DPP and Pitone
[2016] VCC 549
•29 April 2016
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-15-02273
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LIAH PITONE |
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JUDGE: | Cannon | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 15 March 2016 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 29 April 2016 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP and Pitone | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 549 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Sentence - Plea of guilty – Attempted armed robbery – Recklessly causing serious injury – Youthful offender – Relevant criminal record - Level of planning involved in offending – Impairment of mental functioning - Cognitive deficits with significant cognitive limitations – Permanent developmental learning disorder and developmental dysphasia – Offender suffers from anxiety and depression - Substance misuse disorder involving alcohol and cannabis
Legislation Cited: Children, Youth and Families Act 2005
Cases Cited: Nei Lima Da Costa Junior v The Queen (2016) VSCA 49
Sentence:Convicted and sentenced to Total Effective Sentence 4 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years’ and 6 months’ imprisonment – s.6AAA Sentencing Act 1991 declared – Pre-sentence detention declared of 215 days – Ancillary orders – Disposal – Forensic sample retention automatic
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms G. Overend | Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms P. Villella | VLA |
HER HONOUR:
1 Liah Pitone, you have pleaded guilty to one charge attempted armed robbery and one charge of recklessly causing injury.
2 The first mentioned offence has a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, and the second, a maximum penalty of 5 years' imprisonment. The maximum penalties reflect the seriousness with which Parliament regards these offences.
3 Your offending was opened as follows:
4 I was told that at the time of the offending, you were 18 years old and that was your current age as at the date of the plea. You will turn 19 on 30 June this year.
5 On 14 September last year at about 1.45 pm you entered a liquor store in St Albans. You were wearing a cap with a dark navy hoodie pulled up over your head and you were wearing black rimmed glasses. You were carrying a backpack in front of you. The victim, Ms Aceska, was working at the store. She approached you and asked if she could help you, and you told her that you were just looking. She asked you a couple of more questions but you were unresponsive.
6 You started walking towards the exit when you suddenly stopped. Ms Aceska told you to take off your hoodie and hat but you did not answer. She then told you to leave, tapping you on the arm. You were at the front counter at this stage and you were fiddling with your backpack. You turned to face the victim and you had a meat cleaver in your left hand and a baseball bat in your right hand. The victim ran toward the office. You hit the victim's heel with the baseball bat and she fell to the ground. She got up and tried to take the bat from you but you swung at her with the meat cleaver. You said to her, "Give me the money, give me the money," and the victim told you to "fuck off."
7 She eventually took the bat from you and started hitting you with it, connecting twice with your arm. You ran out of the store leaving your backpack there. Ms Aceska tried to close both the glass and security doors but she was unable to. These facts give rise to Charge 1, attempted armed robbery.
8 You returned to the store and started swinging the meat cleaver again. It connected with the victim's right index finger as she was trying to shut the security door. The victim picked up the baseball bat and started swinging this at you. You then ran from the store. Ms Aceska suffered an injury to her right index finger, namely a raised flap over the radial aspect including the nail fold, and a swollen fingertip.
9 You were arrested at the family home after police found you hiding in a cupboard in a bedroom. You were cautioned and made admissions to the attempted armed robbery saying the following: "Yeah, I know why you're here, I did it, I didn't mean to hurt her. I had a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan A was to grab the grog, Plan B was to get the money." You said that you went to Plan B and geared up. You said that you just wanted the money and that your parents did not give you any. You said that you wanted to pay off your fines and that it was stupid, repeating that you did not want to hurt the victim.
10 You also told police that you had disposed of the clothing you had worn during the offending, except for the pants, and showed police where these were. You also said that you had left the meat cleaver at a house in St Albans where some of your family lived. This was later seized by police. An occupant had found it under the couch.
11 Subsequently, you took part in a formal record of interview and told police that the victim was so frightened because you had weapons and she could not do anything about it, so she was scared. You said that night you went to your cousin's house, (where the police got ‘the knife’ from), and, to quote you, "Blazed up," as this is where you usually went to ‘kick back’. You said that you would like to say sorry and that you would not do it again as you were so committed to spray painting andpanel beating.
