Director of Public Prosecutions v Valli
[2022] VCC 141
•16 February 2022
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT Melbourne CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-19-02318
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| DONTAI VALLI |
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JUDGE: | Mullaly | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 7 February 2022 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 16 February 2022 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Valli | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2022] VCC 141 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence
Catchwords: Sentence indication – Plea – Armed robbery
Cases Cited:Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571; Azzopardi & Ors v The Queen [2011] VSCA 372; R v Mills (1998) 4 VR 235; Worboyes v The Queen [2021] VSCA 169; Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 342
Sentence: 18-month community correction order
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors | |||
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr J. O'Toole | Office of Public Prosecutions | |||
| For the Accused | Mr J. Barreiro | Doogue + George Defence Lawyers | |||
HIS HONOUR:
1Dontai Valli, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of armed robbery.
2Your offending occurred over three years ago now on 25 January 2019. You were only 18 years old at the time, an important matter that I will return to later. There was some contact with the victim a couple of days earlier via a social media account belonging to your girlfriend. A meeting was arranged in Craigieburn. You and your girlfriend went and met up with the victim. The victim recognised your girlfriend from the photo on her social media profile. Your girlfriend introduced you as the neighbour.
3You spoke to the victim asking him if he had any drugs and he responded that he did not. The three of you spoke for about 10 minutes before you produced a knife from a pouch you wore around your waist.
4You then grabbed the victim by his T-shirt near his throat and holding the knife out towards him demanded drugs, his mobile phone, wallets, money, car keys. You threatened the victim saying that you would stab him if he did not comply.
5In fear, the victim handed over his mobile phone to you which had $15 to $20 cash in some pocket in the case. You then demanded the victim's keys and the victim unlocked his car using the remote control. You searched the victim's car for a short time before running off down the street with his phone.
6Your girlfriend was still present with the victim; she told the victim that she would try to get his mobile phone back and ran off in the same direction as you but she did not return.
7The victim went to the Craigieburn police station where he reported the incident. Later, you advertised the mobile phone for sale on your girlfriend's social media account and it seems it turns out it was sold.
8Some months later, on 21 May 2019, you attended the Fawkner police station where you were arrested and participated in a record of interview. You admitted some of the key details of this offending that I have outlined. You were then charged and bailed by police.
9On 7 February 2022, you received a sentence indication that this court would not impose imprisonment upon a plea of guilty to armed robbery. You promptly pleaded guilty to that offence. Do not be in any doubt, Mr Valli, that armed robberies are always serious. Carrying and using a knife to get a phone is frightening behaviour and it is to be denounced. However, what needs to be understood is that the seriousness of the offending is one important factor among many that are relevant to sentencing. Thus I turn to your personal circumstances.
10As to your upbringing, sadly you were removed from your parents when you were only three months old. You were placed with an uncle and aunt and lived with them till you were about 12. At around 14 years of age, finally your circumstances were such that you went into State residential care where you remained until reaching the age of 18 when supports are removed. During your time in residential care, you were moved a number of times living in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and Bendigo. In short, you did not have any stable family-like environment as you grew up. The mitigatory principles as expressed by the High Court in Bugmy v The Queen (‘Bugmy’) are,[1] in my view, engaged.
[1] (2013) 249 CLR 571.
11Your counsel submitted that it was around this time, that is after being placed in residential care, that you started to get into trouble. You were influenced by others, all others older who were in State care. Over the course of a few years, you were consistently before the Children's Courts in Melbourne, Broadmeadows and Bendigo for driving disorder and violent offences. You had a problem with drinking alcohol to excess and it was put that much offending was committed under the influence of alcohol.
12You have never been sentenced to a term of detention or imprisonment but you did spend three months at Parkville on remand in 2017. You were supported by a Youth Justice worker for a period of time but, as I understand it, you have not had any engagement with services since the age of 16.
13The armed robbery before me has now been pending for three years, during which time you and your long-term partner, Ms Tran, have had a son.
14At the sentence indication hearing on 7 February, Ms Tran gave important evidence that the three of you are living in private rental accommodation, that you are a committed father to your son and that you maintain a positive relationship with her parents who are supportive. However, as I see it, and as you expressed it to the community corrections officer, your supports and family are really you, Ms Tran and your son. Ms Tran said you are in a far better state than ever before, that is since she has known you. Your chances of rehabilitation now are as good, perhaps better, than they have ever been.
15Although you are currently unemployed, you do hope to work, perhaps as a plumber. You have completed a Certificate II in Building and a carpentry pre-apprenticeship whilst at Youth Detention at some point. Last year, you started a course in plumbing but you did not complete it as a result of lockdowns and your duties as a father.
16It is in your favour that you have not breached the strict bail conditions which included a stable residence, reporting, not using drugs. It seems that becoming a father has presented you with an opportunity to think about your future and your responsibilities. It seems clear to me that this is the time to seize the day as it were and give you a chance to consolidate your rehabilitation.
17As mentioned, you are 21 years old now but were only 18 at the time you committed this offence. Your young age is a central consideration in fixing an appropriate sentence.
18In short, my task is to apply the well-known principles articulated in Azzopardi & Ors v The Queen,[2] and to an extent R v Mills (’Mills’),[3] though you are not as in Mills a first-time offender. Thus I will give greater emphasis to your rehabilitation because of your age and less to denunciation and deterrence. That allows for the consideration and ultimately the conclusion I came to that a community corrections order is the most appropriate sentence. Importantly, in my view, imprisonment would set things back significantly.
[2] [2011] VSCA 372.
[3] (1998) 4 VR 235.
