Director of Public Prosecutions v Robertson
[2011] VCC 2035
•18 November 2011
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-09-00716
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LAWRENCE JAMES ROBERTSON |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE COTTERELL | |
WHERE HELD: | BENDIGO | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 1, 2 and 18 November 2011 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 18 November 2011 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Robertson | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2011] VCC 2035 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Catchwords:
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | MR PETER R.M. JONES | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | MR ANTHONY J LAVERY | Victoria Legal Aid |
HER HONOUR:
1 Lawrence James Robertson, you have pleaded guilty before me to one charge of intentionally causing damage. The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years’ imprisonment. You further pleaded guilty to one charge of being a prohibited person using a firearm that was not registered and the maximum penalty for that is 800 penalty units or 15 years’ imprisonment.
2 The facts were opened by the prosecution and the summary of facts was tendered as Exhibit A on the plea. Just in brief, following a dispute at the at the complainant Ian Slater's house, you and some other friends, combined with alcohol consumption, had a dispute. You left the premises and later that night you returned with the headlights of your car off. You fired several shots in the vicinity of the complainant's home and you were observed by other people to have driven up the street and shots were heard in Mincha Street. That resulted in the shooting out of a window of the house of the complainant, Mr Slater.
3 The events occurred on 27 November 2007. Initially you pleaded not guilty and indicated you were going to trial and that trial has not been reached over the past four years. That delay is not your fault, and it has resulted in me dealing with the matter some four years after you were charged.
4 You have admitted prior convictions; two of them arise from 1996 and 1993 and one was a suspended sentence which was imposed on 10 August 2006, and this offending breaches that suspended sentence. I heard all the details of that and I intend to deal with that, if it is brought back before me, by making no further order, but I do not actually have the breach before me at this time. You pleaded guilty to the offences for which I am to sentence you today following a sentence indication hearing on 2 November of this year.
5 Your personal circumstances are that you are aged 49 and are suffering a number of serious conditions and, one could say, you are in seriously ill health with a reduced life expectancy. You are married and have children, but I have not really had the details of your history or who constitutes your family at this stage, so I am not aware of those facts. However, I have information in relation to your health and, tendered as Exhibit 1 on the plea, was a report from Dr Dianne Sherriffs, together with a health summary sheet and, tendered as Exhibit 2 on the plea is a report or a letter from the Cobor Community Health Organisation written by John Parkinson, the alcohol and other drugs counsellor, and I take those reports into account in sentencing you.
6 The report of Dr Sherriffs indicates that you have alcohol dependence and abuse and you were suffering from delirium tremens and I understand that related to the detox that you underwent at the Kyneton Hospital under the auspices of the Cobor Community Health Organisation. You engaged in those withdrawal services and you were discharged on 8 November this year. That is very recent and I understand that you do not consume alcohol any more because of the very serious effect it has had on your health. The delirium tremens is described by Dr Sherriffs as being a very serious condition, brought about by the rapid detoxification, and you need to be very careful and your health needs to be treated very carefully due, in part, to that.
7 Further, in 2007, you were diagnosed with an chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which has caused permanent lung damage and also because of drugs that you have to use to counteract that disease, or to treat that disease. It is indicated here that that condition has reduced your life expectancy by 10 years and you have frequent attacks and become very unwell with respiratory infections. I take all of those matters into account.
8 Now all your health deterioration, according to these documents, has occurred since the imposition of the suspended sentence and also since your committing of the offences for which I am to sentence you today. As I said, I take all of those matters into consideration. You also suffer from gout which is not such a serious matter, but in conjunction with the arthritis from which you also suffer, it restricts your mobility extremely, and your balance is also affected. This means that you are unable to shower and toilet yourself appropriately without supervision, and I understand that your wife attends to those matters. You are extremely dependant on her and that type of care would render your life in prison almost impossible.
9 I note also because of the inhibitions to your mobility, you had a serious fall a few days ago and broke two ribs. Although the injuries themselves are not serious, it indicates the difficulties that you have in just moving around.
10 You are now in receipt of a disability support pension which you’ve had since 2007, so since the commission of these offences, and that is due to of course your deteriorating health. I’ve considered those matters alongside the other matters which I must take into account as follows; firstly, the principles of general deterrence. That is, that other members of the community will be deterred from acting in the way you did on that night, that is shooting out someone's window, however in considering all the matters that have been put before me, I consider you to not really be a vehicle for general deterrence. They just must realise that some serious consequences will flow if they indulge in that behaviour and I consider that the imposition of a suspended term of imprisonment will be sufficient for that purpose.
11 Then I have to consider your own specific deterrence, that is that you must be deterred from behaving in that way again, It appears that this has had a salutary effect on you, combined with your deteriorating health, and you have now given up alcohol which it would appear played a major contributing part in your offending. Therefore I consider that you may well have been considerably deterred from indulging in this sort of behaviour again.
12 I am required to denounce your behaviour on behalf of the community, and I do so. It will not be tolerated that people take a shotgun and drive around shooting in a neighbourhood because of some perceived injustice or offence.
13 I am then required to impose just punishment in all the circumstances, and in considering all the matters that I have just indicated, together with the matters that have been put before me on your behalf, I have concluded that a term of imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence, but that in your case it should be wholly suspended.
14 On Charge 1 you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, and on Charge 2 you are convicted and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. They will be concurrent because the two charges really arise out of the same matter. That makes a total effective sentence of 15 months, and that is wholly suspended for 18 months. So you must not commit another offence in the next 18 months.
15 Further, I order that the firearm and cartridge be forfeited and disposed of. I understand those orders are made by consent. As I have indicated to you, I also took into account your plea of guilty and I did not actually say that. As I also indicated to you, if the breach is able to come back before me I will deal with it by simply making no order, so you will not be facing a term of imprisonment.
16 HER HONOUR: Is there any difficulty with any of that Mr Jones?
17 MR JONES: I'm just worried about the 6.AAA Your Honour, but it's a bit hard with this - because of the material in the plea. It'd be almost impossible.
18 HER HONOURI don't find it appropriate that I make a s.6AAA declaration in these circumstances.
19 MR LAVERY: Thank you.
20 HER HONOUR: Thank you, I'll adjourn.
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