12 The matter resolved to a plea at the committal case conference stage, with the matter going by way of straight hand-up-brief. You were remanded in custody on 16 September but granted bail on 25 September. You were then arrested once more and remanded on 1 October in relation to other matters.
13 Your offending is most serious, Mr Pitone, as I am sure you appreciate. You entered a shop in broad daylight and accosted a lone target. There was a level of planning associated with your offending which you admitted to police. You had brought weapons with you and took some steps to conceal your identity, although these measures were rather crude.
14 Your offending is deserving of a punishment that is just in all of the circumstances and must be denounced.
15 I take into account the impact on the victim in this matter, which has been dreadful. She said that since the offending she has been unemployed, depressed and consumed with guilt as she attributes the closure of the business to your offending. She has lost her confidence and is afraid of strangers, struggling to venture outside. She no longer socialises and has become an angry person. She is unable to sleep and she has become fearful at night. She is a broken person and self-medicates with alcohol. She has gained weight and feels a sense of hopelessness, unable to get out of bed in the morning. These are the very real effects that your offending have had upon her.
16 I wish to emphasise to the victim that she ought not feel guilty at all for what befell her that day. On the contrary, she behaved courageously and is someone that any employer would be delighted to have. I am glad to hear that she is seeking psychological help to assist her in her recovery.
17 I take into account your criminal history which is a most concerning one, and some aspects of it are particularly relevant to the matters before me. All of your prior matters were dealt with in the Children's Court. I have taken into account the chronology that has now been provided to me and which will be annexed to these sentencing remarks.
18 On 6 September 2012, you were granted a good behaviour bond for criminal damage.
19 On 7 March 2013 you were convicted of one charge of attempted armed robbery, two charges of armed robbery, one charge of making a threat to kill, one charge of affray, one charge of intentionally causing injury, one charge of recklessly endangering another of serious injury, eight charges of theft which included six charges of theft of a motor vehicle, two charges of shop theft, and four charges of intentionally damaging property. You were sentenced to a total effective sentence of nine months Youth Justice Centre.
20 On 12 April 2013 you were convicted of armed robbery and two charges of theft of a motor vehicle and you were sentenced to a total effective sentence of four months' imprisonment, three months of which was to be served concurrently with the sentence that you were undergoing.
21 On 24 April 2014 you were convicted of intentionally damaging property and two charges of failing to answer bail, and were placed on probation.
22 On 19 August 2015 you were granted probation without conviction for nine charges of shop theft, two charges of theft, six charges of theft of a motor vehicle, two charges of committing an indictable offence whilst on bail, eight charges of going equipped to steal or cheat, two charges of attempted theft of a motor vehicle, five charges of unlicensed driving, and one charge of loitering, being a known thief.
23 Your criminal history is a relevant factor in determining your prospects of rehabilitation and the weight that I must give to specific deterrence and protection of the community.
24 This is your first time in an adult gaol. I was told that you are in the youth unit, but, that in the event that I were to sentence you to a gaol term it is uncertain that this is where you would remain.
25 You come from a loving family and you have seven siblings. Most of your siblings live in the family home and your father is a full-time bus driver. Unfortunately, your eldest brother who is 22 years old, was in gaol at the time of the plea hearing and he is due for release in July. However, other of your siblings are living productive lives. You are the fourth eldest amongst the children in the family, whose ages range from 22 to five years of age. Your family is originally from Samoa but emigrated to New Zealand when you were at primary school. Your schooling was somewhat troubled when at secondary school, although there are varying reports about this. Your family then moved to Australia when you were 14, which was something that you were very much against.
26 You told Dr Zimmerman that your father had been violent towards your mother. However, your mother told your counsel that this was not so. You come from a good and loving family, as I have said. Most of the children still go to school and the family attends church every Sunday. You are not close to your older brothers but you are close to your four younger brothers, who are aged from 15 to five.
