardson, you have pleaded guilty to seven charges of armed robbery, two charges of reckless conduct endangering serious injury, three charges of attempted armed robbery, one charge of recklessly causing injury and one charge of a prohibited person possessing a firearm.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of 25 years, five years, 20 years, five years and 10 years respectively.

2You have pleaded guilty to what, in the ultimate, is a settled indictment, and you must get the benefit of that.   You must also get the utilitarian benefit of a plea of guilty in these circumstances.  To have run trials would have caused great distress to a number of people and I certainly take that into account.  I accept also, that your plea of guilty is now accompanied by appropriate remorse.  This matter was conducted in Koori Court as a sentencing conversation and having heard you spoken to by the Elders and how you addressed the elders and how you responded to having the victim impact statements read at you, from a distance of about three feet, I accept that you do have, at least now, proper victim empathy and realise the wrongness of what you have done.  All those matters go very much in your favour.  You do have prior convictions and findings of guilt and I have analysed those. 

3The circumstances are that those priors would appear to be essentially around some form of intervention order in a failed relationship.  I have noted in some of the psychological material, what that was about.  Of most importance, insofar as the history is concerned, is you only have the one appearance in 2010 for driving matters, and the subsequent matters relating to Family Violence Intervention Order breaches. 

4Accordingly, you have reached the age of around about 21 with no prior convictions at all.  For somebody with the background that you had, not to have a criminal history in the Children's Court is quite remarkable.  I will be referring to those matters again. 

5You have now been in custody and have pre-sentence detention of 211 days.  You have been on remand during that period of time.  During the course of it, a two month suspended sentence was restored and you served that, and I will take that into account, in a Renzella fashion.   Also during the course of your incarceration, you have now been in lockdown for something in excess of three weeks because of the riots that took place.  There is no mathematical equation involved in that, but I certainly take into account again, in a general way, the fact that the time that you have served over the last few weeks and into the indefinite future, will be done in quite severe and difficult circumstances. 

6Pursuant to s.464Z of the Crimes Act, I make an order that you provide a saliva sample for DNA purposes.  That order having been made I must advise you that should you refuse to provide such a sample, police may use reasonably force to take it from you.  That order is made and handed down. 

7I then turn to the summary of what you have pleaded guilty to.  The Crown summary is, I think, a very fair one.  I have had the opportunity, as have had the people in the court room, to view on video, a portion of the events that took place.  My understanding is that you drove for something well in excess of 200 kilometres, and admittedly, I have only watched about 15 minutes of it, however that gives one a very chilling appreciation of the way in which you were behaving and the very severe danger that was posed to the community. 

8Before I read the summary, I might state at the outset, that having viewed that video and read the materials, it seems to me that there is very little else that the police could have done, other than what they did do.  They clearly could not simply call the chase off.  You were a person under the influence of speed and the influence of ice with a loaded firearm.  I would think that any attempt to directly intercept you in those circumstances could well have resulted in very serious injury or death - and most probably, bearing in mind it was the SOG who were making the arrest - it would have been yours.  As I say, I have no difficulty at all in the way the police conducted themselves in this matter.

9On the morning of 23 October 2014, you and a young person of 17 years of age, a female, were in Dandenong in a white ute.  You were armed with a sawn-off .22 calibre rifle, the subject of the firearms charge here.  The two of you went into a unit which was occupied by people that knew you.  You were agitated and showed one of the occupants that the gun was loaded.  You unloaded it and loaded it again in front of that person. 

10Police became aware that you were at the unit, and they became aware that you had the firearm.  They went to the area and set up a cordon around the street that the unit was in.  You apparently realised the police were outside the unit and you and your co-accused got into the ute and drove it away. 

11A police officer Mathieson was with another police officer, Russell, when they saw the ute leave.  They set up a road block nearby.  You stopped briefly in front of that road block, mounted the kerb and drove along the footpath where police were standing, causing them to run out of the way of the car.  You then drove towards Keysborough.  The two police officers followed to endeavour to keep a look out for you.  You abandoned the ute.  You were spotted walking along Malmo Court in Keysborough and you still had the rifle. 

