Director of Public Prosecutions v Woods
[2018] VCC 892
•13 June 2018
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT BALLARAT SITTING IN MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-18-00276
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| RICKY WOODS |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE PULLEN | |
WHERE HELD: | Ballarat [sitting in Melbourne] | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 23 May 2018 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 13 June 2018 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Woods | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2018] VCC 892 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Catchwords:
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Prosecution | Ms Y. Giannopoulos | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr T. Sullivan | Emma Turnbull Lawyers |
HER HONOUR:
1 Ricky Woods, you have pleaded guilty to eight charges of theft, three charges of armed robbery, and one charge of being a prohibited person using a firearm. These crimes arise out of events that took place on various dates between 17 October and 13 November 2017.
2 You have also agreed to summary Charge 13 being dealt with by me pursuant to s145 Criminal Procedure Act 2009, and have pleaded guilty to using a drug of dependence (ice or methylamphetamine).
3 The maximum penalty applicable to the offence of theft is 10 years' imprisonment, armed robbery 25 years' imprisonment, being a prohibited person using a firearm 10 years' imprisonment, and for summary Charge 13, 30 penalty units and/or one year's imprisonment.
4 It is not necessary for me to recount in great detail the facts of this matter, as the matter was opened in some detail by the learned prosecutor consistent with Exhibit A. I proceed to sentence you on the basis of the facts as summarised by the prosecutor, and discussed in the course of your plea hearing. It is sufficient for present purposes to simply say the facts in this case are most serious and disturbing, and in particular the offences of armed robbery and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
5 I turn to a brief summary of your offending.
6 At the time of this offending, you were 28 years of age and you are 29 at sentence.
7 At the time of your offending, you were living in Golden Point with your de facto partner, Kaitlyn Peoples, and her brother.
8 You had moved from South Australia to Ballarat apparently 6-8 weeks prior to your arrest on 14 November 2017.
Charge 1 – theft
9 On 17 October 2017 you attended Rebel Sports store in Ballarat at approximately 1.38pm with Peoples. A store employee noticed you and Peoples shopping together. Shop assistant, Vicki Jolly, saw you gathering a few items of clothing from the menswear department, then noticed you and Peoples walk to the register at the front of the store.
10 You walked out of the store without paying or attempting to pay for the items. Your departure caused the security alarm to be activated. Another store employee, Molly Davies, found you and spoke to you but you continued to walk through the front door. The shop assistants spoke to your partner, who was still inside the store. Peoples identified herself as Kaitlyn Peoples, and said she did not realise what you were going to do. Peoples told the assistants that your name was James Alan (an alias used by you).
11 Ms Jolly requested Peoples stay in the store until police attended, however she refused. Peoples gave the shop assistants a mobile phone number and said she would be happy to speak to police over the phone.
12 None of the items taken by you have been located.
Charge 2 – theft
13 You attended a Big W store in Ballarat. CCTV camera footage captured you taking two flat screen televisions. You were seen to wheel a trolley containing the televisions through the emergency exit, which caused the emergency fire door alarm to be activated. Shop assistant, Kim Dopper, followed you through the exit and saw you put the televisions into a Ford Territory. She noted the number plate of the car and took a photograph of you outside that vehicle.
14 Police have not recovered either of the items taken.
Charge 3 – theft
15 On 1 November 17 you attended a Harris Scarfe store in Ballarat. Store manager, Roma Ford, saw you walk away from the knife section holding two knife block sets. CCTV footage showed you leaving the store with the blocks under your arm. Store employees followed you outside the store, however, you fled the scene on a bike parked outside the store.
16 Police did not recover either knife block set.
Charge 4 – armed robbery
17 On 3 November 2017, Peoples entered a Pizza Hut store in Ballarat and told the employee, Soubrah Bhatia, she needed time to look at the menu. Bhatia noticed through the store camera that Peoples was ready to order, and walked back to the front door to take her order. Shortly afterwards, you walked through the front door.
18 You were wearing a black hoodie with the hood over your head and a black mask covering your face but not your eyes. You were holding a black backpack with red stripes.