19I have mentioned the important consideration of the pandemic or I do so now in the sense of the great delay in getting this matter on. The value of pleas in circumstances of the pandemic have been analysed by the Court of Appeal in the important case of Worboyes v The Queen.[4] In that case, the Court of Appeal made it clear that the adverse impact of the pandemic on the whole criminal justice system cannot be overstated. Thus your plea of guilty in those circumstances when the backlog of trials is enormous is deserving or warrants a more than the usual discount. Indeed, the extra benefit for your plea must be palpable, that is you must see it as a benefit to you and others also so that more offenders might plead guilty rather than hold out and run a trial in these difficult times.
[4] [2021] VSCA 169.
20Your plea of guilty is evidence that you have accepted responsibility and demonstrated remorse. That does come out in the Corrections assessment that I ordered.
21While armed robberies may often attract a sentence of imprisonment, the Court of Appeal in Boulton v The Queen (‘Boulton’),[5] made clear a community corrections order can be a just and appropriate sentence for such offences like armed robbery that in previous times often attracted gaol sentences at a midrange or suspended sentences.
[5] [2014] VSCA 342.
22A community corrections order or the one that I am to impose is punishment but it also allows for your ongoing rehabilitation or to use the words of the statute, for your rehabilitation to be facilitated. Importantly, it keeps families together and that is an important matter in your circumstances. I note that in introducing the current community corrections regime, the then Attorney-General did emphasise the value of keeping families together. The Court of Appeal took this point up in Boulton. In your girlfriend's evidence on the sentence indication, she made clear how important it is for her and your son that you are around to share the responsibilities.
23Although you were assessed by the Community Corrections Office as a high risk of reoffending, you were found to be suitable. Following, there were a number of conditions that were recommended, not all of those that were discussed or put before the Corrections officers by me in asking for the assessment.
24Doing the best I can, in respect to the charge of armed robbery, I impose the following sentence.
25You are convicted and placed on a community corrections order for 18 months.
26There are a number of conditions that apply to everyone on a community corrections order and I will go through them shortly but the specific conditions to you that engage both rehabilitation and punishment simultaneously are that:
(a) You must do unpaid community work for 100 hours;
(b) You must undergo treatment and rehabilitation for drug abuse;
(c) You must undergo treatment and rehabilitation in the form of programs to reduce your risk of reoffending. The hours that you spend in those treatment and rehabilitation programs can be deducted from the hours that you must do, the 100 hours of unpaid community work; and
(d) You must also be under supervision.
27The Community Corrections Office that will manage your community corrections order is the Sunshine Community Corrections Office.
28I note that the mental health assessment was such that it is not considered necessary to place you on a mandated treatment and assessment for mental health problems.
29Had you pleaded not guilty to these offences, I would have imposed a sentence of 28 months with a non-parole period of 18 months' imprisonment.
30MR O'TOOLE: As the court pleases.
31HIS HONOUR: All right.
32MR BARREIRO: If it please the court.
33HIS HONOUR: What I need to do now is, Mr Valli, you would ordinarily you would be given the document, you would look at it, you would sign it. That cannot be done on the virtual hearing so I just run through them with you.
34So, Mr O'Toole, you need to be elsewhere at a particular time?
35MR O'TOOLE: No, Your Honour. No.
36HIS HONOUR: No? I thought so. Mr Barreiro?
37MR BARREIRO: It was me but at 10 o'clock, Your Honour, so there is still sufficient time.
38HIS HONOUR: All right. Thank you. All right.
39So I will just go through those with you, Mr Valli.
40Now, everyone who is on a community corrections order has these conditions. The first one is the most important, I think; you must not commit another offence for which you could be imprisoned during the time that you are on this order.
41Now, it does not matter what the magistrate might impose as a sentence, whether a bond or a fine or another corrections order. It is the fact that it is punishable by imprisonment. So almost every offence you can think of. So shoplifting, taking a drink from the service station or something and not paying. All of that would breach this order and we will just start again and I would not have the same approach to it. We would be looking at gaol for sure. So just do as you have been doing, stay out of trouble.
42All right. The other conditions really are about cooperation. So you have got to get in contact with the Sunshine Corrections Service in two clear working days and get this process rolling and I think you kind of know how that works.
43You have got to tell them if you change your address and that may happen with you, Ms Tran explained to us. So you have got to keep them informed to where you move to, all right?
44You have got to let them know if you get or change a job, all right?
45You have got to get permission to leave Victoria if you have got in mind to go for a trip somewhere. You have got to let them know. It is just crossing the border.
46And you have got to accept visits from them and just cooperate with their lawful instructions, all right?
47All right. Just to repeat the program conditions, you have to do community work for 100 works. That is not voluntary. You will just have to do it. I note you said something about, 'I don't work for free'. You have just got to do this. You have got to turn up and you have got to stick with it and do not be influenced by other people who are there and who are still on the drugs and not interested in getting off them and all the rest, all right?
48You have got to do treatment for drug abuse and you have got to do the programs. That might help you, you know, with that.
49You have got to be under supervision. That, too, is not voluntary. They will expect you to answer telephone calls or attend for supervision to see how you are going and if you get through this, then you will have put the criminal justice system behind you and that is what you should do. Look after your son.
50All right. So normally as I said you would sign that, we cannot do that, so I will just ask you; do you consent to doing this corrections order?
51ACCUSED: Yes.
52HIS HONOUR: All right. I will note that on the document that you gave your consent in this hearing.
53All right. There is nothing further that needs to be done?
54COUNSEL: No, Your Honour.
55HIS HONOUR: I am grateful to counsel for their very consideration assistance. You can ring him on a mobile phone somehow, you do not need to do it over this link. I will stay online and talk to my staff. Thank you very much.
56MR BARREIRO: If it please the court.
57MR O'TOOLE: If Your Honour pleases.
58MS TRAN: Thank you.
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