Director of Public Prosecutions v Takerei

[2023] VCC 969

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 22-02227

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ETHAN TAKEREI

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	9 June 2023
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Takerei
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VCC 969

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:

Catchwords:

Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:

Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms A. McVean	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr T. Acutt

HIS HONOUR:

1Ethan Takerei, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of armed robbery.  That crime carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment.  You were 19 years of age at the time of the offending and are now 20. You therefore fall to be sentenced as a young offender.  You have no prior convictions and that stands to your benefit.  You also have expressed appropriate remorse insofar as this offending is concerned.  You must also get the utilitarian benefit of that plea of guilty and also, I take into account the circumstances of it being made whilst Worboyes is in effect, still in existence.  All those matters go very much in your favour.

2A summary of the offending is that - in essence, and the Crown opening is now on file, is that on 3 July 2022, you entered a Cellarbrations store in Seabrook, which I understand is near Point Cook at approximate 9.30 am.  Sorry, the workers at the Cellarbrations store in Seabrook started at 9.30 am.  At about 3.40 in the afternoon, you entered the store, you were wearing a black puffer jacket, a black hooded jumper with white stripes on the sleeves, the hood pulled up, black pants, red and black sneakers.  You also had a black face mask on which gives me some concern, but I will not buy into that.

3In any event, you went in there, Mr Tran was seated behind the counter, you walked up to the side of the counter, you hit him in the upper chest with an empty beer bottle, you demanded the money and told him not to move.  You then physically restrained him, pushed him into the counter.  You asked for money and cigarettes, he complied with that, you were able to obtain some $1400 or so of cash and a number of packets of cigarettes.  You also, after filling your pockets and a bum bag, got a cardboard box and filled it with more packets of cigarettes and ran out of the store.  You were then chased by passers-by, you put the box on the ground and ran away.

4You were then subsequently identified from a latent fingerprint identification report.  When interviewed, you basically said you could not remember anything about what had occurred, though it did not sound like you.  I accept that during the course of the armed robbery, you were heavily intoxicated, that does not excuse it, but it may explain in some ways, why you behaved in a way that would appear to be very much out of character.  There is no victim impact statement before me, but I do not need a victim impact statement to note how frightening these situations can be for people.

5Armed robbery is inherently serious, usual course for the application of general and specific deterrence, as well as denunciation and an appropriate punishment.  I then look to matters personal to you.  Tendered on your behalf are the submissions of your counsel which I accept and also a significant number of very laudatory character references.  I have read all of those.  It seems to have taken people very much by surprise as to what you have done here and I accept that it does seem to be out of character.

6You are now in a situation where you are in gainful employment and have to work fairly long hours.  I have got a reference from your employer who confirms that that is the case.  You are in a relationship, expecting a child in September, you live at home and are supportive of your family, so there are a number of protective factors involved.  It is a situation where you tell your counsel that you have not drunk to excess since the night of the incident, and I am prepared to accept that from the Bar table.

7It seems to me that the community corrections order with conviction is the appropriate disposition, and I am obviously well aware of decisions such as Boulton and Tom Gounan.  In these circumstances it will be with conviction, which is a punishment in itself.  The prospects of your rehabilitation if you do not drink should be good.  The risk of you reoffending if you do not drink, should be good as well. 

8Taking all those matters into account for a young fella who was 19 at the time and still only 20, I think you are entitled to a chance, and I am prepared to do that for you.  Accordingly, you will be placed, if you agree, on community corrections order, it will be with conviction, it will go for a period of two years and there will be 200 work hours to be performed under it and I do not propose to put any other conditions upon it. 

9Understand, if you breach that by offending or not doing the work hours, you get brought back to be resentenced.  By the time that occurred, it will be a different judge and you may not get such a lenient result if you do breach it, all right.  So do you follow that?  You are on a community corrections order, if you agree to it, all right?

10OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

11HIS HONOUR:  Counsel will explain to you what that is about.  Now I just make it clear to you, once you start putting on masks and using weapons and touching the person on the other side of the counter, you are getting into the big league my friend, all right?  Do that again and you will be getting two or three years, you must know that. Very well.  All right, have we got that there?  Yes, he understands that?  Yes, take it yes.

12MR ACUTT:  I'll explain that again, Your Honour.

13HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

14MR ACUTT:  As the court pleases.

15HIS HONOUR:  You can go down, yes.

16MR ACUTT:  Thank you, Your Honour.

17HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Werribee, was it?

18ASSOCIATE:  Werribee.

19HIS HONOUR:  Werribee, yes.

20MR ACUTT:  Thank you, Your Honour.

21HIS HONOUR:  All right, there's nothing else I need to do or say or ‑ ‑ ‑

22MS McVEAN:  Nothing further, Your Honour.

23HIS HONOUR:  (Indistinct words) has been made and handed down.

24MR ACUTT:  6AAA I suppose for formalities, but ‑ ‑ ‑

25HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I have to, there's two ‑ ‑ ‑

26MR ACUTT:  I don't want to impose on Your Honour, but ‑ ‑ ‑

27HIS HONOUR:  All right, 6AAA, 300 hours.

28MR ACUTT:  So it'll be particularly, Your Honour.

29HIS HONOUR:  Yes, no I - yes, yes.  All right, thank you I appreciate the succinct and very handy submissions too by the way from both of you.

30MR ACUTT:  Thank you, Your Honour.

31HIS HONOUR:  Appreciate it.

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