Director of Public Prosecutions v Tuipolotu

[2024] VCC 832

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

GENERAL LIST

Case No. CR-23-01852

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ROBERT TUIPOLOTU

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JUDGE:	S.DAVIS
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	30 April 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	12 June 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v TUIPOLOTU
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 832

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Aggravated burglary (1 charge), Common law assault (2 charges), prohibited person possess firearm (1 charge), Make threat to kill (1 charge), Theft (2 charges), applicability of Verdins limbs, Bugmy principles

Legislation Cited:      Crimes Act 1958; Firearms Act 1996; Sentencing Act 1991

Cases Cited:Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37; R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 62

Sentence:                  Total effective sentence of 5 years and 3 months with a non-parole period of 3 years and 6 months

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr R Pirrie (Plea) Ms D John (Sentence)	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr G Nikolovski (Plea) Mr T Sullivan (Sentence)	Geelong Lawyers, Barristers & Solicitors

HER HONOUR:

1Robert Tuipolotu, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary (charge 1) which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment. You have also pleaded to a number of offences which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. These are: one charge of prohibited person possess firearm (charge 4); one charge of threat to kill (charge 5); and two charges of theft (one involving a motor vehicle – charge 6; and one involving property taken from the victims’ home – charge 7). On conviction for theft of motor vehicle, the Court must cancel and disqualify the offender’s drivers licence. If no period is specified, the period is 3 months. Finally, you have pleaded guilty to two charges of common law assault (charges 2 and 3) each of which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

2In sentencing you, I have taken into account all of the written material tendered[1]  as well as the oral submissions of counsel.

[1] Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 30 April 2024; photographs of injuries to victims; collection of photographs of materials seized during search warrant; extract of CCTV footage; report of Dr Dawson dated 5 December 2023; report of Dr Hall dated 4 April 2023; bundle of custody certificates; letter from ACSO dated 26 April 2024; and Defence submissions dated 22 March 2024.

3The details of your offending were set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea which was accepted by your counsel as accurate, and I sentence you on the basis of the facts contained in that document, which I summarise briefly.

Circumstances of Offending

4At the time of offending, you were 26 years old. Your co-offenders, Ester Sidiras and Jamie Marendaz, were 43 years old and 35 years old respectively and it is accepted that you knew each other.

5The two victims, Richard Hutchinson and Nicole Malone, were in a relationship at the time of your offending. Mr Hutchinson was living at St Georges Road, Corio and Ms Malone was staying with him on the night of the incident. Ashley Campbell also resided at the unit but was not home.

6Mr Hutchinson knew you and your co-offender Ms Sidiras. He did not know Mr Marendaz but during the incident, he heard you and Ms Sidiras refer to the third co-offender as ‘Jamie’. Mr Hutchinson stated that you had been at his home about two weeks earlier, having words with his housemate Ashley Campbell. Ms Malone did not know any of you. You, Ms Sidiras and Mr Marendaz were together for about 4 days prior to the offending. On the morning of Saturday, 17 December 2022 at approximately 4.00am – 4.30am, the three of you attended the Gateway Hotel. As you were walking home, you told Ms Sidiras and Mr Marendaz that you would all go to the victim’s house.

7At approximately 6.30am, the victims were asleep in their bed at Mr Hutchinson’s residence. You and your co-offenders entered the residence via a broken window without permission to enter. You intended to assault the occupants of the house (charge 1, aggravated burglary). You were in possession of a firearm (charge 4). Ms Sidiras was not aware that you were armed, and believed that you only intended to steal items.

8Mr Hutchinson and Ms Malone were awoken when one of you hit them in the face with a wooden stake (charge 2). Either you or Mr Marendaz also hit Mr Hutchinson in the face with a guitar (charge 3). Whilst you and your co-offenders assaulted the victims, you were holding the firearm and demanded that Mr Hutchinson hand over his mobile phone, drugs and car keys. You threatened to stab Mr Hutchinson and shoot him by putting a hole in him if he moved (charge 5). During the incident, Mr Marendaz was also in possession of an imitation firearm which he and Ms Sidiras passed to each other. 