27 When you came to Australia, you settled in Sunshine and enrolled at Sunshine Secondary College in an alternative educational stream. On your first day you fell in with a bad crowd who consumed cannabis and alcohol and who were often in trouble with the police. You frequently truanted and engaged in disruptive behaviour. In May 2012 you were expelled. You then attended Broadmeadows TAFE for a very short period. Following your expulsion from school you commenced offending.
28 I was told that the armed robbery convictions recorded in 2013 were committed when you were 14. You approached a young victim with a knife at a train station. You repeated this conduct shortly after the first offence. The affray and the intentionally causing injury involved you in company with others, including your elder brother who is currently in gaol as I understand the situation, assaulting a young man in a park. I was told that you were influenced by offenders including your elder brother in committing these offences. However, according to a report prepared by Dr Paula Verity, which was ordered by Her Honour Magistrate Cure on 13 August 2012, you took a central and active part in each of these sets of offences.
29 There was not a great deal of detail provided in respect of other prior offending at the plea hearing which appears to have a good deal to do with your ability to recall things and verbalise things. Since then I have received from Defence further details in relation to a number of the prior matters, which I have had regard to.
30 I accept your counsel's submission that in the past you have been able to behave yourself for long enough not to breach the probation order imposed on 24 April 2014, and before this you were able to complete a period of youth parole without committing offences. On the other hand, you committed the offences before me whilst being subject to probation which had been imposed on 19 August 2015, so less than four weeks later.
31 In sentencing you I have taken into account the progress report provided by Ms Wilkinson in respect of previous offending as well as the court ordered report of Dr Paula Verity psychologist, and Dr Carl Scuderi, in respect of earlier matters. As your counsel pointed out, it appears that you responded well to your time at Betel Australia, which is a residential facility, where you stayed until June 2015. You were provided with structure and routine, as well as job training and appropriate programs to help you with your self-esteem and other important life values. In the deferral of sentence report dated 22 June 2015 you had told the writer that you enjoyed being at this facility. Despite this, it appears that you went home shortly after this. You obtained casual work with Container Freight Station in July 2015 but you were unable to find regular work with this company.
32 In the DHHS progress report dated 2015, you were recorded as saying that things were going well at home and that you were helping your mother with chores. It was said that you are in a loving and stable environment and, on the basis of this, your age and your positive response to youth justice, a probation order was recommended in relation to your most recent prior convictions. I bear in mind that you had your family and stable accommodation less than four weeks later when you committed the offences for which I now sentence you, although I also factor in that you had responded positively to youth justice for a number of months before this.
33 In your favour, I take into account your early plea of guilty which entitles you to a significant discount in the sentence you would otherwise receive. In taking this course, you have saved the witnesses the time and trauma of giving evidence and you have saved the community the time and expense of this. Over and above taking this course, you cooperated with the police once they caught up with you, making full admissions and helping them with their investigation by telling them where you had hidden one of the weapons; so I make an allowance for this in addition to the discount I have already described.
34 I accept that you are sorry for what you have done insofar as you can be, given your cognitive deficits, and that you have some insight into how this has affected your victim insofar as you can. I will say more about the capacity for remorse and insight in due course. However, I make some allowance for these factors, although I have also factored in that it was your intention to frighten the victim into giving you what you wanted, which you admitted to the police in essence.
35 In assessing your prospects for rehabilitation and determining the weight that I ought give to other relevant sentencing principles, I have taken into account the fact that you have some problems with your mental health. Although the need to give appropriate weight to factors such as deterrence and protection of the community loom large in your case, I take the view that I ought still do what I can to maximise your chances of behaving yourself in the future. This is because you are still a young man and I believe that in the future you could do some good things in the community, rather than behave like a stupid thug as you did on the occasion that you offended in relation to the matters before me.
36 I was told by your counsel that you are gullible, socially awkward, and vulnerable, that your ability to speak clearly is poor and that, in all, you have significant cognitive limitations. On the basis of reports from Dr Zimmerman forensic psychologist dated 23 February 2016, and Dr Borg dated 9 March 2013, it was submitted that because of your impairment of mental function it was most undesirable that you be detained in adult gaol. Dr Zimmerman was of the view that you suffered a cognitive disorder but required expert neuropsychological testing to work out the cause of this. He was also of the view that you suffer from substance misuse disorders involving alcohol and cannabis. He said that your naïve thinking style may be compatible with an intellectual disability but that at the time of the offending, you were likely engaging in concrete superficial reasoning.
