Director of Public Prosecutions v Savage

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

Case No. CR-22-01039
CR-22-01040

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

JOSHUA SAVAGE
TAYLOR SAVAGE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DOYLE
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	30 April 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	20 May 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Savage & Anor
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 687

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:Criminal Law
Catchwords:              Pleas of guilty - burglary - theft - dealing with proceeds of crime - multiple offences - separately planned and executed offences -high value offences - victims known to offenders - motive for offending was greed - persistent offending over an extended period - substantial moral culpability – delay - positive prosects of rehabilitation.
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169; Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102; Markovic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105; Ralph v the Queen [2022] VSCA 185; Buovac v The Queen [2018] VSCA 302; Sweeney v the Queen [2023] VSCA 9; DPP v Bowd [2019] VSCA 246; Adams v The Queen [2011] VSCA 77; Gladigau v The Queen; DPP v Findlay [2017] VCC 1618.
Sentence:                  Joshua Savage: Total Effective Sentence of 6 years and 3 months. Non-parole period of 3 years and 10 months.
Taylor Savage: Total Effective Sentence of 5 years and 4 months. Non-parole period of 3 years and 2 months.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr Hardjadbrata	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused J. Savage	Mr Habib	Susan Ruffin Solicitors

For the Accused T. Savage Mr Miller Stephen Peterson Lawyers

HIS HONOUR:

Joshua Savage, you have pleaded guilty to eight charges of burglary and eight charges of theft.
Taylor Savage, you have pleaded guilty to five charges of burglary, five charges of theft and one charge of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
The maximum penalties are as follows: burglary - 10 years’ imprisonment; theft –10 years’ imprisonment; and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime – 15 years’ imprisonment.
The two of you are charged jointly in charges 3 and 4, 8 and 9, 10 and 11, and 14 and 15.
The facts of the offences are set out in detail in the prosecution opening, which was read in court and tendered as an exhibit. I will summarise the opening dealing firstly with the joint offences, then the offences that involve just you, Joshua Savage and then the offences that relate solely to you, Taylor Savage.
The offences took place largely in 2020, but you Joshua Savage had committed a burglary back in 2018. Most of the offences were burglaries of the homes of small business owners committed when they were not home. In all these residential burglaries the victims had a safe inside their house which was stolen.
Joint offences
Charges 3 and 4: Kauri Close, Cowes

