R v Paul Edward Dumas

[2016] NSWDC 165

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Paul Edward Dumas [2016] NSWDC 165

Hearing dates:

10 August 2016

Decision date:

12 August 2016

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Mahony SC DCJ

Decision:

Full-time custodial sentence. For orders see [47]

Catchwords:

Supply prohibited drug; indictable quantity of heroin

Legislation Cited:

Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act 1989
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1986

Cases Cited:

Fitzpatrick v R [2010] NSWCCA 26
Pearce v R (1998) 194 CLR 610
R v Hemsley [2004] NSWCCA 228
R v Wong [1999] NSWCCA 420
Veen v R No. 2 (1998) 164 CLR 465

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Paul Edward Dumas (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel:

B Queenan (Crown)
R Jankowski (Offender)

 

File Number(s):

15/208928

Publication restriction:

Nil

REMARKS ON SENTENCE

1. The offender was committed for sentence on 3 November 2015 from Taree Local Court. He entered a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity to one count of supply prohibited drug of greater than indictable quantity, namely, heroin, pursuant to s 25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1986 (“DMTA”).

2. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and/or 2,000 penalty units. The offender has also asked that three drug possession charges be dealt with on a Form 1.

3. The offender has spent one month and 27 days in custody since his arrest on 16 July 2015.

The sentence hearing

4. The sentence hearing took place on 10 August 2016. The Crown bundle became Ex A. It contained a Statement of Agreed Facts relating to the supply by the offender of heroin between 2 June 2015 and 5 July 2015, during which a total quantity of 8.55 grams of heroin was supplied to two co‑offenders, namely, Craig Plane and Sarah Bowman. The drug was supplied in a total of 285 caps containing approximately 0.03 grams per cap.

5. The Agreed Facts may be summarised as follows. In January 2015 a special operation team targeted the supply of heroin by Mr Plane and Ms Bowman in Taree. A telecommunications interception warrant was granted in relation to a telephone service used by the co-offenders, and during the period of the warrant, the offender was identified as a person supplying heroin to them for on‑supply. Surveillance of the co-offenders revealed that the offender was one of two suppliers to his co-offenders. Conversations were recorded in which the offender discussed supply of heroin with his co‑offenders. On each occasion of supply, the offender delivered 50 caps to the co‑offenders and on each occasion they would pay him for 40 caps. The co‑offenders would then retain the profit made by them for the remaining 10 caps. For each supply the offender received $2,000.00. The arrangement was in place for a number of months. Relevantly, supplies took place on 3 June 2015 (50 caps), 18 June 2015 (150 caps), 5 July 2015 (85 caps), amounting to a total of 285 caps.

6. Following his arrest on 16 July 2015, a search warrant was…