9Ms Sidiras stood on the victims’ bed, showed Mr Hutchinson the bullets or pellets inside the firearm and threatened to shoot the victims. Mr Marendaz also threatened to shoot the victims.

10All the co-offenders told the victims not to move and continued to threaten them. At one point, you threatened Mr Hutchinson with a machete and said “want me to slice you up”. You also threatened the victims with a steak knife.

11During the offending, you and your co-offenders forced the two victims to strip naked and told them to lie down on the bed and held them at gunpoint. You told them not to move.

12You and your co-offenders also went into Ashley Campbell’s bedroom and ransacked that room.

13You and your co-offenders stole a number of items from the victims (charge 7), which included: keys to two cars, two mobile phones, two PlayStations, a car charger and some model cars.

14You and Mr Marendaz left the residence in Mr Hutchinson’s black Honda Viva (charge 6) and Ms Sidiras left on a bicycle.

15After you all had left the property, Ms Malone fled to a neighbour’s property and asked them to call police.  

Arrest and Record of Interview

16Police were contacted and at about 2:00pm that day, they attended 9 Tennyson Street, Norlane and located Mr Hutchinson’s car outside the property. They saw Ms Sidiras and arrested her. Police then executed a search warrant at 9 Tennyson Street and arrested you and Mr Marendaz.

17A search warrant was obtained for 7 Tennyson Street and two mobile phones, sets of keys and a knife were seized. A further search warrant was executed at Ms Sidiras’ address at Blair Court, Norlane, where police located Mr Hutchinson’s mobile phone. CCTV footage was also seized. Footage from that camera showed you and Mr Marendaz arriving at the address in Mr Hutchinson’s Honda Viva, and Ms Sidiras arrived a short time later on a bicycle wearing a blue and orange backpack. You and your co-offenders then unloaded the Honda Viva, moving the property into Ms Sidiras’ yard. Ms Sidiras also removed a handgun, passed it to you and you concealed it in your pants.

18Police searched a blue Toyota which was parked in the driveway of Ms Sidiras’ house and located a blue and orange backpack containing a machete and assorted property, as well as a second backpack containing a black handgun and three knives. The property that can be seen on CCTV being moved into Ms Sidiras’ yard was also located there.

19You were interviewed after your arrest and answered no comment to the questions put to you.

Resolution

20This matter resolved at the committal hearing on 30 October 2023 prior to any witnesses giving evidence or being cross examined.

Pre-sentence detention

21You were remanded in custody on 17 December 2022 and have spent 543 days, not including today, in pre-sentence detention.

Victim Impact Statement

22A Victim Impact Statement by Mr Hutchinson was filed after the conclusion of the plea hearing. Mr Hutchinson said that he been shaken by the event and no longer feels safe. He has had to move and has found it difficult to find housing. He wakes up every night thinking about whether it will happen again. He has hearing problems and since the incident tends to jump if he hears something he’s unsure about. He worries when people knock on the door that he will be threatened. He has hot sweats and does not know “how to find the words for how this has made [him] feel”.[2] Prior to the incident, he felt he was “happy go lucky” but since the offending he lacks energy and has no desire to do anything. He stays home most of the time. He has also lost his teeth as a result of the offending and this makes him reluctant to speak or to go out in public. He thinks about the offending all the time and it is getting worse. He finds it difficult to seek employment.

[2] Victim Impact Statement of Richard Hutchinson dated 30 April 2024.

Personal Circumstances

23Your personal circumstances were outlined in the forensic psychological report of Dr Hannah Dawson dated 5 December 2023 and in the neuropsychological report of Ms Bronwyn Hall dated 4 April 2024. You were born in New Zealand, had two sisters, and mainly lived with your father in your early childhood because your mother had a bad drug habit. After she died, your father also passed away and child welfare became involved.

24When you were seven years old, you and your two sisters moved to Queensland and lived with your aunt and paternal grandparents. You entered Year 1 at primary school. You and your sisters became Australian citizens. However, the move from New Zealand was very unsettling for you, as your aunt and grandparents were very strict and physically abused you. Child protection services intervened and you were placed in foster care for a short time. This caused you added psychological stress. During primary school you were diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and received medication, which you ceased upon reaching high school. You were also assessed for intellectual disability and received learning support at school. However you were disruptive at school, received poor grades, and got into trouble at home. You completed Year 10 at a ‘special school’ which provided additional support. However, your life deteriorated when you began associating with negative peer groups, leading to alcohol and drug abuse. You ran away from home at age 15 and slept rough, while abusing cannabis and alcohol. You have only had brief periods of employment in labouring type roles, the longest period lasting one year.