On 31 January 2020 at about 6:45pm David Cassells discovered that his safe had been stolen from the walk-in wardrobe in the master bedroom of his house in Kauri Close, Cowes. Inside the safe was $20,000 in cash, some old Australian currency from the 1960’s and 1970’s and some Australia Post collectible coins.
A few days earlier Mr Cassells had noticed some items had been moved in the master bedroom and believes this is when the safe was stolen. He and his wife had been away from the house on several times in the week preceding the discovery of the missing safe.
Mr Cassells runs a veterinary clinic in Cowes. He knows your family and has dealings with them through his business.
You, Joshua Savage were interviewed twice by police about this burglary. In the first interview you denied committing this offence but in a subsequent interview you admitted it.
You, Taylor Savage, admitted committing this burglary and theft.
Charges 8 and 9: Malcalm Avenue, Surf Beach
In 2020, Troy Carton lived in Malcalm Avenue, Surf Beach on Phillip Island. He had a business, Island Equipment Hire, on Phillip Island.
On 23 March 2020, when Mr Carton was at work, he received a phone call from his bank enquiring about transactions occurring on a bank travel card in his name. As far as Mr Carton knew, the travel card was in his safe at home.
When Mr Carton got home, he discovered that the safe in his wardrobe had been ripped from the wall where it had been installed. A crowbar and pliers were on the floor of the wardrobe. The safe contained approximately $24,000 in Australian currency and $1,000 in a mix of United States and Indonesian currencies.
Mr Carton knew both of you because you had been customers of his equipment hire company.
When first interviewed by police you, Joshua Savage, denied committing this offence, but you admitted committing the offence in your second interview. You, Taylor Savage, admitted committing this offence.
Charges 10 and 11: Hilltop Close, Leongatha
On 10 May 2020, Isidoro Spadaro and his wife left their home in Hilltop Close, Leongatha, for work at their business, Paradise Pizza, in Leongatha. They returned home at about 9:00pm. When they arrived home, they found the back door ajar. They entered to inspect.
Mr Spadaro got a step ladder and looked through the manhole cover in the walk-in wardrobe into the roof space. He found that their safe had been stolen from inside the roof space. The safe contained between $20,000 and $30,000 in cash and $30,000 in jewellery.
In the investigation police examined the mobile phone of Taylor Savage. They located a photograph of a man wearing various pieces of jewellery on his hand including an engagement ring, a square gold ring with a diamond, a gold bracelet and a gold ring with the picture of a snake and a blue stone. This photograph was originally taken at 9:08am on 11 May 2020, the day after the burglary and theft at the Spadaro home.
On 22 August 2020, Mr Spadaro attended the Leongatha Police Station and from the photos on Taylor Savage’s phone identified the jewellery as belonging to him and his wife, stolen from the safe at their home.
Mr Spadaro has known the Savage family including Joshua Savage and Taylor Savage for years.
Both of you denied committing this offence when interviewed.
Charges 14 and 15: Outrigger Drive, Inverloch
On 22 May 2020 at about 11:00am, Rayna Berg left her home in Outrigger Drive, Inverloch, and went to work at her restaurant, The Bayside Lady, in Inverloch.
At about 8:00pm a neighbour, Ian Fowler, saw a stranger walking down the driveway of Ms Berg’s house. He had black shortish hair, was stocky and about five feet 10 inches tall. A little later he saw two torchlights or phone lights inside Ms Berg’s home. He phoned the police and then waited outside his home. He saw a Ford Territory wagon pull away up the road. It had a registration number plate starting with a “1” or and “I”. Jody Fowler saw two men climb over the side fence of Ms Berg’s home and saw a vehicle pull away.
Ms Berg left the restaurant about 8:45pm and received a phone call during her drive home advising her that there had been a burglary at her home.
She arrived home to find two police officers in attendance.
She entered the house and found that doors had been removed from a wardrobe in the spare room. A safe, which had been bolted to the wall in the cupboard, had been stolen. The safe contained $80,000 cash being a combination of savings, gifts and an inheritance. Other rooms appeared to have been searched. Some jewellery had also been stolen.
You, Joshua Savage, denied committing this offence in your first police interview but admitted it in the second police interview without prompting by police. You told police that you gave $10,000 to a man named Alex Grivas who had tipped you off about the safe. Alex Grivas lived at the Berg’s in the past when he needed accommodation.
You, Taylor Savage admitted committing this offence in your police interview.
Joshua Savage offences
Charges 1 and 2: West Court, Cowes
On 25 July 2018 at about 11:30am, John Alcock and his wife left their home in West Court, Cowes and travelled to their business, Phillip Island Automotive, in Cowes.
They returned home at about 4:30pm and found that the rear door of the house was unlocked and there was a hole in the fly-wire screen security door at the side of the house.
Mr Alcock went to the walk-in wardrobe in the master bedroom and discovered that the safe which had been bolted to the floor had been prised from its position, damaging the surrounding wall. The safe was stolen. Nothing else in the house was disturbed.
The safe contained $30,000 in cash and $25,000 worth of gold jewellery, including a men’s gold ruby ring.
You, Joshua Savage, knew John Alcock and on occasions your vehicle had been repaired at his business.
On 27 July 2018 cash deposits of $3,000 and $8,000 were made to your account at the Bendigo Bank.
Mr Alcock later identified the gold men’s ruby ring which had been located at Peter Savage’s place in a room you had previously used as a bedroom.
You, Joshua Savage, denied committing this offence when interviewed by police.
Charges 6 and 7: Gap Road, Ventnor
In early 2020, a burglary occurred in Gap Road, Ventnor when a shipping container was broken into and the contents stolen, which included 19 new Yamaha quad motorcycles, a jet ski, power tools, and quilts and linen. The property belonged to Homy Holdings. Mr Dawai Chen was the Managing Director.
Early in 2020, you, Joshua Savage, spoke to a person named Shaun Rogan and told him about some quad bikes that you had for sale. You offered to sell him one for $200.
A while later Mr Rogan saw you in Cowes driving a utility with a quad bike loaded on the back. You told him that the bike was for a mate, but you had another one for him and you would take it to Jake Black’s place, for Mr Rogan to see.
A few days later Mr Rogan told you he had decided not to buy the bike.
On 7 July 2020, you took a Yamaha quad motorcycle to Dylan Norton, the owner of Norton Power Equipment, in Cowes to have an engine hour meter installed on the motorcycle. You collected the quad the next day.
On 13 August 2020, police executed a search warrant in Teddy Bear Lane, Cowes, your home. A Yamaha quad bike was located and seized which was later established to be one of the quad bikes stolen from Gap Road, Ventnor.
Police recovered two Yamaha quad motorcycles from Jake Black, a known associate of yours.
On Taylor Savage’s phone, police found a photo you sent showing the inside of a shipping container packed with Yamaha quad motorcycles.
Dawai Chen identified three Yamaha quad motorcycles as being property stolen from him.
The prosecution case is that you were “involved” in the theft of all 19 quad bikes in that your communications to others led to the physical theft of all the property.
The prosecution accept that you profited only to the extent of three of those quad bikes.
Charges 12 and 13: Anglers Road, Sunderland Bay
In 2020, Darren Talbot and his partner Daniel Harland, ran a hairdressing business from home in Anglers Road, Sunderland Bay, on Phillip Island. They used an antique, but functioning, safe to store personal documents and some other items. The key was left in the lock.
On Saturday 16 May 2020 they left home at about 1:00pm to travel to East Gippsland for a few days to cut hair for people affected by bushfires.
You, Taylor Savage, knew Mr Talbot and Mr Harland.
On 19 May 2020, Mr Talbot and Mr Harland arrived back home and found the front security door pinned back in a fully open position. The had locked it when they left a few days before.
