Director of Public Prosecutions v Robertson

[2017] VCC 1790

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 17-01349

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

TRAVIS ROBERTSON

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	29 November 2017
DATE OF SENTENCE:	30 November 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Robertson
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1790

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 D. Cordy
For the Accused	Mr R. Backwell

Pages 1 - 8

 

 

HER HONOUR: 

1Travis Robertson, you have pleaded guilty to three charges of armed robbery and admitted prior convictions. 

2The circumstances underlying your offending are somewhat unusual in that the offending occurred in 2002, 2003 and remained unsolved by police until you - you can have a seat, Mr Robertson, it is all right - yourself attended the Collingwood Police Station on 16 October 2013 and told them you wanted to confess to those three armed robberies.

3Charge 1 relates to an armed robbery on 8 February 2002 at a fish and chip shop in High Street, Thornbury where, at about 8.20 pm the complainant Pam Kalanzakis was in the back of the shop getting a broom.  She returned to the front area to find you standing behind the counter at the cash register, and she noticed that you were "really shaking as if you were nervous".

4She told you you should not be there, you replying, "I want the money.  This is a hold-up".  You then pointed a knife at Ms Kalanzakis saying, "Give me the money or I'll hurt you", the knife being a 25-30 centimetre serrated knife with a silver blade.

5Ms Kalanzakis agreed to give you money, but told you to go back to the other side of the counter; you had in fact moved to the service side of the counter, you responding, "Give me money".  Ms Kalanzakis then ran into the bank area, where the store area, Mr Con Stragoulakis was.  He went to the front counter while Ms Kalanzakis rang police, saw you standing at the cash register, and you said again to him, "Give me the money".  You leaned over and started taking money from the register, at which point Mr Stragoulakis noticed a large knife in your hand.  He saw you take money from the register, leave the shop and ride away on a bicycle.  You stole about $500 during this robbery.

6Charge 2 relates to an armed robbery on 10 May 2003 at a milk bar in Wingrove Street, Alphington.  At about 4.40 pm the proprietor, Jun Chen, left the store briefly, leaving his wife Zhaoji Kee by herself at the front of the shop.  Ms Kee's parents were in the kitchen at the back of the store.  You came in within minutes of Mr Chen's departure, walked up to Ms Kee and asked her to change a 20 cent piece into ten cent pieces, which she did, opening the register in the process.

7She noticed you were watching her and closed the register, then you quickly walked around the back of the counter towards her, which startled her, and she noticed that you had a 15 centimetre long silver knife in your right hand, pointing towards her.  You walked up to Ms Kee while she stood at the register, and said, "Give me the money, give me money", while holding the knife to her.

8Mr Chen's mother came out from the back of the store and asked you to put down the knife.  You then turned towards Ms Chen's mother, who didn't answer, then back to Ms Kee, who then opened the register and grabbed money to give to you.  You grabbed the money and went to run out of the store.  Mr Chen's mother was standing in the way, so you pushed her to the ground as you ran out.  You stole around $485 on that occasion.

9The third armed robbery occurred on 25 May 2003 at a Shell Service Station in Heidelberg Road, Fairfield.  At about 11.15 pm Mr Amrit Pal Singh walked out the side of the store and saw you sitting beside the vacuum cleaners talking on a mobile phone, at which time your face was partially covered by a black scarf.  You approached Mr Singh, asked if he was about to close, and asked if you could still get cigarettes, to which Mr Singh agreed.

10You walked with Mr Singh up to the front counter, and as he was closing the door you rushed towards him and came into the counter area with him, producing a knife of about 30 centimetres long.  You told him to open the till and not to touch the emergency button.  Mr Singh opened the till.  You told him to go into the back storeroom and office, telling him, "Don't call anyone, I've got the rego of your car.  I'll come back if you call someone".

11Mr Singh walked into the back storeroom, but saw you take money from the till and a couple of packets of cigarettes.  You then left.  The amount of money taken during this armed robbery is unknown.

12In a record of interview conducted with police on 16 October 2016, you said that at the time of the offending you were strung out, using benzodiazepine and opiates, and said that you had used the money from the armed robberies to buy narcotics, as you were a daily user, and described those armed robberies as your last "most desperate" resort to get money.

13The maximum penalty for armed robbery is 25 years' imprisonment.  No victim impact statements were tendered on the plea, but it was noted from the statements made by the various victims of the armed robberies that you frightened them very much, and Ms Kalanzakis stated, which so many victims of armed robberies do, that every time she went to work she felt that she would look at each person who came in, not knowing whether they were there to buy food or hurt her.

14There has been no pre-sentence detention.  The matter proceeded simply by way of hand-up brief.

15I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You are now 43 years of age.  You are one of three children born to your parents, growing up in the Bundoora area, where you attended secondary school at Parade College.  Your family then moved for a short period of time to Ballarat, where you attended St Patrick's College and then on the family's return to Bundoora, finished your secondary education at Reservoir High School.  You repeated year 11, but failed.

16After you left school, you worked at various jobs, none of them lasting very long, they being a fabrication company for two to three months, then a commercial cleaning company as a store person with a toy wholesaler for about three to four years, then as a courier for a company for about 12 months.

17You have been unemployed since moving to Collingwood about ten years ago, where you live in housing commission housing.  You were placed on the disability support pension three years ago due to having contracted hepatitis C.

18You began using illicit drugs when you were about 17, beginning with cannabis, which you discontinued, but began using heroin when you were 18.  You eventually became addicted to it at about the age of 22, and thereafter used heroin daily for over 20 years.

19You had periods of being drug free in your mid-30s but have relapsed twice since living in Collingwood, both relapses, according to psychologist Pamela Matthews, whose report dated 8 November 2017 was tendered on the plea, lasting about 14 days.  You have twice been in in-patient at Windana, but began using Suboxone when you were about 30, which you have used on and off.

