Director of Public Prosecutions v Voice

[2025] VCC 902

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

Case No. 25-00309

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ZOE VOICE

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE WILMOTH
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	13 June 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	30 June 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Voice
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 902

REASONS FOR SENTENCE   
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Subject :Criminal law - sentence   

Catchwords:               Pleaded guilty to  one charge carjacking - one charge of dangerous driving while being pursued by police – co-offender threatened victim with extendable baton – vehicle immobilising device used to stop car – driving extremely dangerous – victim is international student -now  lives in constant  fear and anxiety – offender 22 at time of offending – drug use – criminal history of drugs, driving and dishonesty – part of bowel removed  has stoma and stoma  bag -  plea of  guilty  falls short of remorse.     

Cases Cited:Russo v R [2021] VSCA 244

Sentence:                  Charge 1  3 years imprisonment – charge 2 9 months – 3 months cumulative total effective sentence 3 years 3 months – non parole period 18 months.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr M. Turner	OPP
For the Accused	Mr A. Malik	Dessi Legal

HER HONOUR:

1Zoe Voice, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of carjacking and one charge of dangerous driving while pursued by police.

The offending

2You committed this offending on 27 November 2024. You were at 51 Betula Street, Doveton, the home of your friend Kassandra Vivianti, with your boyfriend Joshua Saunders and another associate. Also present was the co-offender, Bailey Foehn, who is Ms Vivianti's brother.

3At about 1.48 am you placed an order for a single cheeseburger to be delivered to the address, using the Uber Eats app on your mobile phone. Shortly afterwards the victim, Muhammed Malik, who was working as an Uber Eats delivery driver, received a delivery notification from McDonald's and went there to collect the order. He went to the address at 51 Betula Street, Doveton. He was driving his car, a silver 2006 Toyota Yaris, registered number 2AC 2QN.

4On arrival he got out of the car and saw a man, later identified as Foehn, standing behind a truck parked outside 49 Betula Street. Malik went to the rear passenger seat of his car and retrieved the food order, then walked to the front of his car with his Apple iPhone 16 and his car key in his hand.

5He was approached by Foehn walking right in front of him, and Malik initially thought he was the person collecting the order. Foehn's face was concealed with a face covering and he was wearing dark clothing. He said to Malik: 'Give me your car keys', and when Malik asked him what he had said, he repeated the demand, producing what Malik described as a knife or thin silver sword, about 1 foot long. This was later identified as an extendable baton.

6In fear, Malik gave his car key to Foehn, who then demanded his phone as well. Malik handed him his phone, and as he did so, you appeared from behind the truck parked outside number 49. You were wearing a grey hooded jumper with the hood up and drawstrings pulled tight to conceal your face. You told Foehn to move, and got into the front passenger seat of Malik's car. Foehn got into the driver's seat and started the car. Malik attempted to open the driver's door, when a third person, a male, walked up to him holding what appeared to be a knife or sword similar to what Foehn was holding. The third person threatened Malik, saying: 'If you trying to argue with me I’m going to fuck you so get away'.

7Fearing for his life, Malik backed away from the car with his hands up. Foehn got into the driver's seat and the car sped off, south on Betula Street. A few hundred yards down the road, you swapped seats with Foehn, taking over the driving, as Foehn was struggling to maintain control of the car.

8Malik sought help from a neighbouring house and used their mobile phone to call police. By this time, it was 2.18 am.

9Police attended and took a statement from Malik.

10At about 2.29 am police on highway patrol saw the car in Cranbourne, driving at excessive speeds. They lost observation shortly afterwards, but at 3.15 am they saw it again in Cranbourne West and observed you to be the driver. They maintained their observations as the car drove erratically in various streets in the area.

11At 3.20 am police successfully deployed a Vehicle Immobilising Device, deflating all four tyres of the car. They commenced a pursuit, activating their blue and red flashing lights and siren. The police car's ANPR camera capturing your driving was also activated and the police followed the car as it continued to drive with deteriorating tyres, and failing to stop,

12You drove onto a median strip in Evans Road, Lyndhurst in between a series of bollards and stopped. You both got out of the car and were arrested. Police found Malik's bank card in your pocket. A licence search was done and it was found that your licence or permit to drive had been cancelled.