12Detective Mathieson yelled out to you, identifying himself as a police officer, but the two of you kept going towards Malmo Court.  The police officer drew his firearm knowing that you were armed.  A Mr Dao was sitting in this red Volkswagen getting ready to go and meet some friends.  You ran towards him, opened the driver's side door and pointed the gun at his chest.  The was about 30 centimetres away from him.  You shouted " Move out of the car, move out of the car."  He got out of the car, fearing that he would be shot if he didn’t.  You and your co-accused got into the car and you reversed out of the driveway.  That is Charge 1 of armed robbery.

13Detective Mathieson was standing on the kerb of Malmo Court and saw Mr Dao backing away.  You revved the engine, reversed quickly and veered the car towards Detective Mathieson.  He, fearing for his safety, and hoping to frighten you into stopping, shot at the lower rear area of the vehicle.  You stopped the car beside him, drove forward and revved the engine, and again reversed and veered towards him.  When you were about two metres from him, he again fired at the lower rear of the vehicle.  He fired those shots fearing for his own safety, and in an endeavour to cause you to desist from what you were doing.  In any event, you straightened the car and drove up Malmo Court and eventually ended up on the Princes Highway and as the Crown summary says, sped towards Warragul. 

14You drove into Warragul.  A police helicopter was following you as at some stage were a number of Special Operations Group police officers in some four wheel drive vehicles.  That helicopter was able to keep pace with you and footage of what happened was recorded.  You stopped at an intersection and both of you got out Mr Dao's car and ran towards another car that was stopped.  A Ms Bucknell was driving to go shopping in her silver Commodore.  She had a 12 month old son in the back of the car.  When she stopped you ran over to her and pointed your gun at her upper chest.   You said "Get out of the car" about three times.  She said "Yes, yes, but let me get my baby."  Your co-accused said "No, there's a baby" and the two of you then ran away.  Charge 3, attempted armed robbery. 

15Within minutes of driving away from that person, you drove into a roundabout in Warragul and apparently nudged a car being driven by a Ms Hughes.  The two of you ran towards the car driven by her.  She saw the gun being pointed at her.  You said "Get out" about three times and she was dragged out of the car.  The two of you then sped off in her car.  You drove east further along the Princes Highway to Moe.  That was Charge 4 of armed robbery. 

16You drove on to the Narracan Road into Moe/Newborough, near the intersection of Narracan Road and Dinwoodie Drive.  The two of you got out of that vehicle and walked over to a silver Commodore which was being driven by a Mr Sim.  He was a real estate agent.  He saw you coming and point the gun at him and heard you say, "Get fuckin' out."  He got out of the car and the two of you got in, and sped away again.  That was Charge 5 of armed robbery.

17You then drove along the Princes Highway and turned into Morwell.  You sped along the Old Princes Highway and pulled in front of a parked car.  A Ms Walker was sitting in the driver's seat of her Holden.  She was there to meet her daughter.  You ran towards her car.  She saw that you had a gun in your hands.  You yelled "Get out now, get out now."  You grabbed her and pulled her out of the car.  She grabbed her handbag, the contents of her bag scattered over the road, and you drove her vehicle away. 

18At this stage you still had the co-accused in the passenger seat with you.  You got back on to the Princes Highway and drove towards Traralgon.  You drove into Traralgon, were going along McNairn Road, when you lost control of the car. 

19Having watched the video tape, it would appear that that loss of control was in an endeavour to avoid a car which you would have crashed into the side of.  But, in any event, the car crashed into trees, and that is where you and the co-accused parted company.  You climbed out through the driver's window carrying your gun and ran along the street with it.  That can be seen on the video.  That is Charge 6 of armed robbery. 

20You ran down the road for about a hundred metres.  By this stage, as I have said, the co-accused is no longer with you.  There was a car in a driveway in McNairn Road in Morwell, a car belonging to Mr Wilks.  He and his wife had been visiting their children at their address.  He was about to leave the address in his Jeep and Mrs Wilks, who was 84 years old, was in the front passenger seat.  A Mr Charleston was with them, standing in the driveway.  He saw you running towards them.  You pointed the gun at Mr Charleston, and yelled, "Get the fuck away."  You pointed your gun at Mr Wilks' head, and yelled "Get out, get out."  You pulled him out of the car and he landed on the concrete driveway.  You then drove the car away at speed.  Mrs Wilks was still in the passenger seat of the car.  That is Charge 7 of armed robbery. 

