R v Biddle
[2018] ACTSC 247
•21 June 2018
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Case Title: | R v Biddle |
Citation: | [2018] ACTSC 247 |
Hearing Date: | 22 May 2018 |
DecisionDate: | 21 June 2018 |
Before: | Burns J |
Decision: | See [14]-[21] |
Catchwords: | CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Judgment and Punishment – Sentence – aggravated burglary – theft – four offences of obtaining property by deception – one offence of taking a motor vehicle without consent – drive whilst disqualified as a repeat offender – criminal history – co-offender – Pre-Sentence Report – Intensive Corrections Order Assessment Report – pleas of guilty – age – prospects for rehabilitation |
Legislation Cited: | Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT) s 68E |
Parties: | The Queen (Crown) Bradley Biddle (Offender) |
Representation: | Counsel Ms A Jamieson-Williams (Crown) Mr J Stewart (Offender) |
| Solicitors ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) ACT Legal Aid (Offender) | |
File Numbers: | SCC 35 of 2018; SCC 36 of 2018 |
BURNS J:
Bradley Biddle, you appear before me today for sentence with respect to a number of offences which occurred on 21 September 2017. Those offences are:
· one offence of aggravated burglary (CC2017/11449) carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, a fine of $300,000 or both;
· one offence of theft (CC2018/1145) carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of $150,000 or both;
· four offences of obtaining property by deception (CC2017/12797; CC2017/12798; CC2017/12799; CC2017/12800), each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of $150,000 or both; and
· one offence of taking a motor vehicle without consent (CC2017/11713) which carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, a fine of $75,000 or both.
These offences were committed for sentence from the Magistrates Court after pleas of guilty were entered on 1 February and 1 March 2018. In addition, a further charge of driving whilst disqualified as a repeat offender (CC2018/2379) on 21 September 2017 was transferred to this Court pursuant to s 68E of the Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT). The maximum penalty for that offence is 12 months' imprisonment, a fine of $15,000 or both. In addition there is an automatic disqualification of licence for a period of 24 months.
On 21 September 2017, you and your co-offender, Rebecca Parlov, committed a burglary at premises in O'Malley in the ACT. You and your co-offender stole a number of items from the house and also took a car. You and your co-offender then used the stolen credit cards which were taken to make a number of purchases shortly after the aggravated burglary. On 2 November 2016, you were disqualified from driving for a period of 18 months in the Magistrates Court. Part of the property taken from the premises in O'Malley was, as I have said, a motor vehicle which you drove away from the scene. That is the basis of the charge of driving whilst disqualified. The total value of the property stolen in the course of the aggravated burglary was $42,578.83. The motor vehicle taken from the premises in O'Malley was subsequently recovered but had suffered significant damage. I note that it is not alleged that you were responsible for causing that damage. Some property was later recovered, but it appears the property of very significant value was never recovered.
At the time of the commission of these offences you were subject to a 12 month Good Behaviour Order for an offence of unlicensed driving imposed on 2 November 2016. You have been held in custody with regard to these matters since 1 February this year.
You have a very significant criminal history including convictions for multiple offences of burglary and aggravated burglary and theft. You have served previous terms of imprisonment for offences of dishonesty. Sadly, your previous criminal history disentitles you to any leniency in sentencing for the current offences. I note that your criminal history is significantly worse than that of your co-offender.
A Pre-Sentence Report dated 11 December 2017 and an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) Assessment Report dated 2 March 2018 were tendered at your sentence hearing. You are currently 21 years old and you grew up in regional Western Australia. You had a dysfunctional childhood characterised by abuse, neglect and lack of parental supervision. You never knew your father, and your mother's partners were abusive. Your mother suffered from a severe mental illness brought on by a long history of illicit substance abuse. You reported good relationships with your mother and your sister, although there appears to have been very limited contact with them since you have been held in custody. You are not currently in a relationship and you have no dependants. You attended formal education until Year 7, but your education was marred by your non-attendance, suspension, and your family's itinerant lifestyle. Whilst [redacted] you completed Year 10.
You have a history of intermittent employment, with your longest period of employment being three months. You have previously been employed in the construction industry as a labourer, and you also commenced apprenticeships as a bricklayer and a butcher, but you did not complete those apprenticeships. Prior to being remanded in custody you were in receipt of Youth Allowance.
Your social circle is primarily antisocial, although you reported having one friend who has had no contact with the criminal justice system. You told the author of the most recent report that you have no intention to recommence socialising with many of these friends when you are released from custody.
