Director of Public Prosecutions v Strickland

[2015] VCC 603

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

AT BAIRNSDALE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 14-01232

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

RODNEY STRICKLAND

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CAMPTON
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	6 May 2005
DATE OF SENTENCE:	7 May 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Strickland
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 603

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Aggravated burglary
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:Three months imprisonment and CCO for 2 years

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr S. Ginsbourg	OPP
For the Offender	Mr P. Murphy	Warren, Graham and Murphy

HER HONOUR: 

1Rodney Strickland, you have pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary.  The maximum sentence for this offence is a sentence of imprisonment, 25 years. 

2Circumstances of Offending

3You and the complainant in this matter, Leigh Thorpe, are known to each other.  Mr Thorpe used to work for you and he lived with you from July to August 2013.  One day, apparently, he told you that  he had a dental appointment.  He left the property and did not return.  You tried to contact him, but he did not answer your calls. 

4On Wednesday 9 October 2013, you went to where he was residing in Bairnsdale, and you used a baseball bat to break a window beside the door.  A struggle took place for the bat and Mr Thorpe lost his grip.  Fearing for his safety, he ran outside into the backyard, where his three dogs were located.

5You had entered the house armed with the baseball bat in search of him.  However, you thought again about this when you heard the dogs barking in the backyard and you decided not to pursue him.  You rang the police, they searched your property but they failed to locate the baseball bat.  However, they found some bloodied tissues in the fireplace along with some blood in your motor vehicle.  While you initially denied committing this crime, you have pleaded guilty.

6Personal Circumstances

7You were born on 15 October 1978, so you are now 37.  You have one sister and your parents separated when you were about 15.  You hated school and you left after year 9.  You have worked most of your life in the timber industry, but over the last two years as a plant operator.  A reference from your boss described you as reliable, hard-working, and honest.  You also run your own firewood business and you have two employees.  You are married and you and your wife had two children, aged nine and seven.  While there have been issues between you in the past, you instructed your counsel that things at the moment are stable and that you had access to your children every alternative weekend and during school holidays.

8You have a number of prior convictions for recklessly causing injury and assaulting the police.  The offending on 9 October 2013 breached a suspended sentence of six months, imposed at the Bairnsdale Magistrates' Court for recklessly causing injury, attempted theft and traffic amphetamine. 

9Psychologist's Report

10In a psychological report, Ms Debra Smith described you as an "average bush bloke".  In doing so, she pointed to your limited education and lack of decision-making and reasoning capacities in relation to relationships.

11She reported that you have recognised that you have done the wrong thing and that you want to address your issues and problems. 

12Define Sentencing Submissions

13In this plea on your behalf, in addition to Ms Smith's report, your counsel relied on the following matters; your plea of guilty and remorse, your record of constant employment, the fact that there was no physical contact between you and Mr Thorpe, your family background insofar as your father was a heavy drinker and not a role model to you with respect to anger management issues. 

14In view of these mitigating circumstances, he submitted that I could place you on a community corrections order alone or combination with what he described as being a short, sharp sentence. 

15Prosecution Sentencing Submissions

16The prosecutor submitted that general deterrence was an important sentencing consideration in cases of aggravated burglary and he submitted that given your priors for offences involving violence, a period in custody was appropriate.

17Sentencing Remarks

18I had you assessed for a community corrections order with respect to your suitability, and the report revealed that you are in fact at the moment currently subject to a community corrections order.  You were placed on the CCO at the Bairnsdale Magistrates' Court on 8/10/2014 for breaching an intervention order.  The order was for 18 months commencing on 18 October 2014 and expiring on 7/4/2016.

19The community corrections report advised that the conditions of this particular order were for supervision and programs to reduce your re-offending.  Your case manager advised the author of the report that while you attended supervision as directed, you used the excuse of employment to claim that you were too busy to participate in programs aimed at reducing your re-offending.  However, despite this apparent lack of motivation, you were, as I said, assessed as being suitable for another CCO. 

20In sentencing you, I have taken into account all the mitigating factors mentioned by your counsel.  I have given a discount for your plea of guilty, and I accept that you are remorseful.  However, while your counsel described your prospects of rehabilitation as being good, I consider that this is only correct if you are to make a real and genuine effort to undertake programs to deal with anger management and alcohol abuse.

21General and specific deterrence are important in crimes of aggravated burglary.  You had a weapon and you committed the offence.  By committing the offence, you breached your supervision order.  In all the circumstances of your offending, I consider that a period of imprisonment is appropriate and that on your release, you can be subject to a further community corrections order.  This time, when you are released, your priority should be to do the appropriate courses and not your work.  Stand up, please.

22Sentence

23On the charge of aggravated burglary, you are sentenced to three months' imprisonment.  On your release you will be placed on a community corrections order for a period of two years with special considerations of supervision, community work of 180 hours and treatment for anger management and alcohol abuse and supervision.  But for your plea of guilty, you would have been looking at four years to serve three.  Yes, that is concurrent with your existing community corrections order. 

24COUNSEL:  As Your Honour pleases.

25HER HONOUR:  Some documentation, you just recently received a community corrections order so you will be well aware of the conditions.  This time you really must make an effort to make a priority, so that you get those conditions over and done with.  If you did not do that, and if you committed another offence I would simply send you into gaol, unless you could show exceptional circumstances.  All right?

26MR GINSBOURG:  There's a disposal order sought in relation to probably the baseball bat, Your Honour. 

27HER HONOUR:  Yes, I grant a disposal order. 

28MR GINSBOURG:  Sorry?

29HER HONOUR:  Though it's for the cricket - you didn't find the cricket bat, what was the disposal order for?

30MR GINSBOURG:  The blood swabs.

31HER HONOUR:  The tissues?

32MR GINSBOURG:  Apparently these need to be accounted for.

33HER HONOUR:  Anything arising from that gentlemen, no?

34MR GINSBOURG:  No, Your Honour.

35HER HONOUR:  All right.  Thank you, court's adjourned.

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