Director of Public Prosecutions v Smith-Minutolo

[2021] VCC 1103

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 20-00724

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

CARTER SMITH-MINUTOLO

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	9 August 2021
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v SMITH-MINUTOLO
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2021] VCC 1103

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms L. Anderson
For the Accused	Mr S. Kelly

HER HONOUR: 

1Carter Smith-Minutolo, you have pleaded guilty before me to five charges of theft, five charges of criminal damage, and one summary charge of going equipped to steal which was summary charge 22, which is uplifted for hearing on this plea pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act. I annex as an exhibit the prosecution opening.

2In short compass, between June 5 and June 10 2019, largely in company with your co-accused Jarrod Michael Morton, you attended various railway stations, Metro stations, in the outer eastern suburbs and broke into those machines, damaging them and stealing money from them.  Eventually you were arrested on 12 June and you were interviewed by police on a couple of occasions.  You essentially made admissions to your offending and the matter proceeded fairly swiftly after that.  You were committed after a straight hand-up brief on 6 June and a plea in this matter was conducted on 10 August 2020.  How old are you now, sir?

3OFFENDER:  I'm 30, Your Honour.

4HER HONOUR:  You are 30 years of age.  You are the only child of your parents.  There were some difficulties growing up but you completed year 10.  You completed an apprenticeship as an automotive mechanic.  You then worked for an organisation for six years until you were retrenched.

5Your problems began really when you were about 18 when you started using ice and I was informed by your counsel that in the two years leading up to this offending you were using ice on a daily basis.  You have a reasonably extensive prior criminal history beginning in 2011 when you were dealt with for unlawful assault.  You were also dealt with for charges relating to cannabis use and possessing a controlled weapon without excuse, for which you were placed on a community-based order.  In 2016 you were dealt with for a number of charges, including possessing a controlled weapon without excuse, possessing cannabis, possessing ice, using cannabis, theft, dealing with the proceeds of crime, assisting in the retention of stolen goods, for which you were fined.

6In 2017 you were dealt with for driving charges, which included failing an oral fluid test within three hours of driving, for which you were placed on a community corrections order for 12 months.  You contravened that order.  You were dealt with for that in 2018, and then finally on 12 July 2018 you were placed on another community corrections order for receiving stolen goods, possessing a prohibited weapon without exemption, possessing cartridge ammunition without a licence.

7When this matter was heard before me on 10 August, I deferred sentencing for a year to see how you would go, and in fact you have done well.  You have stayed out of trouble, you obtained employment for six months as a mechanic as well as employment as a landscape gardener.  I received a reference from your employer, Ali Zaman.  He said that you had been working for him for about the past 15 months, Monday to Friday and most weekends.  He said that you have been working well, that you were taking your job seriously and he said:

'He has improved his life dramatically since I first met him and quite often thanks me for giving him the opportunity and support he needed to get on the right track in life'.

8Mr Zaman concluded:

'To sum it up, Carter devotes all of his time to his work life and as long as he keeps thinking positive and striving for success I will continue to have him manage my business'.

9Given the successful way in which you have dealt with the deferred sentencing period, I am satisfied that I can safely deal with you by placing you on a community corrections order. 

10You are currently living with your partner of four years on a property which has about four or five houses.  You seem very much to have got your life back on track.  I am also satisfied that a community corrections order is appropriate in the circumstances given your early plea of guilty, your cooperation with police, the fact that the offending occurred over about a five-day period only as opposed to your co-accused who offended over a much longer period of time and who committed far more numerous offences than did you.

11On 18 August I sentenced Mr Morton to an 11-month term of imprisonment with release on a two-year six month community corrections order.  I had you assessed for a community corrections order and you have been found suitable.  I should note that when I talked about the difficulties in your childhood, that included suicide by your mother when you were 12.  You were raised then by your father.  You were in very emotionally difficult circumstances.  You still maintain the support of your father, who is a prosocial, hardworking man.

12You told the assessing officer that you and friends had seen a video of similar behaviour online and decided to 'give it a shot'.  You attributed your poor decision making to your drug use.  The assessing officer, Mr Argus, stated:

'Upon reflecting upon his offending, Mr Smith-Minutolo opted to highlight the number of positives that has come from his charges such as his new employment and decrease in drug use'.

13You told Mr Argus about the anxiety that you have suffered over the years.  You were assessed as a high risk of general reoffending but you are considered suitable for a community corrections order.  In all the circumstances, particularly given the efforts you have made in the last 12 months, which have been difficult given the limitations and problems that the whole community has faced as a result of the COVID restrictions, I am satisfied that you do not present a danger to the community such that I need to gaol you. 

14I am satisfied you have good prospects of rehabilitation and I am satisfied you are remorseful for your offending as indicated by your cooperation with police and the very considerable efforts you have made in the last 12 months to take advantage of the deferred sentencing period in, as I have said, difficult circumstances.

15I am therefore prepared to place you on a community corrections order.  Are you prepared to be placed on this order?

16OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.  Thank you.

17HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  I must outline to you the conditions attached to the order because I have to obtain your consent.  Given the number of community corrections orders you have been on in the past, Mr Smith-Minutolo, it seems to me you probably know them off by heart, but nevertheless I am going to outline them to you.

18OFFENDER:  Yes.

19HER HONOUR:  They are that you must report to the community corrections office within two working days of the making of this order, that is by Wednesday of this week.  Whilst you are on the order, which will last for a period of 18 months, you must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment.  That does not mean you have to go to gaol, but if you commit an offence for which you could be gaoled that will breach the order and you will be brought back in front of me.  An example is knocking off a box of matches from Woolworths;  that would breach the order.

20Whilst you are on the order you may not leave Victoria without the permission of the community corrections office.  You must report any change of address or employment within 48 hours of the making of that change.  You must report to and receive visits from the community corrections office.  You must not attend upon the community corrections office whilst under the influence of drugs and alcohol and you must obey all lawful directions of the community corrections order.

21I am going to order that you undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work.  You are to be assessed and treated for drug difficulties.  You are to be placed on supervision and there will be judicial monitoring.  The first one will be in three months' time on 8 November at 9.30 and you can be zoomed in for that.  I will get a report on that date about how you are travelling, Mr Smith-Minutolo, and I will be really interested to see how you go with the drug rehab.  It may be that you feel like you do not need it because you have done very well in the last 12 months, but nevertheless I expect you to attend for that, all right?

22OFFENDER:  No worries.

23HER HONOUR:  Are you prepared to enter into the order?  You have already indicated you are; all right.

24OFFENDER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

25HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  Because of the length of the order I do not think I am required to make a s6AAA statement.  Is that right, Ms Anderson?

26MS ANDERSON:  No, Your Honour.

27HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  Good luck with that, Mr Smith-Minutolo.  I will see you in three months' time and I thank counsel for their assistance.  I will leave the Bench and my associate will talk to you about organising getting that order sent to you for signing.  Thank you.

28OFFENDER:  No worries.

29HER HONOUR:  We'll stand down to 2.15, thank you very much.

30MS ANDERSON:  As Your Honour pleases.

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