You have a long history of illicit substance abuse which commenced in your early teens and was associated with your mother's inability to parent and care for you. You reported that you were abstinent from illicit drugs for a period of time when you lived in Queensland, but you recommenced substantial methamphetamine use when you moved to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). You were subject to urinalysis testing in custody on 19 February 2018, which returned a negative result to illicit substances and alcohol. You expressed a willingness to be drug free and to attend and complete a residential rehabilitation program. You made an application to Triple Care Farm, but were unable to progress that application as you were in custody in the ACT. You told the authors of the reports that you were in pursuit of drugs or under the influence of drugs at the time that you committed these offences. The author of the ICO Assessment Report reported that you displayed victim empathy and awareness. You were assessed as at high risk of re-offending due to your drug and alcohol abuse, antisocial peers, unemployment and financial issues. You have a previous history of non-compliance with community based orders.
10. At the sentence hearing on 22 May 2018 you gave evidence [redacted]. You said that the reason that you committed these offences was in order to fund your drug use. You said that you have not used drugs during the period that you have been held in custody, and that you have completed programs, including the Solaris Therapeutic Community Program, which you described as being very beneficial. You said that when you are released from custody you want to complete the four month program at Triple Care Farm in order to learn relapse prevention skills. You then plan to get employment and look after your mother, who is apparently not well. You expressed regret for your offences. You stated that being held in the AMC had convinced you that your lifestyle is not one that you want to lead.
11. I take into account your pleas of guilty, which were early pleas. The Crown submitted that I should not allow any significant discount for your pleas of guilty because the case against you was overwhelmingly strong. I accept that the prosecution case against you was strong, but it was not so strong as to deprive you of an entitlement to a significant discount for your pleas of guilty. I will reduce by approximately 25 per cent the sentences I would otherwise have imposed in order to reflect your pleas of guilty.
12. I see no significant difference between yourself and your co-offender with regard to your individual culpability for these offences, with the exception of the offence of taking a motor vehicle without consent. Your co-offender was charged with an offence of riding in that motor vehicle without consent. As the person who actually took the vehicle your culpability is slightly higher than that of your co-offender. It is true that you have a more significant criminal history, but you have also come from a far more deprived background, which was not a circumstance with regard to your co-offender.
13. As I have said, with regard to your co-offender the circumstances which are relevant to determining the objective seriousness of the offence of aggravated burglary are that you entered the premises at 7.30 am on 21 September 2017, a time when it may be expected that residents would be present, and there was in fact one young female resident present in a bedroom during the course of the offence. It is clear from the victim impact statement tendered by the prosecution that she has been traumatised by discovering that you and your co-offender entered the premises while she was in bed. I note also that the value of the property which was taken was very considerable. I accept that with regard to the offences of obtaining property by deception the value of the goods in each case was not substantial. I take into account that all of the offences occurred on the same day, and within a very close period of time. I give significant weight to your age. Despite your lengthy criminal history your youth requires me to give close consideration to your prospects for rehabilitation. At present your prospects must be seen as guarded, although it is heartening to observe that you appear to have taken steps to address drug abuse while in custody, and you have expressed a desire to continue to seek assistance once you have been released. I note, of course, that this is the first occasion [redacted].
Sentence
14. With regard to the offence of aggravated burglary, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to two years and three months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 February 2018 and expiring on 30 April 2020.
With regard to the offence of theft, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to 13 months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 October 2019 and expiring on 31 October 2020.
16. With regard to the charge of taking a motor vehicle without consent, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 August 2020 and expiring on 31 January 2021.
17. With regard to each of the four charges of obtaining property by deception, I record convictions, and on each matter you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 November 2020 and expiring on 30 April 2021.
18. With regard to the offence of driving whilst disqualified, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to three months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 March 2021 and expiring on 31 May 2021. You will also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for a period of two years, commencing today.
19. The aggregate sentence which I have imposed is therefore one of three years and four months' imprisonment, commencing on 1 February 2018 and expiring on 31 May 2021.
20. I set a non-parole period of 20 months, commencing on 1 February 2018 and expiring on 30 September 2019.
21. With respect to the breach of the Good Behaviour Order, I will direct that no further action be taken with regard to the breach.
| I certify that the preceding twenty-one [21] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Sentence his Honour Justice Burns. Associate: Date: 17 September 2018 |
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