R v Sultani - [2024] NSWSC 338

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Sultani [2024] NSWSC 338
Hearing dates: 27 and 28 March 2024
Decision date: 05 April 2024
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Ierace J
Decision:
The offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a period of 31 years 6 months, commencing on 20 May 2020 and expiring on 19 November 2051, with a non-parole period of 23 years, to expire on 19 May 2043.

Catchwords: SENTENCING – Murder – Context of organised criminal activity – Where offender and deceased known to each other through mutual involvement in outlaw motorcycle gang – Where offender shot deceased with an intention to kill – Where circumstances of killing contested
Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 18(1)(a)
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 21A(2)(n), 22A, 25D(4), 61(1)

Cases Cited:
DH v R [2022] NSWCCA 200
R v Sultani [2023] NSWSC 645
R v Sultani; R v Munshizada; R v Baines; R v Danishyar [2021] NSWSC 1654
R v Walker [2023] NSWCCA 219

Category: Sentence
Parties: Rex
Abuzar Sultani (Offender)
Representation:
Counsel:
Mr D Scully SC (Crown)
Mr P Johnson (Offender)
Solicitors:
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
John B Hajje & Associates (Offender)

File Number(s): 2020/150163

JUDGMENT

HIS HONOUR: On 30 January 2024, Abuzar Sultani (the offender) pleaded guilty to a charge that between 22 and 27 June 2015 he murdered Mark Easter (the deceased) contrary to s 18(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The plea of guilty was entered a week before the trial was set to commence.
The offender is 35 years old. At the time of his arrest on 29 November 2016, he was the leader of a criminal gang that had operated for a period of about three years. He is currently serving three sentences of life imprisonment and three determinate sentences of imprisonment for offences committed in that period.
This is the offender’s fifth conviction for the offence of murder and the second in time of those offences. The first was the murder of Nikola Srbin on 16 May 2013, for which he was sentenced by Hamill J on 13 June 2023 to 20 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 years: R v Sultani [2023] NSWSC 645. His culpability was on the basis of extended joint criminal enterprise, the deceased having been fatally assaulted by a group organised by the offender to “beat up” Mr Srbin. His Honour found that the motive was not apparent, but was “most likely to warn off rival drug dealers from treating his associate or runner ill”.
For the other three murders, the offender was sentenced by Fagan J on 17 December 2021 to terms of life imprisonment: R v Sultani; R v Munshizada; R v Baines; R v Danishyar [2021] NSWSC 1654. Fagan J found that all three offences were pre-planned and committed with the participation of members of his gang.
The third murder in time was of Michael Davey, who was shot…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Sultani

Details

AGLC: R v Sultani [2024] NSWSC 338
Case: [2024] NSWSC 338
Decision Date: 05 April 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The court heard a case involving the defendant, Sultani, who was convicted of murdering another man, known to him through their shared involvement in an outlaw motorcycle gang. The nature of their relationship and the circumstances surrounding the killing were heavily contested. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The primary issue before the court was whether the killing was part of an ongoing feud between rival factions within the gang, or if it was a personal vendetta. Additionally, the court had to consider the broader context of organised criminal activity in which both parties were involved.

The court carefully considered the evidence presented regarding the circumstances of the killing. It examined the relationship between the offender and the deceased, their history within the gang, and the motives behind the shooting. The court was particularly focused on determining the offender's state of mind at the time of the killing and whether it was premeditated. The defence argued that the killing was in self-defence or in response to threats from the deceased, while the prosecution maintained that it was a deliberate act of murder within the context of organised criminal activity.

After thorough deliberation, the court found that the offender had indeed shot the deceased with the intention to kill. The court rejected the defence's claims of self-defence, finding instead that the killing was premeditated and occurred within the context of the gang's activities. The court emphasised the need to address the scourge of organised criminal activity and the violence that often accompanies it. It sentenced Sultani to life imprisonment, reflecting the gravity of the offence and the circumstances in which it was committed.

Orders