Director of Public Prosecutions v Slater

[2014] VCC 1657

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-14-00615

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

KRISTY LEE SLATER

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:	2 October 2014
DATE OF SENTENCE:	2 October 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Slater
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 1657

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
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Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr D. O'Doherty
For the Offender	Mr R. Davis

HIS HONOUR: 

1Kristy Lee Slater, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of theft, one charge of possession of a drug of dependence and have also pleaded guilty to uplifted matters of possession of a controlled weapon and failing to appear.

2The circumstances surrounding the theft are described in my sentencing remarks in relation to Kristy Nash.  The materials surrounding that charge are very difficult to interpret.

3What appears to have occurred is on 28 April 2013 Ms Nash was of the belief that a significant amount of her property had been stolen.  You, as I understand it, did not know her, and in any event, after a lot of toing and froing, a number of you ended up in a vehicle with Ms Nash directing it.

4The theft involved the taking of a subwoofer from the car of a Mr Payne which did not belong to Ms Nash.  I take it on the basis that even if your original appropriation was not dishonest, you became aware that it was. 

5The controlled weapon relates to a knife that was in the vehicle and the possess cannabis is of a small quantity.  The fail to appear was very early on in the piece and you have obeyed all the rules since then.

6You are 28 years of age.  You pleaded guilty to a settled indictment.  You have no prior convictions.  You have gainful employment.  I have read references that have been tendered on your behalf which show that you have completed an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator and you have done pretty well up until the present time.  Why you got involved in all this I have no real idea despite having read the material a couple of times.  However, when I look at those matters in your circumstances where you have stable accommodation, stable employment and no priors, it is my view that you are entitled to a degree of leniency. 

7Accordingly, on the charges, I direct that they all be adjourned for a period of 12 months pursuant to s.75 of the Sentencing Act, that that adjournment be without conviction but that there be a special condition that you pay the sum of $500 to the Anti Cancer Council within three months of today's date and that a receipt for that payment be provided to my associate in due course.

8All right.  Yes, thanks, Mr Davis.

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