37 Dr Zimmerman said that the most important thing was to obtain neuropsychological testing as soon as possible to ascertain the underlying cause of your disordered speech and thinking. He also recommended ongoing monitoring to monitor any frank signs of psychosis. Dr Zimmerman was of the view that any custodial sentence carried a real risk that your immature presentation, and apparent need to prove yourself as ‘bad’ to those around you, would make you very vulnerable in the prison system. He said that this meant that there was a risk that any time in gaol would increase your risk of re-offending. He also said that your limited cognitive ability also put you at risk of victimisation in the prison environment.
38 Also tendered at the original plea hearing on your behalf was a letter from Mr Tim Patterson who is a mentor in the Penhyn Youth Unit where you are currently housed. Mr Patterson said that he provided the letter to testify to your otherwise good character and development in the past five months. He said that the youth unit recognised the vulnerability of young offenders, in terms of environment, social, individual and health related issues. He said that you had completed a number of courses whilst on remand and he listed these, and I have taken these into account. He also said that you had remained drug-free for the entire period you have been at the unit, which is a credit to you. He said that you have done very well as a billet in the unit and was a valued member of the islander population, and that you recently took part in celebrating Waitangi Day. He then gave a view about your rehabilitation prospects. With all due respect to him, this is a matter for me. However, I accept the other matters in his report.
39 At my suggestion, Dr Zimmerman prepared an addendum report, having had his attention drawn to the fact that you were in the youth unit in prison, and in respect of the letter from Mr Patterson. In his further report dated 24 March 2016, having noted that it appeared that your specific needs were being catered for, Dr Zimmerman remained of the view that the overall culture of an adult prison still presented physical and psychological risks for you. He said that the environment of youth detention centre was preferable for someone of your age and with your intellectual capacity. However, if adult gaol were deemed appropriate, that it would be essential that you remain in the youth unit. He emphasised the full benefit of what you had achieved whilst in custody would be tested once in the community and that a supportive structure around you was vital.
40 Dr Borg, neuropsychologist, examined and assessed you on 7 March 2016. Dr Borg was of the view that you have a permanent developmental learning disorder and developmental dysphasia- that is, you are suffering a loss of, or deficiency, in the power to use or understand language as a result of an injury or disease of the brain. Dr Borg was also of the view that you demonstrated transient symptoms of anxiety and depression which made the permanent deficits worse. Dr Borg said that you presented with verbal intellectual and memory performances within impaired ranges, as well as receptive and expressive dysphasia.
41 Dr Borg said that you demonstrated bilateral impairment in reasoning, indicating rigid and inflexible thinking, that your capacity to monitor and regulate behaviour was impaired and hampered by impulsive tendencies. Insight and self-awareness was limited, while fluctuating higher order speed and attentional systems affected learning and memory more broadly. Dr Borg said that ‘on considering his profile as a whole, Mr Pitone has a moderate to severe degree of cognitive impairment secondary to his developmental learning disorder and dysphasia with additional contributions from mood state.’
42 In Dr Borg's first report, she was of the view that continued imprisonment would be detrimental to you. She said that you would be highly vulnerable as you are likely to be easily led, and that there is also a likelihood that you would be subjected to bullying and negative influences which would be likely to harm your psychological state. Dr Borg said that without adequate disability and advocacy supports, as well as drug and alcohol counselling, you are likely to revert to past behaviours. Dr Borg also said that you would have difficulty in learning from your mistakes, and was of the view that your capacity to be truly remorseful and insightful in respect of your offending was somewhat compromised by your cognitive deficits.
43 Having been told that you were in the youth unit and, as I understood the indication on the plea hearing, that you were likely to remain there, although this is speculative, and having been appraised of Mr Patterson's report, Dr Borg said that she still maintained her view that imprisonment put you at risk of being negatively influenced by others. Dr Borg said she was not surprised that you were responding well to the structured environment provided but said that a prison environment was not an ideal way to provide the structure that you needed. However, Dr Borg acknowledged the need to have you placed in a supported environment as a long-term option.