19 You went towards the counter, took a knife from the backpack and said to Bhatia ‘Just give me the money’. You pointed the knife at Bhatia. In fear, Bhatia took the till out of the cash register and left it on the counter bench. You took all the notes as well as a bag of coins. You walked out of the store through the front door, and Bhatia reported the incident to police.
20 Bhatia asked Peoples, who was still in the store, to lock the door and gave her a bottle of water as she was crying. Police arrived and Peoples told police that the offender (without providing a name), entered the store and had a ‘long knife’. She said she started to scream when you yelled ‘Empty the till and give me the money’.
21 Police have not recovered the money.
Charge 5 – theft
22 The day after the armed robbery at Pizza Hut you attended Myer in Ballarat. CCTV footage showed you taking four items of Nana Judy brand clothing and exiting the store without attempting to pay. On 7 November 17 a review of the store CCTV footage showed you taking the items.
23 Police have not located that property.
Charge 6 – theft
24 The following day, 5 November 17, you attended a commercial property which housed several local businesses. You spent approximately 5-6 hours surveying the building and inspecting all 15 CCTV cameras around the building. Footage revealed you had in your possession a screwdriver and a large knife, and depicted you removing two of the CCTV cameras attached to the building.
25 The theft was reported to police by the owner of the premises after he realised there was no footage feed from those two cameras.
26 Police recovered one CCTV camera and the casing of the other when they searched your property on 14 November 17.
Charge 7 – theft
27 That same day, 5 November 17, you attended Cellarbrations at Mount Clear. You entered the store and sales assistant Aleasha Cavalier saw you walk into the cool room. You walked out with a carton of pre-mixed Jack Daniels whisky and loitered around the front entrance of the store. You chose a birthday card and put it on the front counter, but when asked to pay for the items you ran out the door with the carton of Jack Daniels whisky, making no attempt to pay. You left the birthday card on the counter.
28 Police have not located the carton of pre-mixed Jack Daniels whisky.
Charge 8 – theft
29 Three days later on 8 November 17, you again attended at Myer. You were with Peoples. You both went to the cosmetics department of the store. Store employee, Rhonda Romeo, noticed you and Peoples around the fragrance section. Romeo saw you place one of the fragrance bottles inside your pants. When Romeo challenged you about the bottle, you swore at her and told her you did not have it. You and Peoples then left the store. You did not make any attempt to pay for the fragrance bottle that you had put into your pants.
30 Police have not located that fragrance bottle.
Charge 9 – armed robbery.
31 This occurred the following day, on 9 November 17, when you returned to Cellarbrations CCTV footage showed you holding a large kitchen-style knife. Soon after entering the store you immediately confronted store attendant Mark Cassells. You pointed the knife at Cassells in a very threatening manner. CCTV footage showed your head and face mostly concealed by a black cap, sunglasses and a white/black face covering. You walked towards Cassells, and when approximately a metre away from him, Cassells activated the alarm switch underneath the store counter. You pushed your bag over the counter and said ‘Give me the money’.
32 In fear for his safety, Cassells removed the till from the cash register and placed several banknotes into your blue backpack. You left the store through the back entrance and rode away on a red mountain bike.
33 Police have not located that money.
Charges 10 and 11
34 Charges 10 and 11 involved an armed robbery and being a prohibited person using a firearm.
35 On 13 November 17 you went to the Apco Service Station in Ballarat on a red mountain bike. You waited outside the entrance of the store and pressed the front door buzzer to gain the attention of the store attendant, Brad Ryan. You were wearing either a hat or a beanie. When the attendant opened the door, you covered your face, entered the store and produced a handgun shouting ‘Give me all your fucking money’. Ryan raised his hands and walked away from the counter and said ‘Go for it’.
36 You yelled ‘Open the fucking till’. Ryan opened the till and you reached across the counter, grabbed it and emptied the contents into the backpack. You then left the store and premises on that mountain bike.
37 You had previously served a term of imprisonment in South Australia in 2015, and as a result, you were a prohibited person pursuant to s3(1)(b)(ii) Firearms Act 1996.