Mr Talbot entered and saw that the wardrobe door in the office was open and the safe was missing. In the master bedroom drawers had been pulled out and emptied. The following items had been stolen: a Tissot brand ‘Swissmatic’ watch, cash from a bedside drawer, cash from the salon, a Go Pro camera, and a bottle of whisky.
The safe contained personal papers and a coin collection including 50 cent coins from the 1960’s along with a range of international currencies including New Zealand coins, English bank notes, Euros and Hong Kong coins.
On 18 May 2020, you, Joshua Savage, purchased two hats at the Island Surf Shop in Cowes and were captured doing so on CCTV[1]. You paid cash and obtained a receipt.
[1] CCTV images Ex.24 Deps pp.403 - 405
On 3 June 2020, Andrew Jeffrey, a farmer at Ventnor on Phillip Island, found a safe on Ventnor Road, near his farm. Located nearby were various personal papers, passports and a can of Solo drink and a receipt from Island Surf Shop. Police attended the scene and recovered the items after photographing them.
The safe was identified as the one from Mr Talbot and Mr Harland’s home.
On 13 August 2020, police located a Tissot ‘Swissmatic’ watch at your address, Joshua Savage, which was later identified by Mr Talbot as his watch.
Charges 16 and 17: Peninsula View, Cowes
In 2020, Dora Caffieri and her husband and children were living in Peninsula View, Cowes.
On 1 July 2020 the whole family were out of the house from approximately 4:45pm. The family returned to the house at about 10:00pm. Mrs Caffieri noticed some things in the bedroom had been disturbed. She went to check a safety deposit box which was kept in the master bedroom ensuite. It had been broken open and the contents stolen. The box contained $15,000 in Australian dollars and $4,528 in United States dollars.
There was a broken lock on a rear door.
On 10 July 2020, you Joshua Savage sold $2,240 United States dollars at the Bendigo Bank.
You denied committing this offence when interviewed by police.
Taylor Savage offences
Charge 5: Justice Road, Cowes
In 2020, Michael Kleverkamp and his partner Anne McIntosh lived in Justice Road, Cowes, and ran an earth-moving business on Phillip Island. On 1 March 2020, Michael Klerverkamp discovered that his safe had been stolen. The safe was hidden behind shelves underneath excess pillows and shopping bags. It had not been clearly visible. The last time the safe had been accessed was on about 11 February 2020. The safe contained $47,000 cash and personal documents.
You, Taylor Savage, told police you received a “couple of grand” from this theft. On 25 February 2020, a cash deposit of $3,500 was made to your Bendigo Bank account.
Charges 18 and 19: North View Drive, Wonthaggi
In July 2020, Xiu Q Liu and her daughter Gao Yan were living in North View Drive, Wonthaggi. Ms Liu owned a massage shop in Cowes, Phillip Island.
On 8 July 2020, she received a phone call from her daughter who told her someone had entered their house. When she got home, she discovered that a safe in the house had been broken open and a box inside containing $300,000 Australian dollars had been stolen. The money was the proceeds of selling a house in China.
Joshua Savage and Taylor Savage both denied committing this offence when interviewed by police.
On 13 August 2020, following your arrest, you, Taylor Savage, made admissions to two police undercover operatives in the Wonthaggi to taking ‘300’ and using a crowbar to do so.
You told the undercover police officer that you had admitted three burglaries to police, but you had done more. You told him that you had “done the highest last time”. You said ‘they’ carried out the burglaries during the day when the owners were at work. You never put the money in your bank account. You also said ‘they’ only took safes.
Evidence of spending
On 22 June 2020, you, Joshua Savage, purchased a 2015 Holden Commodore VF for $35,000 cash and on 23 June 2020, you purchased a 2005 Haines Signature cabin cruiser for $20,000. On 26 July 2020, you purchased a 2020 Seadoo Jet ski for $10,000 cash. On 28 July 2020, cash deposits of $5,000 were made to bank accounts in the name of your daughters.
On 19 July 2020, you Taylor Savage paid $6000 in cash for a Mars Camper Trailer. On 29 July 2020, you paid $10,500 in cash for a 2016 KTM 350 Exec motorcycle.
On 14 August 2020, police executed further search warrants in Thompson Ave, Cowes, your address, Taylor Savage, and in Teddy Bear Close, Cowes, your address, Joshua Savage. At your address Joshua Savage police found $51,500 in $50’s and $100’s in a wall cavity. At your place Taylor Savage police located $50,200 cash also hidden in a wall cavity.
Victim Impact Statements
Victim Impact Statements have been provided from the following people: John Alcock (Charges 1 and 2), Michael Kleverkamp and Anne McIntosh (charge 5), David Cassells and family, (charges 3 and 4), Daniel Hardland and Darren Talbot (Charges 12 and 13), Isidoro Spadaro (charges 10 and 11), Kavi Nambiar, Elleesha Berg, Jennefer Aperloo, Rayna Berg, and Michael King (charges 14 and 15). I have read and had regard to those documents.
Most of the victims feel less safe since the offences. Your offending compromised their sense of security. They feel violated having had their homes broken into. For many of the victims you have caused significant financial hardship. The steps they took to safeguard their property proved insufficient against your organised criminality.
The impact on the victims has been substantial, which is hardly surprising given your incursions into their homes and the very high value of the thefts. For example, the money you stole from the Rayna Berg (charges 14 and 15) was cash saved to build a replacement farmhouse for her mother to live in and as a venue for her sister’s wedding. Mr Spadaro has suffered anxiety which has accelerated his pre-existing kidney disease.
Guilty pleas
You both pleaded guilty to the charges on the indictment on 8 June 2023. The charges had resolved on 5 May 2023 after a case conference hearing in the County Court in April 2023. At the outset there were significantly more charges than appear on the indictment. I accept that the committal process and case conference hearing in this case were necessary to achieve the resolution in this case. You, Joshua Savage, made an offer at an early stage, pre-committal, which was close to the indictment to which you have pleaded guilty. I therefore regard your plea as an early plea of guilty. Taylor Savage, although you did not make an early plea offer, the number of charges is substantially less than you originally faced and I regard your plea as reasonably early given the resolution.
The two of you were in custody from August 2020 when you were charged until 28 September 2020 when you were released on bail in the Supreme Court. That period of incarceration was during the pandemic when restrictive conditions were in place in the prison system including lockdowns and I have taken that into account in mitigation You have since been subject to stringent bail conditions including a curfew which seems to have been in place until the committal proceeding.
Delay is a significant mitigating matter in this case and I have moderated the sentences to reflect the delay. In the time that the two of you have spent waiting to have this case finalised you have not re-offended and have otherwise demonstrated a capacity to rehabilitate. Moreover, throughout this period you have had the spectre of a substantial prison sentence hanging over your heads. You have had to wait a long time knowing a significant prison sentence was likely.
I accept your guilty pleas are consistent with a level of remorse for the offending and demonstrate a willingness to facilitate the course of justice. The utilitarian value of the pleas is substantial. A trial in this matter would have occupied a considerable period. You have spared the court, the prosecution, and the police the use of the resources required for a trial, and you have spared the victims the experience of having to give evidence about these matters and thereby relive the experience.
You indicated your pleas at a time when this court still faced a backlog of trials as result of the pandemic. Your pleas contributed to the reduction of that backlog. Therefore, I apply the principles in the decision of Worboyes and other cases and allow an additional sentencing discount for your pleas. [2]
[2] Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169.
Joshua Savage