44 In view of the remarks of Mr Patterson about the youth unit which is where you are presently housed, and about your progress there, especially the recognition of factors concerning vulnerability and the like, the views of Dr Borg and Dr Zimmerman in their updated reports are somewhat perplexing. It might not be ideal that you are in gaol but your rehabilitation needs are being addressed there insofar as they can be in the youth unit, and it is not only your rehabilitation that I must bear in mind when sentencing you.
45 My understanding at the original plea hearing was that if you were to receive a gaol term then it was more than likely that you would remain in the youth unit. However, I have been advised today that that is speculative and there is no guarantee in that regard. I will make some remarks about this aspect towards the end of my sentencing remarks.
46 In the end, although I am satisfied that you are suffering from an impairment of mental function, on the basis of Mr Patterson's letter, and all things considered, I am not satisfied that time in gaol, if it were to be served in the youth unit, would be harder for you than for someone without your difficulties. However, this is very much based on you staying in the youth unit, which is a speculative matter. In the event that you were not to remain there I accept that your time in adult gaol will be harder than for someone without your difficulties. I accept that where you will remain in the future, if you were sentenced to a term of imprisonment, is speculative and I cannot sentence you on the basis that you would remain in the youth unit. Although, as I will indicate in due course, this would be highly desirable.
47 In sentencing you, I have factored in that this is your first time in adult gaol albeit it that you are in the youth unit for the time being. I was told that you become very upset when your mother has to leave after visiting you. So, I accept that in this way your time in gaol, wherever it would be served, is, and would be, more difficult.
48 I was told that if you were to receive a sentence of imprisonment or Youth Justice Centre, of 12 months’ imprisonment or more, there was a real risk that you would be deported which would pose a hardship for you, seeing most of your family live here. You are very close to your mother and have now lived in Australia for a number of years. If you were to be deported I understand that you have a grandmother and a 15 year old sibling living in Samoa.
49 On the basis of current authorities in this area, the most recent of which, as I understand it, is Nei Lima Da Costa Junior v The Queen (2016) VSCA 49, I accept that because of the tightening of the laws in respect of visa cancellations, that if a custodial sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment or more were imposed upon you there is a significant risk that you would be deported after you have served your sentence. In all the circumstances of your situation, this significant risk would make incarceration weigh more heavily upon you than if this were not the case.
50 However, in circumstances where your deportation is not a certainty, I am not prepared to speculate in this regard; nor can I. Therefore, I do not factor in that you will suffer additional punishment by dint of being deported in the future.
51 As I said to counsel, I am not prepared to tailor a sentence in order to maximise your chances of staying in Australia. This would not be the correct approach in sentencing you.
52 In view of the seriousness of the offending, your criminal history, your mental health and substance abuse issues, but also bearing in mind the stable supports you have in the community, your youthfulness and the progress you have made whilst in gaol, I rate your prospects of rehabilitation as fair at best. The fact of the matter is that you do well when you are contained in a structured environment but, when you are not, you are prone to revert to past bad behaviours. As your cognitive difficulties are rather entrenched, it seems to me that you will struggle with not re-offending when in the community.
53 I must also give fairly strong weight to protection of the community but, because of your cognitive problems, I have tempered to a degree the weight that I would otherwise give to other sentencing factors such as specific and general deterrence and the imposition of a just punishment. However, these will still be given rather strong weight.
54 Your counsel submitted that an appropriate sentence would be a suitably structured Community Corrections Order in combination with a term of imprisonment on the basis of time served. She submitted that if I were against this then a period of detention in a Youth Justice Centre was appropriate but, again, she was concerned that any period in excess of 12 months would expose you to significant risk of deportation. As I understood your counsel's position, another alternative would be to impose a Community Corrections Order in combination with a longer period of gaol but, ideally, one which was less than 12 months.
