R v Rajek

[2024] QSC 63

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Rajek [2024] QSC 63

PARTIES:

The King
v
Anthony Daniel Rajek

(Defendant)

FILE NO/S:

137/23

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Sentence

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court of Queensland

DELIVERED ON:

16 February 2024

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

16 February 2024

JUDGE:

Callaghan J

ORDER:

1.   Order that the defendant be convicted and imprisoned for a period of 13 years and six months.

2. Order that the offence be declared a serious violent offence pursuant to s 161B of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld).

3.   Order that the period served between 16 January 2022 and 15 February 2024, that being a period of 761 days, to be time served under the sentence.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – PARTICULAR OFFENCES – OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON – ACTS INTENDED TO CAUSE OR CAUSING DANGER TO LIFE OR BODILY HARM OR SERIOUS INJURY – SENTENCE – where the defendant was charged with attempted murder – where the defendant had pleaded guilty to alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm – where the jury convicted the defendant of attempted murder – where the offence was committed with no previous interaction with victim – where the offender had suffered some childhood trauma– where the offender was not diagnosed with any mental illness – where the offender was not intoxicated at the time of offending – interaction of serious violent offences scheme with other sentencing principles

COUNSEL:

D. Kovac for the Prosecution

N. Brown for the Defence

SOLICITORS:

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, for the Prosecution
Lewis Hunter of Guest Lawyers for the Defence

1. Mr Rajek, this will take a while so you can stay seated for the moment.  I will tell you when you can stand up.

2. In January 2022, you were still just 21 years of age.  You were gainfully employed; in fact, working two jobs.  You had good relations with your colleagues.  To them and to the rest of the world you no doubt presented as an industrious and law‑abiding young man, but there was a hidden side to your existence.  Your work was tiring so you were using cocaine and methamphetamine.  Having lived with your grandmother for most of your life, you had just leased and moved into an apartment in the Brisbane CBD.  It was barely furnished.  The impression is that you were leading an unusual and spartan existence.

3. At some stage you acquired the fearsome knife which is exhibit 5.  Shortly after 3:20 am on 16 January you emerged from that apartment armed with that knife.  Notwithstanding its size, you were able to conceal it.  A facemask of a kind that is admittedly common these days concealed your identity.  However, your movements were captured on video cameras that record activity on the city streets.  You made your way to perhaps the most central and continuously populated area of the city, where the Queen Street and Albert Street malls intersect.  There was apparent purpose to your movement.

4. As you…