38 Police have not located the contents of the cash register.
Charge 12 – theft
39 That same day, 13 November 17, you returned to the Myer store in Ballarat. You walked through the womenswear department and began going through some of the clothing. Store employee Michelle McKenna noticed you bend down behind a clothing rack and heard the sound of a zip open and close. She then saw you walk towards the ladies' footwear department. McKenna noticed two empty clothes hangers where you had previously been. You left the store without paying for the items.
40 The items have not been located by police.
Summary Charge 13 – use drug of dependence
41 During your interview with police on 14 November 17 you admitted that since moving to Ballarat about 6-8 weeks prior to your arrest, you had been using ice five to six times on a daily basis.
42 Leading up to your arrest on 14 December 17, police became aware you were the person responsible for a series of armed robberies and thefts between 17 October and 13 November 17.
43 On 14 December 17 you were seen by police riding a bicycle near the Red Lion Hotel in Ballarat and were apprehended. You were wearing similar clothing to the clothing worn on the occasions you offended.
44 Police attended your property at Golden Point, and a number of items were seized as outlined within the prosecution opening (paragraph 86).
45 You were taken to Ballarat Police Station and participated in a record of interview where you made full admissions to your offending, summarised in the prosecution opening (paragraph 88).
46 You said that in the eight weeks you had been in Ballarat you had been ‘stealing stuff from shops and that’, ‘selling to make money’. You had an addiction to ice, and were funding that through shoplifting. You agreed you took the knives, TV, items from Myer, Big W, Harris Scarfe, Rebel Sport, perfume and girls’ clothing.
47 Regarding Pizza Hut, you said you robbed them for money. That you walked in with a knife and told them to give you money. You said you told the shop assistant ‘I'm sorry I had to do this’. You did it to feed your drug habit. I discuss the lack of reference, however, by that employee to such being said by you, ie: ‘I'm sorry I had to do this’.
48 You went and bought drugs and said you had used drugs prior to going to the Pizza Hut. You said you did not intend to hurt anybody. Having a knife, you said, meant that you could intimidate the employee.
49 In referring to one of your Myer attendances, you said you took two perfumes but did not sell them. You admitted taking the two surveillance cameras and had a screwdriver with you. You were going to set them up at home. The second, you said, was sold for drugs.
50 You admitted you got a slab of Jack Daniels from the liquor store.
51 Regarding the armed robbery at Cellarbrations on 9 November, you said you rode there, asked for the money, then rode home. You said you ‘fully apologised to that bloke’. I discussed the absence of such being said in the statement of that victim. You needed drugs. On that occasion you said you were armed with the same knife you used at the Pizza Hut.
52 You agreed you had attempted to disguise yourself and you disposed of the knife by cutting it up with a grinder and that there was no evidence.
53 You admitted an armed robbery at the Apco Service Station. You said you needed drugs and admitted you had a firearm or a handgun with you. You said you got it from a paddock. You said it was not loaded and not capable of being fired, and I discussed that with Mr Pearson.
54 At Apco you said you went into the store with a T-shirt around your face and asked for money. The attendant gave you money, and you said you apologised and walked out. I discussed also that victim's lack of reference to such being said. Ultimately, Mr Pearson did not rely upon your stated apologies. You went into the pokies, you said, with that money.
55 You admitted taking Calvin Klein sportswear from Myer to sell. You said you wished you had not done any of your offending, and you were sorry to all victims involved.
56 An aggravating feature of your offending was your use of, I will call it ‘attempted disguise’, although I note in that regard it was a fairly unsophisticated attempt, as you wore the same or similar clothing and had a distinctive hairstyle at each of the places as observed on CCTV.
57 You have pleaded guilty to these charges, and I accept, consistent with the concession made by the prosecution, that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
58 Your plea hearing was initially listed at Ballarat County Court on 4 April 2018, now being dealt with by me approximately a month later through no fault of yours, rather through Circuit Court listings.
59 You were remanded in relation to this offending on 14 November 2017, and have served 190 days in pre-sentence detention as at 22 May 2018.