25You have had two significant relationships. For six years from the age of 17, you were in a relationship with a woman named Anita who you knew from school. You lived in Victoria with her and her mother. Her mother introduced you to methamphetamine and you became a daily user of that drug. You also use GHB and heroin, “to mask everything”.[3] You then had a casual relationship with Brodee, who was 13 years older than you, and also a drug user. You had a son with her in 2022. Your sister remains in contact with her and provides you with information about his wellbeing.

[3] Report of Dr Hannah Dawson dated 5 December 2023, 4 [42].

26Your criminal history dates back to 2018, and includes multiple convictions for  theft, assault, affray, possession of firearms, unlicensed driving and drug offences as well as multiple contraventions of court orders. You have four convictions for committing offences while on bail and four convictions for contravening Community Corrections Orders. You have served terms of imprisonment of a few months each in 2018, 2020 and 2022. You told Dr Dawson that all of your offending related to your need for money to enable your drug use and to your need to protect yourself, and that you had never received support while in the community to break away from drugs and the drug milieu. You were mainly homeless and couch surfed, and have never lived independently. You told Dr Dawson you are able to prepare basic meals and do some cleaning, but that you find shopping overwhelming. 

27You were 26 years old at the time of offending and are currently 27 years old. You told Dr Dawson that at the time of this offending, you had been using cannabis, ice, alcohol and GHB and had not slept for days. You were homeless and had been living with Mr Marendaz. You told her that your victims were known drug users and your offending was motivated by your need to obtain drugs.

28Whilst in prison, you have engaged with various services (Restart, ACSO and AOD), and have worked six hours per day, seven days per week, as a Unit Billet. You have also completed a number of courses relating to drugs, alcohol and information technology. You have reconnected with your sister in Queensland.

29Dr Dawson considered that you demonstrated below-average intelligence and presented with mild depressive and anxiety symptoms. She considered that you continue to suffer from ADHD which warrants treatment. She assessed you as having suffered from Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the instability of your childhood, the deaths of your parents, your displacement, and your mistreatment by your grandparents which affected your sense of identity and safety. Your limited intellectual and emotional resources led you to self-medicate with increased substance abuse, negative peer involvement, instability and resultant criminality. She considered that your intellectual impairment, ADHD and Complex PTSD explain your failure to learn from your previous mistakes, your failure to access support services, and your ongoing drug abuse and continued offending.

30She considered that due to your psychological problems and emotional dysregulation, a prison sentence will weigh more heavily upon you than upon other persons not suffering from these conditions.[4] In particular, as someone with ADHD, you are at higher risk of inappropriate or disproportionate responses due to poor emotional regulation and impulsive behaviour, which can result in incidents with other offenders and unintentional sanctions. In addition, she noted that given the high demand for psychological services within prison, the limited resources available there, and the unavailability of medication for ADHD in prison, you are unlikely to receive the specialised medical and psychological treatment you need for your ADHD and Complex PTSD. She recommended that you obtain a Mental Health Plan and commence forensic and clinical psychological treatment with clinicians experienced in dealing with past trauma, cognitive impairments and ADHD.

[4] Ibid 12 [115].

31Dr Dawson also recommended medical and psychiatric/psychological treatment for your ADHD and psychological treatment for your emotional issues. She also recommended specialised drug and alcohol counselling, referral to an employment agency, a significant period of supervision on parole, neuropsychological confirmation of an intellectual impairment and for referrals to be made to the NDIS for funding if appropriate.

32Clinical neuropsychologist Bronwyn Hall assessed you and noted a history of diagnosis of ADHD in 2004, the need for strong support at school and an assessment of very poor language based skills in 2007. She also noted overdoses of GHB in 2019 and 2022 in the context of feelings of hopelessness. You told her that you had a low mood from early adolescence because you believed that your family did not love you, and that you self-medicated with drugs: 8 grams of cannabis daily until you were 19, then 1 gram of methamphetamine per day and 5-6 mls of GHB daily. You also used cocaine when other drugs were not available. You abused Xanax from your early twenties, often taking four or five tablets per day. You have also been smoking a packet of cigarettes per day since the age of 12.

