R v Murray
[2013] VCC 722
•24 May 2013
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT WANGARATTA
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-13-00723
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| DALE MURRAY |
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JUDGE: | His Honour Judge Leckie | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | ||
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 24 May 2013 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | R v. Murray | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2019] VCC 722 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Catchwords:
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | Mr A. Moore | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr G.Clancy |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Dale Kevin Murray, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a drug of dependence, four charges of possess a drug of dependence and one charge of dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime. The maximum penalty for these offences are as follows; trafficking in a drug of dependence, 15 years imprisonment, possession of a drug of dependence, 5 years imprisonment, dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime, 15 years imprisonment.
2 A description of your offending is set out in the agreed outline of the prosecution opening which became Exhibit A. My summary is as follows:
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On 14 January 2012, police executed a warrant on your motel room in Wangaratta. They also searched your car. They found a range of different drugs, a large amount of cash, scales and deal bags. Six bags contained 126 grams of methamphetamine, purity ranging from six to seven per cent, a traffickable quantity being three grams, form the circumstances relating to Charge 1. 2.9 grams of cannabis which was found form the Charge 2,
30 tablets of Diazepam, a medication being a total less than two grams form Charge 3, a quantity of Seroquel tablets in packets form Charge 4, two quantities of LSD or lysergic acid in a quantity of less than 50 milligrams form Charge 6, and $4,350 in cash, which was suspected of being the proceeds of crime, form Charge 5. When interviewed by police you largely made no comment although you did admit that some material was "speed”.
4 These are serious offences, particularly the trafficking and dealing with proceeds of crime. You had much of the paraphernalia necessary for trafficking and using drugs, as is shown in the photographs which were part of the depositions. I accept your counsel's submission that you should be characterised as a low level, or street level, trafficker.
5 There are some mitigating circumstances. You have pleaded guilty and I take that into account in your favour. Pleas such as this save the community the time and cost of a trial and of course witnesses the ordeal of giving evidence before a court. You indicated at an earlier stage in the proceedings that you would plead guilty and consequently there was an uncontested committal hearing. The matter was originally set for hearing in the Magistrates' Court but some delay was occasioned by the fact that the learned Magistrate directed the matter be sent onto the County Court. Both counsel informed me that this caused a significant delay and I take that into account as a mitigating factor.
6 You are now 32 years of age, having been brought up in the Shepparton and Wangaratta regions. You have two brothers and there was nothing unusual about your upbringing. Your parents, however, separated when you were about 18 years old and at this stage you started to develop a serious problem with alcohol and drugs. This is clearly reflected in your criminal history which commenced around 1998 or 1999 with convictions for being a minor in possession of liquor and drunk in a public place.
7 You completed Year 9 at the Wangaratta Technical School and then worked in cattle yards alongside your father on and off until 2005. You had a particularly close relationship with your father. You have been in a relationship with a young woman for about two years and she has been visiting you whilst you have been in custody and your hope is that you will be able to maintain this relationship upon your release from custody.
8 You have admitted before me to prior convictions. There are on my counting some 35 convictions arising from 18 court appearances between 1995 and 2005. You have been placed on community based orders a number of times and suspended sentences, but apart from a sentence of three months imprisonment that you served for driving whilst disqualified in New South Wales, you have not as I understand previously been incarcerated.
9 Much of your offending involved the abuse of alcohol and it is notable that apart from a conviction in 2005 in Albury, for supplying a prohibited drug ,you do not have a bad record for drug offending. The amount of drug involved in that particular matter of 2005, I was informed, was a small quantity.
10 The criminal record that was filed, and which you admitted, recorded a conviction on 05/05/2005 in Albury. It stated that you received 15 months imprisonment with a minimum of nine months for supplying a prohibited drug. But this record is deficient, the prosecution conceding that the sentence was suspended upon you entering upon a bond for 15 months with the conditions for treatment for alcohol and substance abuse. I should note that I have now attached a sheet from what appears to be a criminal history from New South Wales, which was provided by the defence, to the criminal history which the prosecution filed with the court so that the record is complete.