You were born in March 1992. You are now 34 years old. You were brought up in Leongatha. Your parents separated when you were five years old. You had some exposure to physical violence as a child. You were diagnosed with ADHD at an early age. You exhibited antisocial behaviour from the age of 12 which included running away from home, drinking and some criminal behaviour.
You had limited education finishing Year 7 and then continuing with TAFE until Year 10. You have worked from time to time as a labourer. You have been in receipt of Centrelink benefits since March 2023, and you are also receiving a Parenting Allowance.
You deny having any significant problems with drugs and alcohol. You have had a problem with gambling, throughout your adult life. You have had counselling for your gambling problems in the period since this offending. You have made good progress on that front. Although I accept your gambling issues are a relevant feature of your personal circumstances; in my opinion, the offending was not motivated by a need to gamble or to repay gambling debts given the evidence of spending and the stock piling of cash.
You have had two long-term relationships from which you have three children. You have two daughters, aged six and five, from your first relationship. You look after them four nights each fortnight. You have a good relationship with them. You have a two-year-old son from your most recent relationship with a woman named Maddy. You broke up with her in early 2023 on account of her drug use and DFFH intervention. Your son has been in your full-time care and has no contact with his mother. Your main focus in life in recent times has been looking after your son.
You have a criminal history, but it is relatively limited. You have one prior conviction for burglary and theft in 2015 which was heard in the Magistrates’ Court, you were fined $1,000 without conviction. Although I was not told about the circumstances of that offending, it must have been relatively minor to have attracted that penalty.
A psychological report from Dr Sara Salessi was tendered. A further psychological report was tendered from Dr Paul Grech who confirms that you have seen him between 2020 and 2024. You have been diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder. You are prescribed 100 milligrams of Sodium Valproate and 20 milligrams of Escitalopram. You have been seeing Dr Grech regularly for some time. He says that in the time you have been seeing him you have managed to overcome a gambling dependency and gain some control over your mental health problems.
Whilst your mental health issues are a relevant part of your personal circumstances it is not suggested that any of your psychological or psychiatric problems have a causal connection to the offending in this case. It was not submitted that any of the Verdins’ principles apply.[3]
[3] Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102.
You have completed a men’s behaviour change program and counselling in relation to your gambling issues.
Your son has suffered from a range of health issues over recent years. I have received a report from Monash Health dated 3 November 2023 which indicated your son was referred for cardiac assessment as he was noted to have a murmur. He also suffered from an iron deficiency and required a bronchoscopy for some respiratory issues that he had been experiencing. It was not submitted that your situation constitutes exceptional hardship as required by the decision of Markovic.[4] Rather, it was submitted that given your parental role in relation to your son, a period of imprisonment will weigh more heavily upon you knowing that your son will be without his father who has been in recent times his primary carer. I accept that the your son’s situation does increase substantially the burden of your imprisonment.
[4]Markovic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105
In respect of your rehabilitation prospects, having regard to the steps you have taken in the last 3 and half years and given you do not have substantial criminal history, I think there are reasons to be optimistic you will not reoffend. That said this was serious persistent and calculated offending and it would be naïve to discount the risk of reoffending but overall, I take a positive view of your prosects.
Taylor Savage
Taylor Savage you are now 31 years old. You were born in March 1993. You live in Broadford with your partner Jessica and your two young children both of whom were born since the offending in this case. You are working full-time running your own painting business. You and Jessica have been in a relationship for 11 years. She has suffered from post-natal anxiety since the birth of your second child. A support letter from GV Health was tendered which indicates that Jessica relies on you for emotional support and your absence is likely to escalate her anxiety which will have an impact on the children.
Jessica has provided a letter in support of you. She says that since you were granted bail the two of you moved to country Victoria for a fresh start. She says you have been a dedicated father since your first child was born in 2022 and you have committed to your work and are well respected in the town. She confirms that she and your children rely on you, and you provide them with love and attention.
Character references were provided from Anthony Scicluna, a firefighter instructor with the CFA and David Birney, your employer. Both confirm your openness and honesty about the offending; that you are a dedicated father, a good worker and that you have made positive efforts to turn your life around.
You grew up in Leongatha and in Phillip Island. You report that there was conflict between your parents and Joshua that often-involved physical fighting. You always got on well with your parents. You have a close relationship with your mother, and you say you get on ‘okay’ with your father.
You were educated at Leongatha Secondary College, but you left early in Year 9 due to behavioural problems.
After you left school, you attended TAFE for a short time but then started taking drugs at which time your father decided to move you away from Leongatha and you lived in Phillip Island.
You have been a consistent drug user since you left school. Initially you were a prolific user of cannabis, but you have also used other drugs including ice and cocaine. In the period of these offences, you were using cocaine regularly and quite heavily. You have abstained from drugs since you were granted bail in 2020.
Despite your persistent drug use you have no relevant prior convictions.
You were assessed by forensic psychologist Carla Lechner who provided a report. She says in her report that you have symptoms of stimulant use disorder in remission, and depression and anxiety related to these proceedings. You were referred to a clinical psychologist Mr Kane Gough for assessment of adult ADHD. Mr Gough has also provided a report and he confirms that diagnosis.
In your case notwithstanding the gravity of the offending you have shown strong signs of rehabilitation over a lengthy period, and you have a stable family situation and employment. In my view you have very good prospects of rehabilitation.
Seriousness of the offences