33You told Ms Hall that this offending occurred when you were sleep deprived after heavy use of cannabis, ice, GHB and Xanax, and that you got it into your head that the victims owed you money for drugs you had given them earlier. You told her that you take responsibility for your actions. You told her that while you had been approved for in-patient treatment at Odyssey House in late 2023, you turned down this opportunity because you felt that the benefits obtained would be lost once you returned to prison. You told her you planned to move to Queensland upon your release to live with your older sister and would try to get some work in construction.

34Ms Hall assessed your intellectual abilities as falling broadly in the extremely low to borderline range. Your full-scale IQ was assessed as 66, indicating “global cognitive limitations”.[5] Your verbal comprehension skills and verbal working memory were extremely low. All of your intellectual abilities fell in impaired ranges apart from your hands-on construction skills. She noted that this assessment indicates a decline in your cognitive abilities since the last assessment in 2007, probably due to your polysubstance abuse. She concluded that overall you have a mild intellectual disability, which means that you have limited capacity to engage in consequential thinking and logical reasoning, are slow to process complex information, and have enduring impulsive behavioural tendencies with limited ability to regulate your behaviour in an age-appropriate and socially appropriate manner. She also considered that your longstanding reading deficit (below a Grade 4 equivalence) confirms that you have a Language Disorder which prevents you from learning information that is provided verbally, even if it is repeated. You are likely to forget conversations, dates, important details or even important daily tasks.

[5] Report of Bronwyn Hall dated 4 April 2024, 13 [75].

35Ms Hall considered that your substance use disorders and acute substance intoxication played a role in the recent offending, given that the offending was reportedly related to a dispute with the victims about illicit substances, by further impairing your already permanently impaired ability to engage in consequential thinking and reason through decisions.

36She considered that your intellectual impairment, Language disorder, Complex PTSD and ADHD render you vulnerable within the custodial setting and may warrant transfer to the Marlborough Unit at Port Phillip Prison, where you are less likely to be taken advantage of by others. She noted that your intellectual and developmental impairments would not be expected to deteriorate in prison but rather may benefit from the structured setting of prison. She noted that the time spent in prison thus far has enabled you to have an extended period without drugs and alcohol, which will help mitigate the risk of further cognitive impairment.

37Ms Hall agreed with Dr Dawson that you suffer from longstanding Complex PTSD symptoms including emotional dysregulation, interpersonal difficulties and negative self-concept, and that your drug abuse was a reflection of your attempt to self-medicate to lessen these symptoms. These symptoms were likely to have been worsened by your substance abuse at the time of offending and would have reduced your ability to cope with stressors adaptively. She considered that you would benefit from clinical psychological treatment to assist with impulse control, practical problem solving and emotional regulation.

38She considered that given your cognitive impairment, you will require life-long tailored supports under the National Disability Insurance Scheme and would qualify for a Disability Support Pension. She noted that you have agreed to engage with the relevant Disability services within Port Phillip Prison to assist you with re-integration into the community.

39Ms Hall noted that you accept responsibility for your offending and want to get away from antisocial peers and seek employment. She agreed with Dr Dawson that you are at moderate to high risk of reoffending but that, given your young age, these risks can be mitigated by structured support upon your release to assist with the activities of daily living and to assist in avoiding relapse into drug abuse, as well as psychological treatment to address your mental health issues.

Defence Submissions

40Your counsel conceded that your offending is serious, particularly in the light of your criminal history, and that the sentencing principles of general and specific deterrence as well as protection of the community loom large in the sentencing process. It was conceded that the appropriate sentence was one of the imposition of an immediate term of imprisonment involving a head sentence and a non-parole period.

41In mitigation, your counsel raised a number of matters. Firstly, that as a result of your particularly disadvantaged childhood, the principles of Bugmy apply[6] so as to lower your moral culpability.

[6]Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37, [40].