60 You have pleaded guilty to these charges and you are entitled to have that fact taken into account in your favour, and I do so. The community, by your pleas, has been spared the time and cost of a trial and witnesses have been spared the ordeal of having to give evidence upon your trial. Further, I take into account in your favour you intimated early your intention to plead guilty to these charges, and also at the time of interview with police on 14 November 2017 admitted your involvement in them.
61 I accept that your pleas of guilty indicate some remorse by you for your offending, although I am concerned about the extent of it, given the repeated nature of it and your similar criminal history (albeit I note no armed robbery offences).
62 I turn to your criminal history. You first appeared on 17 November 2008, and thereafter regularly appeared until 3 November 2015.
63 In brief your past offending has included driving offences, dishonesty offences, and I note breach of a previously imposed community service order (2012).
64 On 19 April 2012 you were sentenced at the District Court of South Australia to 3 years imprisonment. You thought that your 2012 District Court appearance was in 2010. That offending, you instructed, involved yourself and another person entering two jewellery shops. No weapon was present. It was your understanding that as your offending was committed with another, it became an ‘aggravated’ offence (consistent with South Australian legislation).
65 You instructed you were released in late 2015. Subsequent to that date, Mr Pearson advised the court of a number of offences for which you had been charged but yet to be dealt with. I am mindful they are yet to be determined. Mr Pearson, however, was not relying on the time between your release from prison in South Australia and your offending before me as being indicative of rehabilitation by you during that period. That, in my opinion, was an appropriate concession.
66 The victims of your offending have been advised of their rights regarding victim impact statements. One statement has been received from Peter Giannes, relevant to Charge 6. I take into account the admissible parts of his statement, as I discussed with Mr Pearson.
67 Mr Giannes felt disappointed someone could come along and take what was not theirs. Your offending had caused him anger, stress and anxiety. He was annoyed and frustrated.
68 As a result of your offending he was financially at a great loss, and the theft of the two cameras had caused great inconvenience, as they could not be easily replaced.
69 Also, following your offending, when he attended the property he was on edge and felt unsafe.
70 The effects upon a victim are a relevant sentencing consideration (s5 Sentencing Act 1991). I am, however, conscious that I must not allow the effects upon a victim to swamp the sentencing process.
71 Your counsel, Mr Pearson, provided a written outline of submissions for your plea hearing and addressed them during the course of it.
72 Mr Pearson submitted the offences of armed robbery, Charges 4, 9, 10, and also Charge 11 represented serious offending. He is correct.
73 While the gun used at the service station armed robbery was an imitation one, Mr Pearson conceded such did not reduced the level of seriousness. It may well have not been loaded and was incapable of discharging a projectile, however, I have no doubt it caused the victim great fear, as described in his statement to police.
74 Mr Pearson submitted that there should be some cumulation between Charges 4, 9, and 10. He initially submitted total concurrency between Charges 10 and 11. I disagreed with that submission and discussed that with him. The offences in Charges 10 and 11 have distinct differences (Berichonv The Queen[1]).
[1] (2013) 40 VR 490
75 In my opinion, there should also be some cumulation in relation to each of the charges of theft.
76 Regarding the theft charges, Mr Pearson conceded that some of the property stolen was of relatively high value, and conceded the theft offending was moderately serious. I agree, but made more serious by your relevant criminal history.
77 Mr Pearson referred to your criminal offending having taken place over a relatively short period of time. He is correct, however, it also occurred frequently over that time.
78 Mr Pearson referred to you coming to Victoria in October 2017 with Ms Peoples, who you had met in Adelaide. Apparently she had family connections in Ballarat. Drug use was unfortunately a significant feature of your relationship.
79 Mr Pearson noted that whilst not mitigatory, you were using methylamphetamine and ice during the offending period, and I accept that is so. I note you have also pleaded guilty to ice use.
80 Mr Pearson referred to your criminal record and conceded that for the purpose of sentencing it was relevant. Much of it occurring as a result of ice use. He again is correct.
81 Whilst in custody, Mr Pearson referred to you having undertaken courses at the Metropolitan Remand Centre for drug treatment and personal development.