Except for charge 5 (a proceeds of crime offence against you Taylor Savage); and charges 6 and 7 (the burglary of a shipping container against you Joshua Savage), the offences in this case involved targeted, calculated, planned intrusions into the residential homes of people you knew who lived in the same area as you. The offences mainly occurred on Phillip Island, but you also offended in Inverloch, Leongatha and Wonthaggi.
In the case of Ralph v the Queen[5], the Court of Appeal in dealing with an appeal against a sentence of 2 years for a residential burglary, which was reduced to 18 months, said this about residential burglaries:
The transgression of the private boundary of the home will often leave the victim feeling violated and unsettled…. The call for punishment and redress is powerful.
[5]Ralph v the Queen [2022] VSCA 185.
The targeted premises were mostly private homes, a serious feature of these offences.
The victims had secreted their property in safes to protect it from thieves Bolting the safe to the floor (charges 1and 2) or installing it in the wall (charges 8 and 9) did not stop you. You had the skills to steal the safes in those offences despite this extra safeguard.
Not only did you steal high value amounts of cash and other property from the victims, but you also violated their privacy and sense of security by entering their homes to steal their property. Several of the victims refer to this sense of violation in their victim impact statements. Of course, underlining the callous nature of your offending was that the victims were people you knew.
That the offending was premediated and planned is clear from the prosecution opening. You must have had knowledge the victims had safes inside their houses containing cash and other high value property and, on every occasion, no one was home. That cannot have just been good luck. Indeed, to commit the burglary and theft represented by charges 5 and 6, you Joshua Taylor paid $10,000 to Alex Grivas who had previously lived with the victims for information, a matter which heightened the sense of violation they felt. The payment you made exemplifies the professional, calculated nature of the offering.
The offending was persistent, committed over an extended period. Most of the offences occurred within approximately 5 months in 2020 although in your case Joshua Savage you had already committed a burglary and theft stealing a safe back in 2018, represented by charges 1 and 2.
There was damage caused to the properties which were burgled in charges 1 and 2, 6 and 7, and 16 and 17 committed by you Joshua Savage and in charges 8 and 9, 14 and 15, of the joint offences.
The value of the property stolen was very high. The total value of the cash and other property stolen in the joint offences was $178,299. Most of this was not recovered.
In respect of the offences committed by you alone Joshua Savage the total value of property stolen was $117,621 mostly cash. Two of the safes taken were never recovered.
The charges against you alone Taylor Savage include the highest amount stolen in any the burglaries that being the $300,000 in cash taken from Ms Liu in the final burglary. You also received $3500 in the proceeds of crime offence which was connected to the same type of burglary as the others on the indictment. The quantum stolen in your offences is therefore very high.
In both of your cases the motive for the offending was greed – to improve your lifestyles by stockpiling cash and acquiring possessions.
For all these reasons in each of your cases I regard your moral culpability for the offending as substantial.