42Secondly, you have a mild intellectual disability, with an IQ of 66, and severely compromised verbal comprehension and recall as well as limited capacity for consequential thinking and reasoning. You also suffer from a Language Disorder.  In addition, you suffer from Complex PTSD, and disorders in relation to the use of alcohol, sedatives, cannabis and other illicit drugs which are currently in sustained remission in prison. These conditions were present at the time of offending and they have limited your ability to engage in consequential thinking and reasoning. . It was submitted that limbs 1, 3, 4 and 5 of Verdins[7] are enlivened such as to reduce your moral culpability and warrant moderation to the sentencing considerations of denunciation, just punishment, general and specific deterrence. It was noted that Ms Hall considered that imprisonment would weigh more heavily upon you due to your intellectual impairment, ADHD and complex PTSD than on a prisoner without these conditions and this was the basis of limb 5 of Verdins.

[7] R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 62.

43Thirdly, it was submitted that your early plea of guilty, made on the day of the committal hearing, should be seen as having substantial utilitarian value in that it avoided the need for the victims to go through cross-examination at committal and trial.

44Finally, it was submitted that you have used your time in prison thus far very effectively, working as a Unit Billet, 7 days per week from 9.00am to 3.00pm, and completing courses relating to drugs, alcohol and information technology. You have abstained from drug use, are seeking assistance via the Australia Community Support Organisation ReStart and have reconnected with your family in Queensland. You told your counsel that when released you intend to apply for NDIS support, and will look for stable housing and some ‘hands on’ work. You will maintain your connection with your older sister in Queensland. It was submitted that if the structured support recommended by Dr Dawson and Ms Hall are put in place, and you remain drug-free, your prospects of rehabilitation should be regarded as good.

Prosecution Submissions

45The prosecution submitted that an immediate term of imprisonment with a non-parole period is the only appropriate sentence available.

46The prosecution pointed to the presence of a number of aggravating features of your offending. In relation to the aggravated burglary, it was planned, committed in company, in a confrontational style, with the use of weapons. In relation to the totality of the offending,  it occurred over a substantial period of time in the early hours of the morning when the victims were asleep in bed; and the victims were terrified and then humiliated when they were forced to strip naked.

47The prosecution claimed that there were deficiencies in the experts’ report in that Ms Hall’s diagnosis of Complex PTSD was heavily reliant on the report of Dr Dawson who referred to symptoms of the condition but did not diagnose it. Both of their reports relied on the information you gave them, and Ms Hall noted that you were a somewhat unreliable historian. Regardless, it was submitted that neither expert report causally linked that condition, nor your intellectual impairment with your offending.

48In any event, the prosecution submitted that the most significant factor in your offending was your polysubstance drug abuse, in that you were under the influence of multiple substances (ice, GHB, cannabis, Xanax and alcohol).[8] It was also submitted that it was difficult to discern the role, if any, of your impaired mental functioning, in your offending. For these reasons it was submitted any reduction in moral culpability flowing from the application of the first principle in Verdins ought to be moderated by the fact that you offended while so drug-affected.   

[8] Report of Bronwyn Hall (above n 5) 8, [38]; Report of Dr Hannah Dawson (above n 3) 5, [52].

49Finally, the prosecution submitted that in the light of Ms Hall’s conclusions that the structured environment in prison and the enforced abstinence from drug and alcohol may assist in setting you up for further rehabilitation, limbs 5 and 6 of Verdins have no application in this case.

Sentencing Considerations

50I note for the sake of completeness that apart from filing relevant sentencing snapshots, neither party referred me to any comparable cases.

51In sentencing you, I am required to have regard to the principles of denunciation, just punishment, general and specific deterrence, protection of the community and rehabilitation.

52Objectively, I consider that the offence of aggravated burglary you committed is the most serious of your offending conduct. You have no prior convictions for this offence. However, you entered the victims’ home, in company, armed with a firearm, with the intention of assaulting them while they were asleep. I accept the aggravating factors relied on by the prosecution which are referred to above at paragraph 46.

53You have prior convictions for assault, theft and firearms offences.

54It is clear that any sentence imposed must comprise a head sentence and a non-parole period.

