Director of Public Prosecutions v Skonis
[2016] VCC 139
•22 February 2016
| Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-15-01923
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| THEODORE SKONIS |
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| JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE LAWSON |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 22 February 2016 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 22 February 2016 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Skonis |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 139 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---Subject: Criminal Law – Sentencing – Aggravated Burglary and Intentionally Causing Injury.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms J. Malobabic | John Cain, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr P. McClure | Balmer and Associates |
HER HONOUR:
1Theodore Skonis, you have pleaded guilty before me on two charges, one charge of aggravated burglary and one charge of intentionally causing injury.
2The offending occurred on 16 June 2015 when you entered Unit 2, 60 Fox Street, St Albans and assaulted Mr Warren.
3The offending is serious and that is reflected in the maximum penalty that is prescribed by law. Aggravated burglary is a level 2 imprisonment charge which has a 25 year maximum and intentionally cause injury is a level 5 imprisonment charge, so that is ten years maximum.
4You have also admitted before me your prior criminal history. There are two court appearances; they relate to driving-related offending. Of significance it is the case that there are no prior convictions recorded for crimes of violence.
5A second matter that is of significance having regard to your prior criminal history is that it demonstrates that you can adhere to court orders and I noted that you have successfully completed a Community Correction Order of six months in the past and also you adhered to the terms of a suspended term of imprisonment that was imposed in the past.
6I will now sentence you on the basis of the Crown opening that was read to the court and exhibited. I will not be repeating in detail the circumstances of your offending; suffice to say that there was a context to this offending. I noted that you were 29 at the time, you are now 30. The victim Mr Warran was aged 33. He was known to you, as he had previously been in a relationship with Violetta Dibra, who is your fiancée's sister.
7Violetta alleged that Mr Warran had argued and assaulted her on the night previous. You had been told that by your fiancée and you had confirmed that by speaking with Violetta. You then took it upon yourself to go and confront the victim. You knocked on the door of his unit and he opened it. The flyscreen door was locked. You grabbed at the flyscreen door and attempted to break it. Mr Warren then opened the flyscreen door and you walked into his house and immediately started to hit him.
8He raised his arms to protect his face and suffered defensive wounds. He suffered bruising, swelling and abrasions on the right forearm and elbow, swollen right-little finger and a fracture to the left arm with some bruising and swelling to the lower-left leg.
9Mr Warren was treated for his injuries. He has suffered greatly, as set out very extensively in the Victim Impact Statement that was read to the court.
10I noted that you were arrested and charged on 16 June 2015. The matter was then settled at committal mention on 4 November 2015.
11When you were arrested you were fully cooperative with the police and you made full and frank admissions.
12Mr Skonis, this offending is serious. You inappropriately took matters into your own hands. As I stated earlier when I was discussing the matter with counsel, I do not view this as being the most serious example of this very serious offence of aggravated burglary, nonetheless it was wrong for you to have gone around to the unit and entered the premises and assaulted the victim irrespective of your motivation. People are entitled to feel safe and secure in their own homes and you should have left Mr Warran's punishment to the police and courts. I note he is to be charged with respect to the earlier incident. Charges have been approved being one unlawful assault charge and one criminal damage charge.
13In mitigation, there are a combination of factors that I have taken into account on your behalf. Firstly, the early plea of guilty was entered at the earliest opportunity. You spared Mr Warran, the victim, the further trauma of having to come to court and give evidence on your trial and you saved the state the expense and inconvenience of a trial. There is real utility in your plea. I accept that you have facilitated justice and your sentence is to be discounted accordingly.
14Secondly, I am satisfied that the plea is indicative of genuine remorse. That is reflected in the submissions made by Mr McClure. I am satisfied you now have insight into your offending behaviour. You reacted angrily because of your upset concerning how the victim treated Violetta, but you now acknowledge and accept that you overstepped the mark.
15I have read all the references that I have received today: the references are from your fiancée, Seb Dibra; your friend Belinda Talevkski; Minna Mattiussi; Sabina Djelosevic; and Emina Ismakic.
16Each of those referees have set out in their comprehensive references that they have known you for some time and they consider you a person of moral character. You have admitted to them that you have made a mistake and you are incredibly remorseful and you are now willing to do whatever it takes to make reparation financially and emotionally. It is said that you have learnt a lot from what happened and that this mistake will not be made again.
17That sentiment is reflected in each of the character references and I accept that evidence. I am satisfied that each of those people consider you to be a person of good character and attest to your qualities. I am satisfied overall that this was a one-off situation and it is unlikely that you will re-offend in this nature again.
18Having regard to your full cooperation with the police, your fulsome admissions, your early plea of guilty, your positive response to the offending and the insight that you are now showing, I conclude that your rehabilitation prospects are excellent and the likelihood of re-offending is low. The fact that you did undertake these steps to punish the victim suggests to me that you do need to consider further anger management and that can be addressed by the programs or program that I have recommended that you undertake as part of your Community Correction Order.