I have, however, formed the view that overall, your moral culpability Joshua Savage is marginally higher than yours Taylor Savage. You committed more offences. You have a prior conviction for burglary and theft, and you committed the first offence on the indictment back in 2018, a burglary where a safe was stolen. It was you who paid for the information from Alex Grivas which activated the offending in charges 14 and 15, and you provided information to others which facilitated the shipping container burglary. You seem to have been part of a network of dishonest people in your local area. You were particularly active in spending the proceeds of the crimes.
You Taylor Savage were more cooperative in your interviews with police. You told the psychologist Ms Lechner that you were influenced by your brother to join in with him in this offending. I accept this. However, once you commenced offending you were an enthusiastic participant. Further, I am a little more optimistic about your rehabilitative prospects. You have work and a long-term stable relationship and no relevant prior convictions.
I have imposed slightly lower sentences on you Taylor Savage on the joint charges to reflect these matters.
Comparative cases
Two decisions of the Court of Appeal were referred to on the plea: Buovac v The Queen [6] and Sweeney v the Queen [7]. I have also had regard DPP v Bowd [8] which refers to other sentencing decisions for burglary offending: Adams v The Queen[9], Gladigau v The Queen[10], and DPP v Findlay [11]. There are of course distinguishing features between each of those cases and the circumstances of the offences here. No two cases are the same.
[6] Buovac v The Queen [2018] VSCA 302.
[7] Sweeney v the Queen [2023] VSCA 9.
[8] DPP v Bowd [2019] VSCA 246.
[9] Adams v The Queen [2011] VSCA 77.
[10] Gladigau v The Queen[2015] VSCA 204.
[11] DPP v Findlay [2017] VCC 1618.
The cases I have referred to are indicative of current sentencing practices for this type of offending. Current sentencing practices are a guide but not a controlling factor in deciding the sentence.
I do however observe that the objective gravity of this offending is higher than in most of those cases (particularly because of the calculated nature of the offending, and the value of the property stolen); whereas in some respects the mitigating factors are stronger in respect of both of you and neither of you have a substantial criminal history, a feature of most of the comparative cases.
Sentencing Principles
Offending such as this requires considerable weight to be given to general deterrence. Personal deterrence is also a factor of significance but the weight to be given to it is reduced to an extent given the absence of any substantial criminal history for either of you, the delay, and the evidence of rehabilitation. I must also through the sentence I impose denounce this calculated offending motivated by greed. Further this was offending that had a significant impact of the victims and just punishment must also be emphasised. A proper application of these principles requires a significant prison sentence.
I must not however lose sight of the need to promote your rehabilitation. I think it is likely that both of you can lead productive lives once you are released from the sentences I impose today, and I am mindful of the need to avoid a crushing sentence.
Totality
The totality principle requires that the total effective sentences imposed must be just and proportionate to the total criminality of your offending. To achieve a proportionate sentence significant concurrency is necessary. I have also found it necessary to moderate to an extent the length of the sentences imposed.
At the same time, I must take care to impose a sentence which recognises the separate criminality involved in the separate incidents which combine to make up the sequence of offending in each of your cases. The offences were separately planned and executed and therefore a level of cumulation is necessary to reflect the separate criminality involved.
The non-parole period mitigates punishment in favour of rehabilitation. It must though reflect the objective gravity of the offending. It is the minimum period of imprisonment that justice requires to be served. In your case, because of the delay and the progress towards rehabilitation you have both made, together with your positive prosects of rehabilitation and the burden of imprisonment, I have decided to allow for a significant gap between the head sentence and the non-parole period in respect of both of you.
Sentences