55 The prosecution submitted that a term of imprisonment with a non-parole period was warranted, and that a term of imprisonment in combination with a Community Corrections Order was not appropriate in your case. Having received the report today in relation to youth justice detention, the prosecution remains of this view, on instruction from a Crown prosecutor.
56 At the original plea hearing, I ordered a pre-sentence report in respect of a youth justice disposition without finally deciding what I would do in this respect. The report is now to hand. Ms Wilkinson, who prepared the pre-sentence report, says that while you meet the criteria to be considered suitable for Youth Justice Centre she said that she had concerns that Youth Justice Centre might well expose you to negative peers and a lack of structure that adult gaol had and would provide. She said that the highly structured environment you are in had enhanced your progress, whereas Youth Justice Centre could well result in you going backwards. However, Ms Wilkinson has assessed you as being suitable notwithstanding her concerns.
57 Another matter that I must consider is whether a period of three years, which is the maximum term for Youth Justice Centre, could adequately reflect the sentencing matters in your case. I am most mindful of the fact that I must not consider adult gaol unless I take the view first that nothing short of this will adequately address all relevant sentencing factors. In her submissions this morning, your counsel urged me, in light of the report from Youth Justice Centre, to impose a term of detention in a Youth Justice Centre.
58 Mr Pitone, I am afraid that allowing for all the matters which go in your favour, I have come to the view that I have no option but to impose a sentence of imprisonment upon you, and that sentence will involve a non-parole period. I cannot do justice to the weight which I must attach to all relevant sentencing principles without imposing such a sentence. In coming to this view, I have considered the case your counsel referred me to this morning, however, that is but one case and was a Director's appeal where, by the time the matter had come to the Court of Appeal, the offender had already made considerable headway at Youth Justice Centre. That is not your situation.
59 However, having come to this conclusion, and although it is not a matter for me, I will be conveying to the relevant authorities my very strong wish that you remain in the youth unit whilst in adult gaol or, if this is not possible, that you be transferred to Youth Justice Centre if an application is made pursuant to s.471 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005.
60 Would you please stand-up.
61 Firstly, you are convicted of the offences.
62 Secondly, I make a Disposal Order in the terms set out in the document provided to me by the prosecution, an order which is not opposed by you.
63 Next, I make an order for a forensic sample, such that a sample for saliva is to be taken from you by way of a swab scraping of the mouth. I make the order because of the seriousness of the offences, because of your criminal history, because the order is not opposed, and because it is in the public interest to make such an order. I warn you that reasonable force may be used by the authorised officer to take the sample if you do not cooperate.
64 You are sentenced as follows:
65 In relation to Charge 1, attempted armed robbery: three years six months' imprisonment.
66 In relation to Charge 2, recklessly causing injury: one year imprisonment.
67 Six months of the sentence on Charge 2 will be served cumulatively with the sentence on Charge 1, giving a total effective sentence of four years' imprisonment, and I direct that you serve two years six months before becoming eligible for parole. If not for your pleas of guilty I would have sentenced you to six years 10 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years.
68 I declare that you have already served 215 days in relation to this sentence which will be deducted from the sentence that I have imposed. I have also factored in that you have served six days in relation to another matter which, in effect, is dead time. However, that has not been included in the calculation of pre-sentence detention as such.
69 HER HONOUR: Just remain seated for the time being, please Mr Pitone. Is there anything further counsel?
70 MS OVEREND: No, Your Honour, just that the victim is present in court.
71 HER HONOUR: Thank you.
72 MS VILLELLA: Your Honour, just in relation to Your Honour's comments in relation to the transfer under s.471, my understanding is that Your Honour, should Your Honour wish to facilitate that transfer, that Your Honour will have to order a report effectively to The Secretary.
73 HER HONOUR: As I understood it, if you make an application I've expressed my strong wish that that happen, but my strong wish, my first strong wish, is that he stays in the youth unit, so we'll come to that if we need to, but I have just given an indication of what I say should happen in this case, but it's a conditional indication in relation to Youth Justice Centre in the event that the youth unit is not possible. So, that's as much as I can do at this stage.