13You were taken to a police station and interviewed later that morning, during which you said you were unable to remember anything, or you did not know. When Malik's car was searched his wallet was found, as well as a bottle containing 1-4 Butanediol. When interviewed Foehn admitted this substance was GHB and it belonged to him. Also found in the car were a black extendable baton and a screwdriver, believed to be the items used at the scene.

Objective gravity

14Carjacking is a serious offence punishable by a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment and is a Category 2 offence, so unless there are exceptional circumstances a sentence of immediate imprisonment must be imposed. Mr Malik of counsel, who appeared on your behalf, conceded that there was no other option and he referred me to the case of Russo v R[1],  submitting that the circumstances of that case are relevant to this case.  The Court of Appeal held in Russo that the offending was at least in the mid-range of seriousness, noting that it occurred at night when the victim was alone and vulnerable. 

[1] [2021] VSCA 244

15Mr Malik also submitted that while there was some evidence of pre-planning in this case, it was limited and the offending was unsophisticated. The food order was made with an account linked to your mobile phone and the delivery address was one associated with the co-offender. Mr Malik submitted that even if you had not been apprehended that night, it was inevitable that you would have been identified for your role in the offending.

16Mr Turner for the prosecution emphasised the vulnerability of the victim, and the fact that the carjacking was committed in company.

17Your driving that night was extremely dangerous, driving fast and erratically through suburban streets. Even after the car's tyres were deflated and the police car activated its lights and siren, you continued driving. The maximum sentence for this offence is three years' imprisonment.

18The immediate aftermath of the crime was that the victim was left alone at night without his car or phone and had to call upon strangers to help him. The longer term effects upon him were also serious, as set out in his Victim Impact Statement provided to the court.

19The victim explained that when it happened, he called out for help in the street, but no-one came. As I said earlier, he eventually knocked on a neighbour's door and was able to use their mobile phone. That feeling of being alone has persisted, as he is an international student, already far from home, and he now feels completely alone and unprotected.

20He said the moment of being threatened with the weapon has also stayed with him, as it plays over in his mind every day, causing constant fear and anxiety. He has lost weight as he cannot eat properly and he suffers from frequent headaches and exhaustion. His hand shakes when he is in public and he jumps at sudden noises.

21He had worked hard to support himself and had put all his savings into his car and phone and had lost virtually everything. He is still paying for the phone that he no longer has. He no longer works at night or even goes out with friends after dark. He feels that even his own home is not safe, and he double-checks locks and sleeps with the lights on.

22While taking care not to permit the contents of the victim's statement to overwhelm the case, I have quoted this detail to emphasise the effects of your offending on an entirely innocent victim who has lost so much and still suffers emotionally.

My conclusion is that the circumstances of this case place it well within the

mid-range of seriousness.

Personal background and circumstances 

23You are now aged 23, and you were 22 at the time of the offending. You were brought up by your mother and her partner, whom you regard as your father, and you have three younger siblings.

24Your childhood was stable, and you enjoyed your primary school years, although there was an incident of being exposed to sexualised behaviour by another child that led you to having counselling.

25At secondary school, aged 13, you began using cannabis, and lost interest academically, leading to being absent from school regularly and socialising with a negative peer group. You moved to a school where you could take the VCAL path, and things improved, although you continued using cannabis.

26You left school at age 16 in 2019 and worked at Hungry Jack's. You met Tristan Ryan and began a relationship, and at the same time started using methylamphetamine regularly. Ryan was a daily user and you escalated to daily use. In 2020 you left home and moved into a share house with Ryan. Sadly, you became the victim of significant violence by him, in the form of assaults and verbal abuse.

27In 2020 one of these assaults and the breach of an intervention order resulted in Ryan's incarceration, and the relationship ended. You continued to use drugs as a coping mechanism, and, unable to pay rent, you became homeless, living out of your car. Your drug use prevented you from being allowed to live at home with your family.

28Your criminal history commenced in 2021, with court appearances for drugs, driving and dishonesty offences. That very intensive offending occurred during the time that you were living with Ryan. You have served several short prison terms, the longest at five months, in mid-2022. You have been subject to three Community Correction Orders, all of which you breached. These dispositions did not have the desired effect of reducing your offending, largely because of the peer group to which you belonged.

29You were released from custody in July 2024 after having served 180 days for a number of dishonesty offences and were placed on a Community Correction Order. Although you attended supervision appointments, you made no progress with programs before committing the offences in November.

