Director of Public Prosecutions v Walford

[2016] VCC 1635

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-02277

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ANDREW WALFORD

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	20 October 2016 and 4 November 2016
DATE OF SENTENCE:	4 November 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Walford
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 1635

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms. N. Burnett	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr. D. Lamovie	Victoria Legal Aid

HIS HONOUR: 

1Andrew Alan Walford, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of arson contrary to s.197(sub-s.1 & 6) of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years imprisonment.

2You pleaded guilty at committal mention and the matter proceeded by way of hand-up brief.  Your plea was listed in this court to be heard on 7 April 2016, but you failed to appear.  You were arrested in Tasmania and extradited to Victoria on 1 July 2016 and you have been in custody since that date.

3It was initially the case for the prosecution that you had destroyed your house and its' contents by fire and in the Magistrates Court the charge that you pleaded guilty to was expressed in the following terms -

4"The accused at Wyndham Vale on 28 August 2015, intentionally and without lawful excuse did destroy property, namely residential premises and contents of 23 Wentworth Avenue, Wyndham Vale, belonging to Andrew Walford and Jackie Houser and valued at $327, 240 by setting fire to the said residential premises and contents of 23 Wentworth Avenue, Wyndham Vale and did thereby commit arson." 

5When you were arraigned in this court, the charge was amended to encompass the contents of the house but not the house itself, as it belonged to you and the charge could not be made out in such circumstances.  The contents, the subject of the charge, pleaded in the Indictment are those of your then partner and your two step-children. 

6Plainly, the charge that you have now pleaded guilty to is less serious than the charge to which you were originally charged with and pleaded guilty to at the committal mention.  The value of the entire contents of the house for insurance purposes, was $97,240, although no doubt some of the contents of the house belonged exclusively to you.

7I have taken your plea of guilty into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence and I accept that it is evidence of remorse in your case. 

8You have admitted a minor criminal history arising from three court appearances in 1996 and 1997 which are of no significance for sentencing purposes in this case.

9A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -

10On 28 August, 2015 you were residing in your home in Wyndham Vale with your then partner of 18 years and her two adult children.  As I have said, your relationship had been on foot for 18 years, but it was deteriorating due to your alcoholism and financial pressures. 

11At approximately 11 am on that day, you informed your partner that you had lost your job and later that day, after you returned home, you and your partner argued about your financial situation.  You were drinking alcohol and left the premises and purchased a quantity of petrol at a nearby petrol station.  When you returned to the house, you poured petrol throughout it and then ignited it. 

12Fortunately your partner had left the premises before you did so, and the premises were unoccupied at the time of the fire.  The subsequent fire destroyed the house and its entire contents.  The insurer has not indemnified you for your losses or the losses of your partner and her children's contents. 

13Plainly, your offending is serious and your criminal actions carried out to harm your partner, in the context of your deteriorating relationship, must be denounced by this court.  You must also be punished for what you have done and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this manner.  The court must send a clear message to the community that damaging property in this dangerous and reckless manner in the setting of a relationship breakdown, will be met with a significant penalty on conviction.  

14I have received in evidence a victim impact statement of your ex-partner and her daughter.  Each of them detail the profound emotional trauma your offending has caused, and the devastating financial consequences of it.  Years of hard work and the assets accumulated as a result have been destroyed.

15I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You were born on 27 December 1968 in Queenstown, Tasmania and are now aged 47.  Your parents separated when you were three months old and you were raised by your mother until the age of 12. 

16You had very little contact during your developmental years, with your father who was an aggressive alcoholic, and physically and emotionally abusive towards your mother.  Your mother also had a number of relationships with men who were also violent and on occasions, abusive to you.  As a result, you developed a number of behavioural difficulties and attended a range of different schools.  You completed your secondary education at the age of 15. 

17Your alcohol consumption began at the age of 13 and your developmental years and adulthood have been characterised by alcoholism, although for a period of 10 years, you did not drink. 

18You met your partner, Ms Houser, after you moved to Victoria and she and her two children resided with you.  It would appear that the relationship was somewhat unstable, although as I have said, you gave up drinking for a period of approximately 10 years and during this time, the relationship was a stable one.  However, you resumed drinking in approximately 2012, and from that time on, your relationship with Ms Houser deteriorated. 

19Despite, your alcoholism, you have a strong work history and as a result of that, you were able to purchase the property in Wyndham Vale.  Ms Houser contributed to the mortgage repayments as a result of her work as well.  As I  have already observed, your alcoholism caused the breakdown of your relationship, and no doubt, your intoxication on the day of your offending contributed to your dangerous and reckless behaviour. 

20You have suffered a catastrophic loss as a result of your offending, losing your property and your family, and are now faced, at the age of 47, with having to rebuild your life from scratch. 

21As I have already observed, your offending may properly be described as serious, warranting a term of imprisonment but in my opinion, the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed may be achieved by the imposition of a combined sentence. 

22Accordingly, I had you assessed for suitability for a Community Correction Order with a number of special conditions, and Corrections Victoria reported that you were unsuitable for such an order because you did not have a stable residence. 

23I have been informed by your counsel that you now are able to reside with a person known to you upon your release from prison, and it will be a matter for Corrections Victoria as to how the administration of the order that I propose to make in your case, is supervised. 

24Plainly, your prospects for rehabilitation are now dependent upon you receiving treatment for alcoholism and your underlying psychological condition which has contributed to the development of that condition.  Furthermore, it would appear that you have also, on occasions, abused illegal drugs of dependence and accordingly, you require treatment for that.

25In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows:

26In relation to the charge of arson, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months.  I also order that you complete a Community Correction Order for a period of 18 months on the core conditions provided for in the Sentencing Act and on the following special conditions, that you be under the supervision of a Community Correction officer for the period of the order, that you undertake assessment and treatment in relation to drug abuse, that you undertake assessment and treatment in relation to alcohol abuse and that you undertake a mental health assessment and treatment as directed, and that you participate in programs directed to your offending behaviour, in particular anger management. 

27Do you agree to entering a Community Correction Order on those terms upon your release from prison?

28OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

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HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  I declare that you have served 125 days

pre-sentence detention, not including today.  But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of 12 months.  Are there any further orders required?

30MS BURNETT:  Your Honour, just the forensic sample order.

31HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

32Having regard to the seriousness of the offending and the circumstances surrounding that offending, in my opinion, it is appropriate for such an order to be made. 

33Mr Walford, what that involves is the police taking a sample of your saliva from your mouth and the sample is destroyed once the data obtained from it is placed on an appropriate data base.  The police can use reasonable force to obtain that sample from you. 

34I have made that order. 

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