Joshua SAVAGE
Charge on Indictment	Offence	Sentence	Cumulation
1 2	Burglary Theft	24 months	9
3 4	Burglary Theft	22 months	7
6 7	Burglary Theft	18 months	6
8 9	Burglary Theft	22 months	7
10 11	Burglary Theft	25 months	8
12 13	Burglary Theft	18 months	5
14 15	Burglary Theft	28 months	Base
16 17	Burglary Theft	22 months	5

Total Effective Sentence: 6 years and 3 months
Non-Parole Period: 3 years and 10 months
Pre-Sentence Detention: 67 days
S6AAA: 9 years and 2 months with a non-parole period of 6 years.

Taylor SAVAGE
Charge on Indictment	Offence	Sentence	Cumulation
3 4	Burglary Theft	21 months	7 months
5	Knowingly deal with proceeds of crime	8 months	2 months
8 9	Burglary Theft	21	7 months
10 11	Burglary Theft	24 months	9 months
14 15	Burglary Theft	25 months	9 months
18 19	Burglary Theft	30 months 30 months	Base

Total Effective Sentence: 5 years and 4 months
Non-Parole Period: 3 years and 2 months
Pre-Sentence Detention: 67 days
S6AAA: 8 years with a non-parole period of 5 years and 4 months

[2024] VCC 687

20 May 2024