30Whilst living with your grandmother at this time, you experienced serious abdominal symptoms and in September and October you were hospitalised for two approximately 10-day admissions being treated surgically for ulcerative colitis. The surgery involved removal of part of your bowel and insertion of a stoma and stoma bag, which you found deeply traumatising and stressful. Unfortunately, there were complications, leading to further surgery on 7 November.

31Whilst on remand you are currently being assisted with the care of the stoma by on-site nurses through Western Health, but as they are untrained in stoma maintenance you have found this to be less responsive care than that which you were receiving in the community. These nurses are unable to discuss with you any long term treatment goals, which your gastroenterologist alluded to in her report,[2] as restoring continuity of the bowel and reversing the stoma eventually.

[2] Report of Dr Tessa Greeve dated 14 November 2024

32You are able to have telehealth appointments, and had had three at the time of the plea hearing, but they often do not go ahead and involve long waiting times of up to three and a half hours. 

33The initial symptoms, including physical pain, have continued but have decreased over time.

34This is a significant aspect of your experience of prison at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, a hardship which few other prisoners would have to endure, and I take it into account.

35This medical history is also relevant to your relapse in drug use last August. By that time you had reduced your drug use but depression[3] associated with your medical condition caused you to resume using GHB and ice daily. The offending occurred in that context, and you have little recollection of it.

[3] Report of Dr Greeve - Reaction to illness described by Dr Greeve as “overwhelming”

36You have regular phone contact with your mother and grandmother, and they are both very supportive of you. When released you will return to live with your grandmother.

37As a young person your rehabilitation is considered more important than that of an older offender, and that should be reflected in your sentence. Remorse is regarded as a good indicator of positive prospects for rehabilitation, but in your case I can discern nothing that indicates remorse on your part, other than your plea of guilty. Such a plea is generally regarded as an indication or remorse, through acceptance of responsibility for the offending. Perhaps your lack of recollection of the event, coupled with immaturity, has made it difficult for you to grapple with the concept of remorse. It is also true that you had not had an opportunity to read the victim impact statement before the hearing, and so could not give it your consideration.

38Mr Malik submitted that the avoidance of a committal hearing by means of your early plea of guilty is an indication of remorse, because the victim and other witnesses have been spared giving evidence. You deserve credit for the utility of the plea, but I consider it falls short of amounting to remorse.

Sentencing issues

39The crime of carjacking attracts a prison sentence, as I said before, as a category 2 offence, under the Sentencing Act 1991. This alone indicates the high need for general deterrence, together with the particular seriousness of this case. Theoretically a harsh sentence sends a message to others inclined to this offending that the courts will sentence them similarly. Likewise, you yourself require a sentence that will deter you from offending again, but must take account of your youth and very specific health condition. Mr Malik submitted that the parole period fixed as part of your sentence should be long enough to give you the best opportunity to address your drug use, as it is the underlying cause of your offending behaviour. My view is that the best way of trying to achieve protection of the community in this case is to encourage that opportunity for change. There needs to be appropriate punishment, but allowing for your needs, so that abstinence from drug use combined with treatment will help you to become rehabilitated.

40I sentence you to three years' imprisonment for Charge 1, and nine months for Charge 2. Three months of the sentence for Charge 2 will be served in cumulation upon the sentence for Charge 1. This results in a total effective sentence of three years and three months.

41I order that you serve 18 months before being eligible for parole.

42In respect of each charge any licence or permit to drive that you hold is cancelled and you are disqualified from obtaining a new one for two years from today.

43The prosecution seeks an order for compensation to be paid to the victim, in the sum of $2,149. Mr Malik, on your behalf, has indicated that you have no capacity to pay this sum, however, I make the order sought.

44You have been in custody for 216 days and I declare that time is to be reckoned as already served, I shall note that on the court record.

45If you had pleaded not guilty to these charges, I would have sentenced you to four years and six months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years.

46I will just check that maximum penalty.  Excuse me a moment.  Fifteen years, yes.

47Any there any other matters that I have neglected or omitted?

48MR MALIK:  You haven't, Your Honour.  I have just missed the licence cancellation period.

49HER HONOUR:  Two years.

50MR MALIK:  Thanks, Your Honour. 

51HER HONOUR:  Yes, two years.

52MR MALIK:  Nothing else, thank you, Your Honour.

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