21Shortly afterwards, you opened the front passenger side door to get her out of the car.  The car stopped briefly and the 84 year old lady ended up lying on a kerb on the street.  You drove away at speed.  As a result of that, she suffered pain, particularly to her hip and left elbow.  She has put in a victim impact statement which I will refer to shortly.  She was taken to Latrobe Regional Hospital.  She was suffering badly from the shock of the experience.  She was bruised and grazed.  She was discharged from hospital just before midnight later that day.  That is the charge of recklessly causing injury.

22You continued to drive towards Bairnsdale.  You reached a place called Eastwood in that car of Mr Wilks.  One Ms X was driving her silver coloured Toyota Corolla in Eastwood.  She had been playing bowls that day, so I assume she is of mature years, and was driving a friend home.  You pulled up in the car you were driving, in front of her car, and ran towards her.  She saw an object in your hand, which obviously is the rifle.  You yelled, "Get out of the car, get out of the car."  You tried to pull her out of the car.  This can be seen on the video, and she kicked out at you and you ran back to the silver Jeep.  That is Charge 9 of attempted armed robbery. 

23You drove away and a few minutes later, saw a car parked on the side of the road.  A Ms Dowell was standing next to her car.  You abandoned the car you were driving and ran over to her vehicle.  You said that you had a gun.  You demanded the keys to the car and she gave them to you, saying "Yes, yes, please don't shoot me."  You got into her car and sped off.  I will also quote from her victim impact statement.

24You continued to drive along the Princes Highway, went through Bairnsdale towards Swan Reach.  A Lawrence Milak was driving his wife towards Lakes Entrance for a holiday in their Commodore sedan.  Driving in front of them was a Mr Michael Coleman in his car with his son Daniel and a workmate, Glenn Leadbeater.  You drove Ms Dowell's silver Mazda overtaking those two vehicles.  You then stopped the car, got out and ran over to Mr Coleman, holding the gun.  You pointed the gun at the people in Mr Coleman's car and yelled at them to, "Get out."  He moved to open the driver's door.  You stopped pointing the gun at the windscreen of the car, and the car then lurched forwards and it appeared to Mr Coleman that his car had made contact with you.  That's Charge 11 of attempted armed robbery. 

25After failing to steal that car, you ran toward the car that Mr Milak was driving.  You got in the seat behind him.  He saw the gun.  You held the gun at the back of his head and said, "Drive, speed up, take me to the border."  You were saying things along the lines of, "Just fucking drive fast, don't stop for the cops." 

26Mrs Milak told you that she had a heart condition.  She persuaded you to pull over, so that you could take over driving.  He stopped the car and aimed the steering wheel towards the ditch.  The car went down into the ditch, and the SOG then came in and arrested you, and again we have seen the film of that taking place.  That is Charge 12 of armed robbery in respect of the Milak vehicle and Charge 13 which is the reckless conduct endangering serious injury. 

27It is the driving that you engaged in from Dandenong to Swan Reach.  As described in the opening and as patently obvious from watching the video, even such a short portion of it, you drove well in excess of the speed limit, you crossed over into oncoming lanes, you swerved between oncoming cars and obviously you lost control of the vehicle at one stage when it crashed.  The Crown opening says that your driving between Dandenong and Swan Reach placed people in danger of being seriously injured, and that you recklessly did so.  It is clear that you put a lot of people at risk and it is hard to imagine really, a worse example and prolonged example, of reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle. 

28However, the crime only carries five years, and accordingly, the sentence that is imposed for that particular crime, has to be, I think, significantly modified.  A number of victim impact statements were filed and a couple of them were read out.  I am simply going to quote very briefly from three of them to make it clear that the court is totally aware of the shock and the damage that effectively your conduct caused.

29Mrs Wilks, as I said, was 84 years of age at the time, said:

30"Since the crime, I'm frightened to leave my home.  I am 85 years old and I am no longer able to participate in family activities.  My mental and physical health has deteriorated.  I can no longer travel in the car, can't sleep, often in pain, often sad, I cry for no reason." 

31Another female victim said:

32"As a direct result of the crime, I received such a shock that I wet my pants without knowing.  Also the offender caused a blood vessel to burst in the back of my hand, resulting in a large contusion to form under the skin, which took three weeks to heal." 

33She said that her biggest fear was that she would have to stop playing bowls, as she won't be able to hold the bowl.  I am not going to go into all the causation of all that, but that is a graphic description and one, I understand, to be not uncommon of what happens to people on the other end of the firearm in a terrifying situation like that. 