82 You had also undertaken a random urine test on 29 March 2018 which was negative for illicit substances.
83 In custody you worked daily in the industries area as a welder and had stayed out of trouble. You were, you said, isolated and lonely, as you were from South Australia receiving few social visits. I note you do have a foster brother in Wangaratta. It may be that you can serve your sentence closer to that contact, however, having said that, it is not a matter for me to determine where you are housed following sentence.
84 Mr Pearson referred to an assessment of you by Mr Simmons, to which I shall shortly refer. In particular your history of parental abandonment and your own sexual abuse whilst in the care of South Australian Families department. In the opinion of Mr Simmons, you suffer from post-traumatic disorder.
85 Whilst Mr Pearson was not relying upon the principles in R v Verdins & Ors[2], he submitted, consistent with general sentencing principles, your post-traumatic stress disorder may impact adversely upon you undergoing sentence in prison.
[2] (2007) 16 VR 269
86 Mr Pearson referred, in his written and oral submissions, to your full and detailed admissions to the commission of these offences when interviewed by police, and that you entered your plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity, and I have already referred to that.
87 Turning to your personal circumstances, Mr Pearson relied upon the report of Mr Simmons, Psychologist, dated 4 April 2018.
88 Regarding your prospects of rehabilitation, Mr Pearson urged, despite your relatively lengthy criminal record for similar offending, although he submitted less serious offending, you are now drug free within the custodial sentence and working on the personal issues in your life. That, of course, is to your credit. I am concerned, however, by the escalation of your offending before me referable to three armed robberies. I am also concerned that you were a prohibited person using a firearm.
89 Your rehabilitation prospects will hopefully be improved if you undertake further counselling whilst in custody. Providing you remain drug free, your prospects of eventual rehabilitation, Mr Pearson urged, remained ‘viable’. That is ultimately going to be a matter for you. I am not as convinced regarding your rehabilitation prospects. You will need to spend a significant time undergoing relevant treatment and counselling for me to find that your rehabilitation prospects are other than guarded.
90 Turning to sentence, Mr Pearson conceded, appropriately in my opinion, the only appropriate disposition was a term of imprisonment with a non-parole period.
91 Mr Pearson spoke to the above written submissions during the course of the hearing. He conceded Charges 4, 9, 10 and 11 were serious offences, and that some cumulation was appropriate in relation to Charge 11, as I discussed with him and have referred to consistent with Berichon.
92 Mr Pearson referred to your record of interview in which you told police the gun was not loaded and not able to be used, and urged your explanation regarding the gun was consistent with its appearance. In that regard I was directed to a photograph at page 121 of the depositions. There was no material before me regarding whether or not the gun was capable of discharge, however, police did inspect the weapon, and did not say that it was capable of discharge. Mr Pearson conceded the victim would have been in fear.
93 Mr Pearson urged the three charges of armed robbery before me were ‘low level’ examples of serious offending. Whilst I agree the offending lacked sophistication, there was some planning, taking a knife and the gun to the relevant places. In my opinion your offending was not at the lower end of the scale, rather towards mid-range from low.
94 Mr Pearson referred to these offences having been committed by a ‘young man’ with a background of heavy addiction to ice. He conceded your use of methylamphetamine was not mitigatory of sentence. He is correct.
95 Turning to the theft offences. Mr Pearson distinguished the theft involving property of greater than $500 value, compared with the lesser value theft charges.
96 Mr Pearson conceded that whilst your offending was over a limited period of time, it was reasonably prolific. He is correct.
97 Regarding your PTSD, Mr Pearson urged I could take such into account consistent with general sentencing principles. Your PTSD, he urged and I accept, has been a significant matter in your life. I accept, consistent with general sentencing principles, your time in custody will be more difficult for you than a more mentally capable prisoner.
98 Regarding your rehabilitation prospects, Mr Pearson submitted you had made an effort to address your lifestyle and drug issues by undertaking a number of courses whilst on remand, and before me were a number of certificates (Exhibit 3).
99 A 6-hour Managing Cravings Program, a Relationships Skills Program, Managing Worry Program, Managing Emotions Program, Managing Loss Program and Managing Sleep Program. Also, certificates of completion from Box Hill Institute, two Participate in Workplace Sales Arrangement units, Engage with Texts of Limited Complexity for Personal Purposes and Create Texts of Limited Complexity for Personal Purposes.