55On the material before me, I am satisfied that you have had a very disadvantaged family background comprising early childhood neglect, the early deaths of your parents, displacement to Australia at a young age, physical abuse by your grandparents here resulting in some time in foster care, and the absence of loving care. From an early age, you also suffered from ADHD which affected your ability to learn and behave appropriately at school. In addition, you suffered from an intellectual impairment with a low IQ and particularly significant deficits in all areas (particularly those involving verbal expression and verbal working memory but extending to an impaired capacity to carry out the activities of daily living, apart from hands-on construction), along with a Language Disorder which significantly impairs your communication skills. Finally, you have suffered from the symptoms of complex PTSD. All of these factors have resulted in emotional dysregulation for which you self-medicated from an early age by abusing alcohol and drugs, in the company of negative peer influences. You left home at the age of 15 and have not had stable accommodation since that time. 

56I consider that your past offending, and the current offending, have taken place in the context of and partially as a result of the disadvantage and deprivation described above and therefore that the principles of Bugmy apply to lessen the weight given to your moral culpability in the sentencing exercise.

57I acknowledge that, absent your intellectual impairment, ordinarily your state of acute substance intoxication, as identified by the experts,[9] would be treated as the immediate cause of this offending and would thereby preclude the application of limbs 1, 3 and 4 of Verdins.

[9] Report of Bronwyn Hall (above n 5) 15, [89];

58However, I consider that your longstanding intellectual impairment, which has worsened over time due to your cognitive limitations and self-medication with drugs and alcohol, along with your longstanding Language Disorder, ADHD and Complex PTSD, which are connected to your past and current offending, warrant the conclusion that your culpability for your offending is somewhat reduced and warrants some moderation of specific and general deterrence in the sentencing exercise but not to the extent that would be applicable if the relevant limbs of Verdins had applied.

59I note that each of the experts concluded that due to your cognitive impairment, your ADHD and complex PTSD, a prison sentence will weigh more heavily upon you than upon other persons not suffering from these conditions. I therefore consider that limb 5 of Verdins is made out, notwithstanding the fact that imprisonment has afforded you a period of abstinence from drug-taking.

60I take into account your relatively young age.

61I take into account your early plea of guilty, which shows that you accept responsibility for your offending, and which has saved the expense and inconvenience of a trial.

62I note that this is your first time in custody for any significant period.

63Very importantly, I note on the material before me that you are a relatively young man with serious cognitive, psychological and behavioural difficulties who has never yet had the benefit of all the supports associated with a Disability Support Pension and an NDIS package to assist you to manage your activities of daily living, your intellectual impairment and language disorder, and to provide you with the medical and psychological treatment for your clinical conditions of ADHD and Complex PTSD.

64I note the conclusion of Dr Dawson and Ms Hall to the effect that you require the tailored supports available with NDIS funding as well as medical and psychological treatment for the behavioural and emotional features of your intellectual impairment, Language Disorder,  ADHD and Complex PTSD. I note that efforts to put these structures in place have commenced, and I consider that these will provide significant mitigation of the risks of further offending. For these reasons, I consider that your prospects of rehabilitation are encouraging, and that protection of the community carries less weight than if this supportive regime were not to be put in place.

Sentence

65Mr Tuipolotu, would you please stand. On charge 1, aggravated burglary, you are sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment. This is the base sentence.

66On charge 2, common law assault, you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

67On charge 3, common law assault, you are sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.

68On charge 4, prohibited person possess firearm, you are sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.

69On charge 5, threat to kill, you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

70On charge 6, theft of motor vehicle, you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. If you hold a drivers licence, that licence is cancelled and disqualified for 3 months from today.

71On charge 7, theft, you are sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

72One month of the sentences imposed on charges 2, 5, 6 and 7 are to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.

73Two months of the sentence imposed on charge 3 are to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.

74Three months of the sentence imposed on charge 4 are to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.

75The total effective sentence is one of 5 years and 3 months with a non-parole period of 3 years and 6 months.

76I declare that there are 543 days of pre-sentence detention, not including today, which are to be deducted administratively from this sentence.

77Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I indicate that but for your plea of guilty to the above charges, I would have imposed a sentence of 7 years with a non-parole period of 4 years.