11 That conviction and what followed has significance as you ceased offending in 2005 and appear to have commenced a period of rehabilitation. However, this came to an end with your offending in January 2012 which resulted in these charges. Your counsel informed me that between 2005 and early 2011 you had gone to Western Australia and worked in the mining industry, and also as a fencing contractor. However, you sustained a serious injury to your back and could not continue in either employment so you had to return to Victoria. This is evidenced in reports from the Wangaratta Medical Centre and also from the court integrated services program which became Exhibit 1 on the plea. The medical report also stated that you have been treated for anxiety and panic attacks and depression
12 In November 2011 your father committed suicide and as you were very close to your father this event caused you considerable grief and it left you depressed, angry and distressed, according to Dr Clement's report. It was during this period of your life that you relapsed into drug abuse and to deal with your problem, this led to you trafficking drugs to support your growing need for the drugs which was then developing. I accept there was a link between the event of your father's suicide and your re-offending.
13 After being charged with these offences you were released on bail. However, it would appear you were still having difficulty with drugs. You re-offended, your bail was revoked. Those matters are still outstanding but you have been in custody ever since. Whilst being in custody you have undertaken a course on drug and alcohol rehabilitation and have, I am told, remained drug free.
14 Your chances of rehabilitation are somewhat difficult to assess. You have a poor record and have been provided with many opportunities to get assistance and overcome your problems. This appears was with little success until 2005 when you seemed to accept the help and then remained out of trouble for some seven years. The relapse occurs, I have said in my view, because you were out of work due to your injured back and the tragic death of your father.
15 In these circumstances it is my judgment that you have reasonable chances of rehabilitation and that should be encouraged by accepting your counsel's submission that a longer than usual period of parole be ordered. The prosecution, fairly in my view, do not oppose this submission. However, I must take into account deterrence. Especially general deterrence which is of considerable importance in cases such as this, where although you may be at the lower end of the distribution chain you were a distributor in a provincial centre.
16 In light of your record specific deterrence is also a relevant consideration. I must consider the protection of members of the community from you and bear in mind the possibility of your re-offending. The Sentencing Act calls upon me to manifest the community's denunciation of your conduct and generally impose a just punishment. The seriousness of your offending, in light of your prior history, leaves no alternative in my view to an immediate term of imprisonment. Your counsel submitted that I should impose a sentence which result in your immediate release. In my judgment, the matter is too serious for that course.
17 Would you stand up please? The sentence of the court is that you are convicted of all charges. On Charge 1, trafficking of a drug of dependence, you are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment; Charge 2, possession of cannabis, you are sentenced to one month imprisonment; Charge 3, possess Diazepam, you are sentenced to one month imprisonment; Charge 4, possess Seroquel you are sentenced to one month imprisonment; Charge 5, deal with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime, you are sentenced to six months imprisonment; on Charge 6, possession of lysergic acid, you are sentenced to one month imprisonment.
18 A head sentence is Charge 1 which is 18 months imprisonment. I order that two weeks of the sentence on Counts 2, 3, 4 and 6, and four months of the sentence on Charge 5, be served cumulatively on each other and upon the sentence imposed on Charge 1. The total effective sentence is 24 months imprisonment. I order that you serve a minimum of 14 months before being eligible for parole.
19 I declare that 374 days detention already undergone be reckoned as having been served under the sentence here I have imposed. It is further directed that this declaration and its details be entered in the records of the court. Pursuant to s.6AAA of The Sentencing Act I state that but for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a sentence of 30 months with a minimum of 20 months. I have made orders relating to the forfeiture of the items that were discovered in your possession. I have also ordered that you provide a forensic sample, being a buccal swab.
20 I am bound to inform you that should you not comply with the provision of such a sample, a properly authorised police officer may use reasonable force to obtain the sample. I do not expect that to be a problem in your case. All you will be asked to do is to provide a buccal swab which is you open your mouth and they take a swab with a small stick with a bit of floss on the end and they store that as your DNA on the record so that it will be there for future reference. Do you understand?
21 PRISONER: Yes, Your Honour.
22 HIS HONOUR: You may be seated. Gentlemen, is there anything arising?
23 MR CLANCY: No, Your Honour.
24 MR MOORE: No, Your Honour.
25 HIS HONOUR: The calculations in relation to accumulation appear to be correct?
26 MR MOORE: No, that's correct Your Honour.
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