100 Also before me (Exhibit 4) was a drug screen dated 29 March 18, negative for illicit substances.
101 Mr Pearson submitted you had applied yourself in custody in a useful way. I accept that is so. You subsequently requested I not sentence you for two weeks to enable you to participate and complete a drug rehabilitation course prior to sentence, and I acceded to that request. I assume such was undertaken.
102 Mr Pearson referred to your disadvantaged background and such is relevant to sentence. See Bugmy v R[3], Hogarth v R[4], and the recent discussion of Bugmy in DPP v L'Eveille[5].
[3] [2013] HCA 37
[4] (2012) 37 VR 658
[5] [2018] VSCA 60
103 Mr Pearson orally submitted your rehabilitation prospects were ‘reasonable’, given your participation in programs in custody. As I have already said, I regard your rehabilitative prospects as guarded. You have started on the road towards rehabilitation and that is to your credit, however, you are yet to be tested when back in the community, and your history of drug use in the community and resultant offending concerns me. I encourage you to continue with your efforts towards rehabilitation (employment when in prison and also undertaking courses). When sentencing you, I must seek to maximise your chances of rehabilitation as they may be.
104 I turn to the report of Mr Warren Simmons, Psychologist, dated 4 April 18. Mr Simmons interviewed you at Melbourne Remand Centre.
105 At presentation you were articulate, with some insight into your problems. You said you sought to make changes in your life since being in custody ‘this time’.
106 Turning to your background and history. You were born in Port Pirie and grew up in Salisbury, Adelaide. Your parents separated prior to you attending school. You were their only child. Your mother is employed, your father passed away at the age of 43. You expressed little interest in your father's life after your parents separated.
107 You said you were diagnosed as a child with ADHD and placed on medication. At age 8, your mother ‘gave you up’ to welfare services as you were unmanageable, and you remained within those services until you were 18.
108 You described a close relationship with your mother, but once you went into foster care, your mother moved to Queensland.
109 When you were 8 years of age you were placed into foster care, as I have said, and had a foster brother, which you described as a very close relationship.
110 In foster care you were the victim of psychological abuse, and with another foster carer when 11 you were sexually abused on a regular basis over three to four months. That abuse also involved your foster brother. It was reported by your foster brother, and the matter went to court with significant publicity. You were offered counselling, however, you did not attend.
111 From approximately 12½ years of age, you lived in various boys' homes and started to rebel. You felt safer in custodial settings, including prison where you felt cared for and protected. The influence of fellow prisoners, however, was a negative one.
112 You were shattered when your mother moved to Queensland, reinforcing your feelings that you were not wanted. You have had limited contact with her, and no contact from relatives.
113 You completed Year 8. You continued to have problems reading and writing. You often argued with teachers and were, at times, involved in physical fights. You dropped out of school at around the time of the sexual abuse.
114 Although you were encouraged to continue at a school in the boys' home, you did not attend. You have not had any further education or employment.
115 You had not previously undertaken programs to do with your substance use until this recent incarceration.
116 At age 16 you commenced a relationship with a young woman which lasted for seven years. Your partner terminated the relationship during your last sentence of three years imprisonment. There is a daughter of that relationship, now 9 years of age. It appears you have been able to have access with your daughter. You described your ex-partner as your best friend, however, stated she no longer was able to cope with your frequent incarcerations.
117 Approximately five years ago, you met another woman and described that five year relationship as a ‘drug relationship’.
118 In October last year you described having met another woman and being together for a month. She was a significant drug user and that was a feature of that relationship also. She was the person with you when you committed some of the offences before me. You told Mr Simmons she was expecting your child.
119 Turning to your drug and alcohol history, you began daily cannabis use at the age of 10, peaking at a quarter of an ounce a day for many years. When you used other drugs, you continued to use cannabis when not in custody, and did so until remand on this offending.
120 You said you had been given methylamphetamine by your foster carer to encourage you to engage in sexual activity. You continued to use between half to a gram of methylamphetamine daily, and had rarely ceased use of that drug when in the community. Generally if released from custody, you would obtain the drug ‘on the way home’. I discussed this quick return to use with your counsel.