20You began attending Narcotics Anonymous over ten years ago.  At times this has been quite intensive attendance on a daily basis, and other times you have attended on a sporadic basis only.  You have tended in later times to dip in and out of Narcotics Anonymous, but I am satisfied you use it as a backup resource when your personal circumstances become difficult.

21Importantly, it appears you have been off heroin for about 26 months, and have also ceased use of Suboxone, which can be a difficult drug to withdraw from, notwithstanding its palliative effects in assisting people to cease heroin use, it having an opiate base of its own.

22As I gather from Ms Matthews' report, you basically live quietly at your apartment in Collingwood and managed to break the cycle of using drugs with accompanying offending, which appears to have been very much part of your life for an extended period of time.

23Turning briefly to your prior criminal history, it is the history of a typical long-term heroin user.  The prior criminal history begins in 1993 and thereafter goes on, with regular appearances in the Magistrates' Court for your possession and use of heroin, and accompanying offence of dishonesty such as theft, shoplifting, and obtain property by deception.

24There is a gap in offending between 2004 and 2010, which would appear to line up with the period of abstinence to described to Ms Matthews.  In 2010 you were placed on a community-based order, but since then, your prior criminal history relates only to breach of that order, which again appears to line up with your report of relapse into heroin use during those years.

25For all intents and purposes, you have not committed criminal offending in support of your drug habit since 2010, which I regard as a positive sign.

26It was agreed by both prosecution and defence that an appropriate response in this case is your placement on a community corrections order.  A person who provides information to police allowing prosecution of criminal charges against them which would otherwise not have been available but for information provided by that person, is deserving of a significant discount, and I am satisfied, given your prior criminal history, your current crime-free situation, which has been ongoing for some years, that protection of the community and general deterrence, which are primary sentencing factors to be taken into account by a court in cases of this kind, can appropriately be answered by the imposition of a community corrections order.

27I propose in the circumstances, notwithstanding there is some gap in the offending, to make this an aggregate sentence.  It seems appropriate in the circumstances.

28You have not been found suitable for placement on a community corrections order, which I must say I find a little puzzling in all the circumstances of this case.  Nevertheless, despite that opinion, which appears to be based on previous breaches, I propose to place you on this order again, a move which I note is not objected to by the prosecution.

29Can you stand up, please, sir?

30Before I can place you on this order, I must first gain your consent, and I need to explain the conditions of the order.  They are that:

31You must report to the Office of Corrections within two working days of the making of this order, that is by Monday of next week.

32OFFENDER:  Yes.

33HER HONOUR:  Whilst on the order you must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment.  I just need to explain to you, Mr Robertson, that does not mean you have to commit an offence and be sent to gaol.  You just have to commit an offence which theoretically you could be gaoled for, and that includes, for example, knocking off a box of matches from Woolworths.

34Whilst on the order you may not leave Victoria without the permission of the Community Corrections office.

35You must obey all lawful directions of the Community Corrections office.

36You must report any change of address or employment within 48 hours of that change.

37You must report to and receive visits from the Community Corrections office.

38You must not attend the Community Corrections office while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

39The order will last for a period of two years.  I am going to order that as special conditions, you undertake 150 hours of unpaid community work.  You are to attend for assessment and treatment for drug use.  You are to attend for assessment and treatment for mental health difficulties.  And I am going to place you on judicial monitoring  The first judicial monitoring will take place in six months' time.  That will be 30 May at 9.30.

40All right, do you agree to be placed on the order?

41OFFENDER:  Yes, ma'am.

42HER HONOUR:  I also order as a condition that hours of attendance for drug and alcohol treatment or mental health are to be set off against unpaid community work.  So what that means is, the hours that you go for mental health treatment or drug treatment can come off your community work hours.  Does that make sense to you, sir?

43OFFENDER:  Yes, ma'am.

44HER HONOUR:  All right, thank you.  Are you prepared to enter this order?

45OFFENDER:  Yes, ma'am.

46HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  We will just print out the paperwork.  Thank you, we will get you to sign that.  Thanks, Mr Robertson.  And I am not required to do a s.6AAA declaration.  Have we got the list of police stations that normally accompanies?

47MR CORDY:  Yes, Your Honour.

48HER HONOUR:  Mr Robertson, I have also ordered that you provide a forensic sample to police.  That will simply involve police taking a swab in your mouth.  You will need to attend the - do you know where the Collingwood Police Station is, Mr Robertson?

49OFFENDER:  Um, I do, yes.

50HER HONOUR:  That is good, because I am filling it in in my terrible handwriting, and you might not be able to read it.  You have to do that within 28 days, all right?

51OFFENDER:  Okay.

52HER HONOUR:  In the next four weeks, so look, it is one of those things.  Get it out of the way, really.  Today is the 30th, isn't it?

53MR CORDY:  Yes, Your Honour.

54HER HONOUR:  Where has the year gone?  All right, you can come out of the dock, Mr Robertson. 

55MR BACKWELL:  Can I just indicate, Your Honour, that Mr Robertson's parents are not here today.

56HER HONOUR:  No, that is all right.  They were here on the plea.

57MR BACKWELL:  I spoke to them yesterday.  They know what's going on, and I'll be speaking to them this afternoon.

58HER HONOUR:  Good.  No, that is good.  Thanks, Mr Backwell.  I thank counsel for their assistance.  You are excused.  Happy Christmas.

59MR BACKWELL:  Thank you, Your Honour.

60HER HONOUR:  Is it a month to Christmas?

61MR BACKWELL:  Less than a month now.

62HER HONOUR:  Less than a month.