19I noted you had no history of drug, alcohol or mental health problems, so that is the reason why the only program that I have suggested for offender behaviour is anger management.
20I noted the very strong support you have from your fiancée, your parents and other friends, all of whom attended the plea hearing.
21Overall I have concluded the most appropriate sentence to punish you is a Community Correction Order and not an immediate term of imprisonment to be served, as sought by the Crown.
22As the Court of Appeal explained in Boulton[1], the availability of Community Correction Orders has “dramatically changed the sentencing landscape”.[2] Sentencing courts can now choose a sentencing disposition which enables all the purposes of punishment to be served simultaneously in a coherent and balanced way in preference to an option, imprisonment, which is skewed towards retribution and deterrence. It has been described as a radical sentencing option, with the potential to transform sentencing in the State of Victoria.[3]
[1]Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 342.
[2] Ibid, at 113.
[3] Ibid, at [4].
23A Community Correction Order can be punitive, achieve deterrence and may be suitable even in cases of relatively serious offences which might previously have attracted a medium term of imprisonment such as the charge that you face of aggravated burglary.[4]
[4] Ibid, at [131].
24I noted that you are currently working full time and you have had an excellent work history since leaving school at age 15. You are living with your parents currently and plan to marry in the future and have children.
25Your counsel acknowledged general and specific deterrence needs to be emphasised in a case like this and it is further necessary for the court, on behalf of the community, to condemn your behaviour.
26In sentencing you I must impose just punishment and have regard to all the relevant sentencing principles.
27If you would like to stand now, Mr Skonis, I will just announce the formal court orders. In respect to the two charges on the indictment an aggregate sentence will be imposed because it represents one course of conduct over a short period of time on the date set out on the indictment.
28In respect to Charges 1 and 2 on the indictment you will be convicted and a Community Correction Order will be imposed for two years' duration commencing today, 22 February 2016 and ending on 21 February 2018.
29In addition to the mandatory terms that apply to all Community Correction Orders that I have set out for you, the additional special conditions will be that you must perform 150 hours of unpaid community work over two years as directed; you must be under supervision of a Community Correction Officer for two years; and, finally, you must participate in programs addressing your offending behaviour as directed by the regional manager. I have asked for anger management programs.
30I make the following declaration pursuant to s.6AAA: but for your plea of guilty I would have convicted and sentenced you to 12 months' imprisonment to follow a three-year Community Correction Order.
31I make the order sought in respect to s.464ZF. Having considered the seriousness of the circumstances of the offending, I am satisfied in all the circumstances the order is justified and I have noted the order is by consent. I consider the granting of the order is in the public interest.
32These are the formal orders. I will just sign these. Have we prepared the orders so that that can be signed? Take a seat and we will print out the order. I will sign it and then I will get you to go through it with Mr McClure and get you to sign it.
33There is just one final thing, Mr Skonis. With the order for the taking of a forensic sample, what that will entail is you going to the Sunshine police. They will give you a little cotton bud to place in your mouth and I have got to tell you that if you do not consent to the taking of the mouth scraping under supervision by an authorised member of the police then a sample can be taken by blood sample and the police may use reasonable force to enable that procedure. Do you understand that?
34OFFENDER: Yes, Your Honour.
35HER HONOUR: Provided you cooperate with them, it should not be any fuss. I will give you those. I understand an appointment has been made for you to attend the Sunshine Community Corrections Service and that is on Tuesday 23 February 2016 at 2 pm.
36OFFENDER: The lady was saying something about going to a later time because of work and that.
37HER HONOUR: Well, that was the date that they have scheduled you, so there is difficulty about that. You can sort that out with your counsel, but it is certainly the case in my report it says the first appointment has been scheduled for Tuesday 23 February 2016 at 2 pm. You have two clear working days, so by 4 pm on 24 February 2016 you have to attend 10 Foundry Road, Sunshine. But sort that out before you leave court so that that is not an issue.
38I will just sign the other copy and then he can have one. I think that covers everything, does it not?
39MS MALOBABIC: Yes, Your Honour.
40MR McCLURE: Yes, Your Honour.
41HER HONOUR: Mr McClure, what was the problem with the appointment that was organised?
42MR McCLURE: It has been made for 2 o'clock; my understanding is that Mr Skonis was told by Mr Johansen to contact Corrections and see if a later time could be obtained.
43HER HONOUR: They could do a later time?
44MR McCLURE: Yes.
45HER HONOUR: As long as he knows that and he can do that within the time frame.
46MR McCLURE: Yes, and he is clear about being two days, so thank you.
47HER HONOUR: That is good. All right, well, thank you very much.
48MR McCLURE: As Your Honour pleases.
49HER HONOUR: We can adjourn.
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