34Another female victim just quotes, and I will not go into the detail at all - just a small portion of it:

35"The emotions of hurt, anger, fear, frustration are always present.  Driving past the scene is very traumatic and I take a different route if possible.  I do have trouble sleeping at night and have been prescribed  sleeping tablets.  My eating went from not eating, to over-eating to try to feel happy which only made it worse.  Returning to work was put on the back burner, as it meant driving.  Not being able to sleep compounds the distress and anxiety.  Visions of the gun being pointed at me, and my thoughts of it - my thoughts of it I would be shot as I dropped to the ground, handed him my keys and begged for my life. My depression has led to suicidal thoughts and my doctor prescribed anti-depressants."  At the end of the day she said, "Why me?"

36All the victims suffered in that type of way, and that is why this sort of offending simply cannot be condoned.  It is difficult looking at similar cases, because it is hard to find any.  All I can say is this.  You are to be sentenced for a course of conduct over a period of hours.  It was not a brief momentary lapse of proper behaviour, if I can think of another way of putting it.  I accept that at the time this started, you had been using ice for an extended period of time, and were undoubtedly in a very unhealthy mental situation.  I accept that you were paranoid, and I accept that this was a drawn-out attempt to escape, probably through paranoid thoughts of your own. 

37However, you were clearly aware of what you were doing.  You were clearly able to give orders to the various people that you threatened and intimidated, and you were able to stop and leave an 84 year old lady lying on the nature strip. 

38The use of the ice in this situation, in no way excuses what occurred, but it does put it into a context.  It is absolutely bizarre behaviour for somebody who had no prior convictions until they were 21, and has very little in the way of driving convictions.  However, when one looks at this overall situation, it can only be described as very serious indeed.  It calls for the application of general and specific deterrence, as well as denunciation and appropriate punishment.  In this particular situation, an active gaol sentence is inevitable, and it is a sentence which must be of very significant proportions. 

39The two factors that I think are probably most important in your particular situation are the question of totality, and the desirability that the sentence I impose not be crushing.  It can be a work of art at times, but I need to look at the matters personal to you in determining what your particular situation should be.

40A number of documents were tendered on your behalf, and they speak well of you up until basically you started using serious drugs.  I accept that in the 200 - more than that now - 270 days that you have been in custody, that you have sorted yourself out, and that you have endeavoured to participate in programs, not just Indigenous and Cultural programs, but other programs as well.  You are clearly endeavouring, at least, to use the time that you spend in,  and will have to spend in gaol, to better yourself and turn your life around.  There is also a reference from Rachel Clulo who described your childhood and is a close relative of yours.  She said,

41"Growing up with Jaye, who was always the quiet kid that played video games during our teens, and growing into adults, Jaye was always family orientated.  When he visited Lakes he made the effort to see all my family members and was very respectful to his elders.  I have good, fond memories of Jaye, and was very proud of him, when a few years ago, he became a security guard and successfully got a loan through the bank to purchase his own car.  He tried his best to become fully independent because he wasn't privileged to having a good upbringing and support." 

42Clearly, up until the commencement of the use of ice, in very difficult circumstances, which I will mention in a moment, you were able to maintain an active and a significant role within your community.  Your stepmother, Ms Brooks put in a reference which I have read, and that I take very much into account.  Again, it confirms that up until your early 20s, you were a relatively responsible young person.  I have taken into account obviously the certificates that have been presented to what you have done in gaol.

43You have your history described in the two reports, one of Ms Pamela Matthews, and one of Ms Carla Lechner, both psychologists.  They contain a lot of material which need not be discussed, in my view, in open court.  What I will simply do is direct that those two reports remain on the court file, so that anybody with a genuine interest in the detail of them can access them.  What I propose to do, though, is summarise from each of those, as to the difficulties that you have had in your life. 

44This matter proceeded in Koori Court, which of course does not give you a benefit in itself.  What it does do is that it enables you to confront your own demons, if I can put it that way, and by discussing the matters with your elders, get some assistance, and for me as a sentencing judge, to get some understanding of where you come from and who you are.  You did your best to engage in that conversation.  It was clear to me, your remorse and your shame at the situation in which you now find yourself, and in which you have placed your family. 