74 MS VILLELLA: Thank you, Your Honour.
75 HER HONOUR: Is there anything further?
76 MS OVEREND: No, Your Honour.
77 MS VILLELLA: No, Your Honour.
78 HER HONOUR: All right, thank you. You can remove Mr Pitone, thank you.
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APPENDIX
CHRONOLOGY OF CRIMINAL HISTORY – Mr Leah PITONE
PREPARED BY DEFENCE FOR PLEA
First appearance – 6/09/2012
Minor offending, sentenced to Good Behaviour Bond
Mr Pitone aged 14
Second appearance – 07/03/2013: comprises of a number of charges, the most serious being:
Attempted Armed Robbery and Make Threat to Kill
oDate of offence: 8 March 2012
oNth Melbourne train station, weapon: a knife, young victim, in company of co-accused.
oPitone holding knife to victim demanding wallet
oNo property stolen
oThreat to kill made to the victim by Pitone
Armed Robbery
oDate of Offence: 8 March 2012, moments after above Attempted Armed Robbery
oIn company of same co-accused
oLocation - streets surrounding Nth Melbourne train station
oWeapon: knife, held by Pitone, demand for cash, $3 taken
oDemand made for phone but not taken by accused
Armed Robbery
oDate of Offence: 22 July 2012
oVictim – female attendant at Coles Express Service Station
oTwo co-accused waited in stolen car, Mr Pitone entered the store with one co-accused
oCo-accused possession of large carving knife, accused had no weapon
oCash stolen from till - $196.05; two packets of cigarettes and assorted confectionary
Affray and Intentionally Cause Injury
oAssault – again, in company 11 May, 2012, park in the city with friends
oVictim punched and kicked whilst on the ground
oVictim - young man
oInjury – pain to head and lacerations to leg
14 years old at the time these offences committed.
For this set of charges:
Placed on a deferral of sentence by a Magistrate in August 2012
By 12 February, 2013, Pitone remanded in YJC – 15 years old
Sentenced in March to 9 months detention in Youth Justice Centre
Third appearance – 12/04/2013
oAppearance whilst serving sentence imposed 7/03/13
oArmed Robbery
oDate of offence – May 2012
oIn company with co-accused
oVictims approached when exiting taxi
oWeapon – machete. All co-accused brandishing weapons.
oDemand for cash and phones from 3 victims
Sentenced to 4 months detention in Youth Justice Centre, 3 months concurrent, 1 month cumulative
Released: 5 August, 2013, a few months after turning 16 years old
Completed parole (5 months) expired 12/12/13 – responded well (report, Wilkinson)
Fourth appearance - 24/04/2014
Probation Order for a 6 months
oOffences less serious (see below)
Completed the order 24/10/2014
| Offence Date | Offence | *Count | Informant | Charge Outcome |
| 28/09/2013 | INTENTIONALLY DAMAGE PROPERTY | 1 | PATRICK STEPHENSEN | Probation with Conviction |
| 28/09/2013 | W/O AUTH/EXCUSE ENTER SCHEDULED PUB PL | 1 | PATRICK STEPHENSEN | Probation with Conviction |
| 21/11/2013 | FAIL TO ANSWER BAIL | 1 | PATRICK STEPHENSEN | Probation with Conviction |
| 3/04/2014 | FAIL TO ANSWER BAIL | 1 | PATRICK STEPHENSEN | Probation with Conviction |
Fifth appearance – 18/08/15
Probation Order for 6 months (in breach of with offences before the Court)
Offences committed between 23/11/14 and 2/03/15
No offences involving violence or threats of violence or use of weapons
Remanded for a period in March, 2015
Bailed to attend and reside at Betal Australia, a residential rehabilitation facility
oLeft the centre in June
oWent back home to family, and continued to be supervised by Youth Justice
oBy all accounts, he was doing very well
oHelping his mother around the house, staying out of trouble and showing signs of stability in the community.
Reflected in sentence imposed by the learned magistrate - Probation on 19/08/15 for 6 months
Offence committed month later
PROBATION ORDER EXPIRED – NO ACTION TAKEN BY YOUTH JUSTICE
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