Director of Public Prosecutions v Sale

[2018] VCC 36

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-17-00604

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ELIJA SALE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	23 January 2018
DATE OF SENTENCE:	29 January 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Sale
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 36

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:             Blackmail, Theft of Motor Vehicle, Handling Stolen Goods, Prohibited   Person Possess Firearms
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr D. Glynn	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr J. McQuillan	Leanne Warren & Associates

Pages 1 - 5

 

 

HIS HONOUR:

1Elijah Sale, you have pleaded guilty to two indictments containing the following charges:

2(i) Blackmail, contrary to s.87(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 and the maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years' imprisonment;

3(ii) Theft of a motor vehicle, contrary to s.74(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, the maximum penalty for that offence is ten years' imprisonment;

4(iii) Handling stolen goods, contrary to s.88(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, the maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years' imprisonment and;

5(iv) Being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, contrary to s.5(1) of the Firearms Act 1996, the maximum penalty for that offence is ten years' imprisonment.

6You have pleaded guilty following a contested committal and the matter being listed for trial.  Yours is not an early plea but it has, nevertheless, spared the community the cost of two criminal trials and witnesses the burden of giving evidence.  I have taken your plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence. 

7You have admitted a criminal history involving numerous appearances in the Children's Court for a range of offences, including armed robbery, intentionally causing injury, weapons offences and theft of a motor vehicle. 

8You have been the subject of youth supervision orders and detention in a youth justice centre.  The dispositions imposed on you by the Children's Court to support your rehabilitation to date have been unsuccessful.  At the time of the plea hearing, you have been remanded in custody in an adult prison since your arrest. 

9A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows. 

10On 7 September 2016, you attended at premises located at 28E King Street, Dandenong, which housed a panel beating business operated by the complainant. 

11In respect of the charge of blackmail, the complainant had previously been a victim of offending carried out by Tinh Nguyen in relation to a "debt" of $30,000 said to be owed to Nguyen.  Nguyen was in prison for these offences and released in February 2016.  He enlisted you to demand payment of the "debt" to him.  When you attended the premises, you told the complainant he had one month to pay the "debt" which had now increased to $50,000.

12You threatened to tie him up and throw him in your vehicle and you threatened to burn down the factory.  You also informed him that you knew where he lived.  You telephoned the complainant on 5 September and 6 September and attended at the premises again on 8 September and 9 September.   At midnight on 14 September, you attended at the complainant's home and spoke to his mother.  On 22 September, you telephoned the complainant and demanded payment of the "debt."  On 26 September you again attended at the complainant's factory, driving a stolen Audi A5. 

12Later that day you were arrested in Mitcham.  Police examined your telephone and located a number of photos depicting you holding four firearms that had been stolen in an aggravated burglary on 7 September 2016.  The photos in your phone were taken approximately one hour after the aggravated burglary had occurred. 

13In my opinion, the Blackmail charge that you have pleaded guilty to is not at the lower end of seriousness for that offence.  Your offending amounts to a course of conduct over a period of three weeks, involving repeated occasions of implicit or express threats directed to the complainant.  In effect, you stood over him for a person who had been in prison for similar conduct.

14You have provided no explanation to the court for your cowardly behaviour and in my view whilst you were only 18 at the time, you well understood the threatening and criminal nature of your conduct.  Your offending also took place in the context of you having possession or access to high powered rifles and in my opinion your offending is also serious in respect of that offence.

15You are a young offender and the principles applicable to the formulation of the sentence, for that reason are well established, this sentence must be designed to support your ongoing rehabilitation.  But general deterrence and specific deterrence in this case are also relevant considerations. 

16I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You were born on 15 January 1998 and are now aged 20.  Your large family of Samoan origin reside in Hampton Park.  Your mother and father are both in full-time employment as are most of your siblings.  You are a talented sportsman, excelling in boxing and in AFL football.

17I have received in evidence a number of references that speak highly of you and it is clear that you have the support of your family.  I have also received in evidence a psychological report of Ms Jane Lofthouse, setting out your background and psychological profile. 

18I accept that you are of below average intellect and you suffer from substance abuse disorder which requires ongoing treatment.  I accept that these factors rendered you vulnerable to offend at Nguyen's instigation. 

19You are remorseful for your offending and I accept that your prospects for rehabilitation are reasonable although some caution is required in that regard and you require, in my opinion, supervision on parole when you are released from custody. 

20In my opinion, the fact that you have served approximately 16 months in remand in an adult prison and your extensive criminal history indicate that you are no longer suitable for management in the youth justice system.

21In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows:

22In relation to the charge of Blackmail, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years;

23In relation to the charge of Theft of a motor vehicle, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for three months;

24In relation to the charge of Handling stolen goods, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned of six months;

25In relation to the charge of Being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 12 months.

26The sentence imposed on the charge of blackmail is the base sentence.  I direct that the entirety of the sentence on Charge 2, three months of the sentence on Charge 3 and nine months of the sentence on Charge 4 be served cumulatively on each other and cumulatively on the sentence in respect of the charge of blackmail. 

27This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of three years and three months. 

28I direct that you serve 18 months imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole. 

29I declare that you have served 490 days by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.

30But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of four years and six months and direct that you serve two years and six months before becoming eligible for release on parole. 

31All driver's licenses held by you are cancelled and you are disqualified from obtaining a license in the state of Victoria for a period of 12 months. 

32Are there any other orders required, Mr Glynn?

33MR GLYNN:  No, Your Honour.

34HIS HONOUR:  No.  Yes, thank you.  Could you remove the prisoner please?  Yes, all right.  Thank you.

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