45As I have indicated already I think, you have also shown - to me at least - sufficient understanding of the dreadful consequences for the people that you terrified.  The reports - and again I will do this very, very briefly - you are an aboriginal man.  You were born in Sale and grew up around Lakes Entrance where your father and grandmother are from.  You went to Maffra.  You went to many schools.  Your family shifted around.  On my understanding, you went to something in the order of 10 different primary schools, and you started Year 7 in Yarram.  It is clearly, and so obvious in these courts, that that sort of transient existence through primary schools is often a pre-cursor to the sort of difficulties that you have had. 

46In summarising your circumstances, Ms Matthews points out that you had been pretty good up until you were about 21.  It was around about that time that relationships became problematic.  You were using, at one stage indeed appeared to have been sent to the Flynn Ward here in Gippsland, from a drug-induced psychosis.  The drugs had clearly taken a hold of you.  She describes your background, and the matters that have occurred to you. 

47She reports a childhood characterised by domestic violence between his father and his partner Melanie, and his mother and multiple partners.  He reports no exposure to child abuse, but does report exposure to the significant substance use in his father's home. 

48"Dad loves drugs, like half a gram of ice a day.  So it was always around when I was growing up.  I've been around drugs since I was little." 

49That is not a flying start, Mr Richardson, and I fully accept that as I think any right-minded member of the community would.  It is in those circumstances where, as I say, those reports will remain on file, that I regard your lack of Children's Court appearances and lack of priors, as giving me great confidence in your ultimate capacity to rehabilitate yourself.  Ms Lechner said that you impressed as being, cognitively, socially and emotionally immature" and to be of "low average intelligence."  She points out that there's clearly a number of difficulties in the background that have caused, or certainly contributed to this offending behaviour in the ultimate.  She refers to the same matters as  Ms Matthews does, and again I am not - I see no point in going through all that in open court. 

50She comes to the same conclusion, that as a young person you were exposed - a very young person - disposed to domestic violence and substance abuse.  She says, and I agree wholeheartedly with this, that your education and academic progress and development of stable peer networks, was severely undermined by transient lifestyle that involved the numerous changes of home and of school, and that you left school early moving to life in Melbourne where your father had gone. 

51Your work history is limited.  You have worked in security and you appear to have had a couple of other jobs and the elders during the course of the sentencing conversation, discussed very much with you, the prospects upon your ultimate release, being able to work.  You have indicated that you would view yourself as being in a situation where you could become a mentor and a teacher of young aboriginal people, not to end up in this situation.  That capacity will extend beyond the Koori community.  It should extend to all prisoners as something you could endeavour to do, in gaol, in talking to Ms Lechner, you expressed regret, and in her words, "Some degree of shock"  In relation to your offending.  I accept what you told me in the sentencing conversation, that watching that video in this court room was the first time that you had seen it, and I accept that you were clearly somewhat distressed by it. 

52As I said, the drugs only  put this into context.  They do not excuse anything.  I am well aware of the principles contained in the High Court decision of Bugmey, as to the disadvantaged and impoverished.  They are very difficult backgrounds.  Those of us who have practiced in the Criminal law for extended period of times, are very, very much aware of that.  What I think that really means, in a fairly truncated sense is that when young people are subjected to a childhood like that, with those disadvantages, the effects are very long term, and it is not something that you simply just decide one day that is the end.  It takes a long time to get over it. 

53You would appear to have commenced your serious drug use whilst working in security and listening to you, it's clear that it also occurred after the passing of a couple of people who were close to you.   You have not wished to discuss that with people, but any sorry business involved in all of this, you are going to have to deal with some stage, Mr Richardson.  That is none of my business, but please do something about that.  As the elders would say to you, it would make a great difference to you. 

54Insofar as the prospects of you being rehabilitated, and the risk of you re-offending, it is hard at this stage to assess.  You do not have an extensive criminal history, bearing in mind the nature of your background and the extensive use of drugs.  Talking to you, you are clearly an intelligent young man in the sense of being able to articulate, and it seems clear that you are now endeavouring to understand and succeeding in understanding the negative factors in your life.  If you continue your attitude and your approach to rehabilitation, I see no reason why you should not be successful, though obviously that prognosis has to remain as guarded.  The risk of you re-offending would appear to me to be clearly dependent upon whether or not you use drugs again, and there is nothing much that I can do about that.  All I think I can do in this situation, taking all those matters into account, is to moderate the sentence overall, because of the fact that you are only 25; that you did plead guilty and you are making genuine attempts to rehabilitate yourself. 

