Director of Public Prosecutions v Webb, Tyrone
[2012] VCC 1818
•12 November 2012
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-11-01925
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| TYRONE WEBB |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 12 November 2012 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 12 November 2012 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Webb, Tyrone | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2012] VCC 1818 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms J. L. Piggott | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms F. E. Holmes |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Tyrone Webb, you have pleaded guilty to one offence of affray and to two related summary offences of failing to appear in answer to your bail. All of those are serious offences, they carry terms of imprisonment. The maximum term of imprisonment for affray is five years' imprisonment, and for failing to answer bail, 12 months' imprisonment.
2 I am not going to repeat what is in the summary of prosecution opening, which is Exhibit A. I incorporate that document into these reasons for sentence.
3 The affray was an ugly affair and it is a serious offence. The courts are required to mark the seriousness of this sort of offending generally with terms of imprisonment. If you had come up for sentence within a month or two or three of the event having occurred the likelihood is you would have received an immediate term of imprisonment. It seems to me though that it is relevant in this case to take into account what has occurred since this event, which is now a little over two years ago.
4 I have been impressed by the facts that were presented to me on your behalf by your counsel and by the evidence given by Ms Taggart. You have a bad record, particularly for driving offences, but I do not ignore the offences of violence that are in your unimpressive criminal record.
5
You are now 25 years of age and it seems that you are showing signs of maturing. I am inclined to accept the evidence of
Ms Taggart that you have genuinely and effectively turned over a new leaf.
I note that you come from a family where none of your siblings have got into any trouble with the police, and I accept that you are yourself now conscious of the need to set an example to them to ensure that they stay out of trouble in the future.
6 I think it is very much to your credit that you have a good work record, and you now have what seems to be a good job, with a good income, and you are able to provide for Ms Taggart and your child.
7 I think that you deserve significant credit for your plea of guilty. I accept that it indicates remorse on your behalf, and I accept that you deserve significant credit in saving the court time, in that you would have recognised a reasonable possibility that you might have been acquitted of the charge had you fought the matter. Nevertheless you have faced up to your responsibility now and have pleaded guilty and, as I say, saved the court and the Victorian public the expense of a trial.
8 All of those matters suggest that what has been said on your behalf has substance, and that you have reasonable prospects of putting this all behind you and staying out of trouble in the future. I hope that is true. I recognise that it is not always easy when you have had a group of friends who have not been law-abiding to put all that to one side and change your life. It seems that you have set about doing that and have largely been successful. I think you need some encouragement from the court to maintain that process.
9 Ordinarily, as I say, I would have regarded a term of immediate imprisonment as obligatory in a case where you participated in an affray of this nature. It is only because of the change in your life and your change of attitude, which suggests that you are a reasonable investment for the future, that I am inclined to accede to your counsel's submissions that a sentence that does not require your immediate incarceration is open to me.
10 I am conscious of the need to pass a sentence which has the capacity to deter others. General deterrence is clearly an important sentencing consideration. I think the need to deter you is of less significant now that I have heard the evidence submitted on your behalf. I think in those circumstances it is open to me to suspend the term of imprisonment that I intend to impose upon you.
11 I would have imposed a sentence more than two months. It seems to me that if one comes to the conclusion that a term of imprisonment is necessary for offending of this kind, two months is unduly light. However, I am conscious of the fact that your co-offender and the apparent instigator of this affray received a sentence of two months' imprisonment in the Magistrates' Court, and had you been dealt with at the same time it seems to me quite likely that you would have received a similar sentence. Because, although you were not the ringleader, you were not seriously injured as a result, and therefore would not have had the reduction in sentence that was apparently effected in relation to Mr Masson.
12 In the circumstances I am prepared to impose a term of imprisonment and suspend that sentence. I notice that Mr Masson also had two offences of failing to answer bail. Although ordinarily I would have given you a sentence in addition to that which was appropriate to the affray, again, I think it is necessary for me to impose a sentence that is on a par with that imposed upon Mr Masson.
13 Would you stand, please?
14
For the offence of affray I sentence you to two months' imprisonment. For each of the two offences of failing to appear in answer to your bail, I sentence you to one month imprisonment. I convict you in relation to each of those three offences. And I order that the total effective sentence of two months' imprisonment be suspended for a period of
two years.
15
That means that it will be hanging over your head for that period of time. If you do not commit any other offence punishable by imprisonment during that two-year period, starting from today, then you will not have to serve the
two month sentence that I have imposed. If, however, you do commit an offence punishably by imprisonment during that period you will be almost certainly required to serve the whole of that two month sentence as well as any other sentence that is imposed for the offence that puts you in breach of the suspended sentence order.
16 But for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of four months' imprisonment. And I think it is unlikely that I would have suspended that sentence.
17 MS PIGGOTT: As Your Honour pleases.
18
MS HOLMES: Just one matter under section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act.
I note that Your Honour has said that you would - but for Mr Webb's plea of guilty - - -
19 HIS HONOUR: Yes, four months.
20 MS HOLMES: - - - you would have imposed a sentence more than two months. Is Your Honour able to state how much Your Honour would have imposed?
21 HIS HONOUR: Yes, four month.
22 MS HOLMES: Sorry?
23 HIS HONOUR: Four months. I just declared it.
24 MS HOLMES: Sorry.
25 HIS HONOUR: That's all right.
26 MS HOLMES: I was talking to my instructor while you were giving the - - -
27 HIS HONOUR: Four months and it would not have been suspended.
28 MS HOLMES: Thank you.
29 HIS HONOUR: That's all right. You were on your way to your feet as I was declaring it.
30 MS HOLMES: Thank you, Your Honour.
31 HIS HONOUR: All right, there is no pre-sentence detention, is there, to take into account?
32 MS HOLMES: No, Your Honour.
33 HIS HONOUR: No other orders that I need make?
34 MS PIGGOTT: No other orders, Your Honour.
35 HIS HONOUR: All right. That suspended sentence order will be drawn up. Your client may leave the dock.
36 MS HOLMES: Thank you, Your Honour.
37 HIS HONOUR: As nicely as possible, Mr Webb, I hope I do not see you again.
38 OFFENDER: I hope I don't see you again too, Your Honour. Thank you.
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