R v Cowan
[2014] VCC 1248
•6 August 2014
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised (Not) Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-14-00884
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| JACK DAMIEN COWAN |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE PUNSHON | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 4 August 2014 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 6 August 2014 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | R v Cowan | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2014] VCC 1248 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms S.G. MacDougall | OPP |
| For the Accused | Mr P. Bloemen | Pica Criminal Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Jack Damien Cowan, you have pleaded guilty to three charges of armed robbery.
2
The prosecutor, Ms MacDougall, opened the circumstances of the offending. The first armed robbery was on a service station on 19 November 2013. You used a machete and took some steps to disguise yourself. The complainant was slightly injured when the weapon was put to his right cheek. The second armed robbery was on the same service station on 14 December 2013 and you were armed with a machete type knife. The third armed robbery was a
7-Eleven on 15 December 2013 and you were armed with a knife.
3 You were arrested by police later in the day of the third armed robbery, in suspicious circumstances. You were wearing the same clothing on that day as you had at the time of the armed robbery on the previous day. You were quickly identified via CCTV footage, of the two most recent armed robberies. Police searched your home and located clothing, which linked you to the first armed robbery.
4 You made no comment when interviewed, but pleaded guilty shortly before the committal hearing. You must benefit from your pleas of guilty. They save time and expense, as well as avoiding the need for witnesses to give evidence.
5 I accept that you have spoken to your mother who reinforced the vulnerability of victims, pointing out that she had engaged in similar employment to that of the victims. I accept that you expressed remorse to her.
6 No victim impact statements were tendered, however they are not needed to understand the impact of offending such as yours.
7 You have a criminal history. It dates back to early 2007, when you received a Youth Supervision Order for robbery and other offending.
8
You were first detained in a Youth Justice Centre (YJC) in mid-2007. You were also released on probation in October 2007, detained in a Youth Justice Centre for seven days in 2008, and received further probation in October 2008 and May 2010. I sentenced you to 30 months imprisonment, with a
non-parole period of 15 months in June 2011 for armed robbery and theft of a motor car. You were sentenced in the Magistrates Court in August 2011 for robbery and other offending, receiving six months imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the sentence I imposed. You were fined for various offences in August 2013.
9 I will make the Disposal Order sought.
10 Mr Bloemen appeared for you. He tendered extensive written sentencing submissions, as well as two letters of support from your mother and your partner, both of whom attended court to support you. Both of whom are here again today.
11 Your counsel noted that when I sentenced you in June 2011, I noted that you would need help and support when released on parole. I thought work was probably critical to your future and that the risk of you slipping back into undesirable company, drugs and offending was considerable. However, I noted your age and commented that your future was not hopeless.
12 There was nothing particularly prescient about my comments. The court is frequently confronted by offenders whose history is very similar to yours. Unfortunately, the fear of "slipping back into undesirable company", using drugs, and further offending, is just what occurred, in your case, albeit after good progress.
13 You were granted parole in February 2012 and successfully completed parole in May 2013.
14 At the beginning of your parole it seems you were well supervised and supported. You undertook drug screening and counselling. As time passed the supervision and support was reduced. Your father "pulled strings", as your counsel put it, to get you a job.
15 You have two children with your partner, the second being born in April 2013.
16 At about the time of your completion of parole, you began mixing with previous undesirable friends. This caused friction with your partner. You continued your contact with the wrong people and it seems you moved out of your home, because you were in conflict with your partner, who is "very anti-drugs". Your partner had to attend a family funeral in New Zealand. Your youngest child was left in the care of a friend, but you were expected to contribute to the support and care of the child. You did not. On her return, your partner essentially moved in with her parents, ending your relationship of about seven years. By November you had stopped turning up for work. It was in this context of mixing with undesirable influences, using drugs, being out of work and without support, that you committed the armed robberies.
17 You have been in custody since your arrest on 15 December and have now served 234 days in pre-sentence detention.
18 As noted, your mother and partner have returned to support you. Your father, understandably disappointed, has not and your relationship with him remains strained.
19 The written submissions by your counsel summarise the principal features of your background.
20 Your age remains important. You are not yet 23. You are fortunate to have the support of your mother, partner and others. Your ability to complete your parole concerning the previous sentence imposed by me is to your credit. The critical question is whether you will be able to remain crime free when next released from custody. I accept that the burden of worrying about your family whilst in custody will weigh heavily on you.
21 Both your counsel and Ms MacDougall referred to the primary sentencing principles and considerations pertinent to your case. These are uncontroversial.
22 The offending is serious. Both general and specific deterrence are important, as the prosecution submitted and your counsel conceded. It was common ground that I need to also do what is permissible to encourage your rehabilitation. Just punishment and community protection are clearly also important matters. You are still youthful and despite your criminal history, your future is still not hopeless, as I noted it was not the last time you were before me. Much depends on you and your determination to remain drug free on release. You have much to gain if you do and much to lose if you do not.
23 It is clear that only immediate imprisonment can be imposed. The real questions are, how long and what period should be fixed before you are eligible for release on parole.
24 It was agreed that I am able to impose an aggregate sentence. I think this is the appropriate focus.
25 You will be convicted on all three charges and sentenced to an aggregate term of five years imprisonment. I fix three years as the period you must serve before being eligible for release on parole.
26 The 234 days you have served on pre-sentence detention is to be reckoned as time already served under the sentence I have imposed.
27 Had you not pleaded guilty, I expect I would have sentenced you to an aggregate term of about six years and six months imprisonment, and fixed a non-parole period of about four years and six months.
28 You can sit down.
29 Well I might say that I did wonder whether a slightly longer term might be appropriate in your case, but your youth, despite your prior history, still weighs heavily with me.
30 I will hand down the Disposal Orders that I have signed.
31 I will leave the Bench.
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