55Further, in this given situation, I am persuaded that this is a circumstance where I should give the opportunity the Parole Board to, if your rehabilitation continues and you behave yourself - give you, or grant you parole at an opportunity that would be earlier than might otherwise have been the case.  In doing that, I am very aware of the Court of Appeal decision of the DPP v Leach where it was said, and quoted later in R v Tomguenen. 

56"It is particularly important that this court should not devalue or deny the right of a sentencing judge to act mercifully in a case where it seems to the judge to be an instance where an opportunity for reformation of the offender ought be grasped.  That, after all, maybe a decision which rebounds very much to the benefit of the community."

57I am very conscious of that particular paragraph and have endeavoured to give it effect.  However, at the end of the day, making all allowances for youth, circumstances and the like, this is, as I said, very serious offending and a significant custodial sentence is the only option.  Insofar as loss of licence is concerned, we have had a number of submissions about that, and I think, in safety, for reasons of safety and to not fall into error, I will simply suspend, on the armed robbery charges, any licence you hold to drive a motor vehicle for a period of three months.  I make it clear that that is not to be regarded as a loss of licence in relation to the driving itself.  It is a mandatory provision that I have to comply with.  The Court of Appeal decisions are clear that the loss of licence is part of punishment.  In your situation, I have taken the view that you will be doing such an extended period of time in prison, however one views it, that that would be not a necessary element of that punishment.  You will not be driving on the road for a significant period of time and upon your ultimate release, it is to the benefit of not only yourself, but to the community, that you be in a position and if you are residing in the country, of being able to obtain employment.  

58I have had the benefit of very helpful submissions from counsel from both sides of the Bar table.  This is not a situation where Verdin's applies.  You are not going to be doing a sentence in protection, and I think I have, to the best of my ability at least, covered the areas involved in this sentencing process.  So, taking all those matters into account, and I will ask counsel to check the mathematics of this carefully please.

59On Charge 1, 30 months.

60On Charge 2, six months.

61On Charge 3, 24 months.

62On Charge 4, 30 months.

63On Charge 5, 30 months.

64On Charge 6, 30 months.

65On Charge 7, 36 months.

66On Charge 8, six months.

67On Charge 9, 24 months.

68On Charge 10, 30 months.

69On Charge 11, 24 months.

70On Charge 12, the armed robbery where the gun was held to the man's head as he was forced to drive the vehicle with his wife in there, 42 months.

71On Charge 13, the reckless endangerment, 36 months.

72On Charge 14, in possession of a firearm, six months.

73I analysed very carefully for reasons of totality obviously, what should be concurrent, what should be cumulative and the like.  This is one course of conduct, but there are a significant number of individual victims.  It seems that what I have then endeavoured to do, is for those reasons of totality, given an appropriate sentence for each charge, and then reduced the amounts to be cumulated, even though a couple of them happened within a minute or two of each other, I still think there has to be some accumulation, even if it only be of a very moderate nature.  I understand also, that from the point of view of a victim, that that can seem a fairly meaningless observation, but there is not much else I can do where there is so many charges and so many people so badly affected. 

74In any event, I direct that five months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 1, two months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 2, three months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 3, one month of the sentence imposed upon Charge 4, five months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 5, five months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 6, five months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 7, one month of the sentence imposed upon Charge 8, three months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 9, five months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 10, three months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 11, nine months of the sentence imposed upon Charge 13, that being the reckless endangerment, and one month of the sentence imposed upon Charge 14, be served cumulatively upon each other, and upon the sentence imposed upon Charge 12. 

75That gives a total effective sentence of seven years and six months.  In these particular circumstances, I direct that you serve a minimum period of four years and three months before becoming eligible for parole, and I direct that 211 days be reckoned as having been served under this sentence. 

76So far as s.6AAA is concerned, had this matter proceeded as a trial, I have no doubt that there would have been kidnapping charges and the like, so it is a difficult process, but to make it clear to both yourself and family, the benefits of having pleaded guilty - I say that but for your plea of guilty - I would have sentenced you to be in prison for a period of 11 years with a minimum term of seven. 

77Any disagreement with that, or still doing it.

78MR HAYWARD:  Still working it out, Your Honour.  Thank Your Honour.  I think that works, Your Honour.  I think the calculations are correct.

79HIS HONOUR:  All right.  You can go now.  I will just stand down. 

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