121 Whilst you had not undertaken any drug and alcohol treatment programs in the past, according to Mr Simmons you generally eschewed them when offered. You have, however, undertaken programs recently when on remand.
122 You described no major medical issues and were not currently taking any medication. You did have some difficulty going to sleep.
123 Regarding your criminal prior convictions, you described them as predominantly drug related, either to fund your substance use or as a result of using drugs. You did not attempt to justify your offending behaviour past and present, and acknowledged it was wrong.
124 Regarding your offending before this court, you described yourself as ‘an absolute idiot’ and that you had only been released from prison several months before you came to Victoria and returned to your ‘old ways’.
125 Mr Simmons referred to your record of interview in relation to one of the victims when you were armed with the gun. You said you were both remorseful and contrite.
126 Mr Simmons stated you expressed remorse for your offending during the interview with him, and acknowledged your behaviour may have had a significant effect upon the victims.
127 In the opinion of Mr Simmons, your behaviour became more rebellious after you were sexually assaulted and placed in the boys' home. A pattern of institutionalisation and offending then commenced.
128 You disclosed ongoing use of cannabis and ice, and in the opinion of Mr Simmons, there seemed to be strong indications it was a form of self medication for your experiences during your childhood.
129 Your substance use led to your offending in order to fund your substance use. You have not had any employment.
130 In the opinion of Mr Simmons you suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of abuse when younger, although this had abated as you have grown older, although never completely resolved. He considered your substance use was a way of managing some of those symptoms, particularly nightmares, as methylamphetamine helped you to stay awake.
131 Regarding your offending before me, you did not attempt to minimise your behaviour and readily acknowledge its inappropriateness, expressing remorse for it.
132 Your offending was driven primarily by your use of methylamphetamine and the need to fund that habit for yourself and your partner.
133 You would, he opined, benefit from treatment for PTSD, as that had never been effectively addressed. You referred to your foster brother in Wangaratta and maintaining regular contact with him. He offered to support you when you were released.
134 Given your history and background, the prognosis for your rehabilitation, Mr Simmons concluded, must be ‘guarded’ as on this occasion you had only been in the community for several months. You are now, at least, undertaking some treatment programs to show you are making an effort to change.
135 Regarding your rehabilitation prospects, I have as I said, at best guarded optimism given your extensive criminal history, your heavy drug habit at the time of this offending, and your limited attempts to address it in the past.
136 Mr Pearson, as I said, conceded a term of imprisonment was the appropriate disposition for your offending, urging that I take into account totality and proportionality when sentencing, and I do.
137 Mr Sharpley, on behalf of the prosecution, informed me that Kaitlyn Peoples was a co-offender relevant to Charges 1 and 8 before me, and was also charged with using ice. She was sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in January 2018 and was placed on a good behaviour bond. She had one prior criminal matter approximately ten years prior, and that was from the Children's Court.
138 Mr Pearson conceded principles of parity would not apply when sentencing you, relevant to the sentence imposed on Ms Peoples, and I agree.
139 Mr Sharpley conceded, regarding a number of the theft charges, they were minor examples of that offending, however, he distinguished Charges 2, 3, and 6 as being referable to more valuable items.
140 Mr Sharpley submitted the three armed robbery offences were the most serious before me, and that a term of imprisonment was the only appropriate disposition, and in that category I also place Charge 11.
141 Regarding the armed robbery offences, Mr Sharpley submitted that on the spectrum they should be classified as medium level offences.
142 He conceded in your record of interview your answers indicated remorse.
143 Regarding rehabilitation prospects, Mr Sharpley submitted they were guarded. It was difficult to say whether you would be successfully rehabilitated.
144 Mr Sharpley described your offending as an extraordinary spate of offending within a short period of time, committing a significant number of offences, and of course he is correct.
145 As well as matters personal to you, including your prospects of rehabilitation as I find them to be, I must also take into account matters such as deterrence, especially general deterrence, which is of considerable importance in a case such as this.
146 The courts in particular have referred to armed robbery offences involving ‘soft targets’ as with the case before me. People going about their business working and earning money for themselves, as these victims were.
147 There is also the need for specific deterrence when sentencing you, given your extensive criminal history and also repetition of offending by you over that short period of time.
148 I must also consider the question of protection of members of the community from you, and bear in mind the likelihood of your re-offending. This continues to concern me. You have commenced addressing your drug use and offending behaviour. You are yet to be tested in the community.
149 I remain concerned about the need to protect the community from you. Hopefully your participation in appropriate programs will reduce that concern.
150 I am called upon by the Sentencing Act to manifest the community's denunciation of your conduct and generally to impose a just punishment.
151 In sentencing you, I take into account principles of totality and proportionality.
152 I sentence you as follows.
153 On Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment.
154 On Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to 8 months' imprisonment.
155 On Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to 5 months' imprisonment.
156 On Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months' imprisonment.
157 On Charge 5, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment.
158 On Charge 6, you are convicted and sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment.
159 On Charge 7, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment.
160 On Charge 8, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment.
161 On Charge 9, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months' imprisonment.
162 On Charge 10, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment.
163 On Charge 11, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
164 On Charge 12, you are convicted and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment.
165 On Summary Charge 13, you are convicted and sentenced to 1 month imprisonment.
166 I order the following in relation to cumulation and concurrency.
167 The base sentence is Charge 10.
168 I direct that 1 month of Charge 1 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
169 I direct that 3 months of Charge 2 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
170 I direct that 2 months of Charge 3 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
171 I direct that 9 months of Charge 4 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
172 I direct that 1 month of Charge 5 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
173 I direct that 3 months of Charge 6 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
174 I direct that 1 month of Charge 7 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
175 I direct that 1 month of Charge 8 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
176 I direct that 10 months of Charge 9 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
177 I direct that 4 months of Charge 11 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
178 I direct that 1 month of Charge 12 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
179 I direct that 14 days of Summary Charge 13 be served cumulatively upon Charge 10.
180 For clarity, the orders for cumulation upon each other and upon the base sentence.
181 That results in a total effective sentence of 6 years and 14 days imprisonment, and I direct that you serve a period of 4 years and 4 months before you are eligible for parole.
182 Pursuant to s6AAA Sentencing Act 1991, had you been found guilty of these offences following a jury verdict, in other words, if you pleaded not guilty to all of these and been found guilty of them, I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of 9 years and set a non-parole period of 7 years.
183 Pursuant to s18(4) Sentencing Act 1991, I declare you have spent 211 days in custody (up to and including yesterday, 12 June 2018), by way of pre-sentence detention, and I direct that that be entered into the records of the court.
184 You have previously provided a forensic sample following your record of interview on 14 November 17, and pursuant s464ZFB Crimes Act your sample is automatically retained as a finding of guilt in this matter.
185 The prosecution made application for a forfeiture order pursuant to the Confiscation Act 1997, and a disposal order pursuant to the same Act. Mr Pearson, on your behalf, consented to such orders being made, and I make the orders in the terms sought.
186 The prosecution also sought a firearm forfeiture order pursuant to the Firearms Act 1996. Counsel on your behalf consented to the order being made, and I make the order in the terms sought.
187 HER HONOUR: Have a seat, thanks very much. Now, first of all, PSD. Everyone agree, in heated agreement?
188 MR SULLIVAN: Agreed, Your Honour.
189 MS GIANNOPOULOS: Agreed, Your Honour.
190 HER HONOUR: 211 days will be declared, up to and including yesterday, which was 12 June as PSD. Do you want any help with the figures? I'm not asking if you agree with them. I just want to know if you have the maths, you've followed the maths.
191 MR SULLIVAN: I follow them, Your Honour.
192 HER HONOUR: It all worked out?
193 MR SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour.
194 HER HONOUR: Very well. That's all that matters from my perspective.
195 MR SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour.
196 HER HONOUR: All right. Is there anything further in this matter?
197 MR SULLIVAN: No, Your Honour.
198 MS GIANNOPOULOS: No, Your Honour.
199 HER HONOUR: No. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr Woods. You will need to go out now. Thank you.
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