R v Walters - [2002] QCA 76

[2002] QCA 76

COURT OF APPEAL

McMURDO P
WILLIAMS JA
MUIR J

CA No 342 of 2001

THE QUEEN

DARRELL CHRISTOPHER WALTERS

BRISBANE

..DATE 14/03/2002

JUDGMENT

THE PRESIDENT: The applicant pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful possession of a motor vehicle with a circumstance of aggravation and two counts of fraud with a circumstance of aggravation in the Southport District Court. He was sentenced to an effective term of three years' imprisonment with the recommendation for parole after 12 months. He contends the sentence was manifestly excessive.

In January 1999 interstate detectives began Operation Ancient, targeted at offenders re-identifying stolen vehicles.

On 23 January 1999 police found a Ford Fairlane without vehicle identification plates at Tojo Wrecking, Currumbin.
The vehicle was sold to them by the applicant. The applicant was spoken to by police but declined to be interviewed. He did, however, consent to a search of his shed and home. Items located in the search, Queensland Transport records and forensic examination of vehicles in the possession of the applicant or recently sold by him to innocent third parties resulted in the charges on the indictment. Police recovered four stolen vehicles either with false identification plates or without vehicle identification plates.

A Holden Commodore VP was stolen on 12 May 1998 from Miami. The insurance payout was $18,000. One month later the complainant noticed his vehicle with a "for sale" sign on it outside a West Burleigh shop. It now had a different registration number. He met with the applicant who was selling the vehicle. On inspection he noted the vehicle identification plate was missing and the compliance plates gone. The applicant named a selling price of $15,500 but said he was prepared to drop to $13,000 to effect a sale. He told the complainant he had other vehicles for sale if this did not suit.

The complainant notified police, who, in turn, made inquiries with the Transport Department, which revealed that the applicant had effected new registration of the vehicle by pretending the vehicle was a former wreck. The applicant had bought that wreck legitimately and subsequently transferred its engine numbers to the stolen vehicle and registered the stolen vehicle as the wreck. These facts constituted count 1.
Count 2 involved the prisoner on selling that car for $13,000 to an innocent third party.

On the 20th November 1998 a blue Commodore S Pack Sedan was stolen from a Currumbin car yard. Its insurance payout was $14,245. A blue Commodore with a different registration number was written off in a road accident, the wreck was sold to the prisoner in September 1998, and it was in his possession, with vehicle identification plates removed, when police searched his shed. The applicant sold a blue Commodore to a Currumbin car yard on 18 December 1998, maintaining that it was a wrecked vehicle when it was in fact a stolen vehicle. These facts constituted count 3.

Count 4 occurred in this way. A Ford Fairlane was stolen from Boronia Heights…

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 Walters

Details

AGLC: R v Walters [2002] QCA 76
Case: [2002] QCA 76
Decision Date: 14/03/2002

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of the Queen versus Darrell Christopher Walters, the appellant contested the sentence imposed by the Southport District Court, arguing it was manifestly excessive. The applicant pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful possession of a motor vehicle with an aggravating circumstance and two counts of fraud with an aggravating circumstance. The court was tasked with determining whether the sentence was appropriate given the nature of the offenses and the appellant's background. The court examined the details of the offenses, which involved the re-identification and sale of stolen vehicles, causing a significant financial loss to the victims. The appellant's lack of prior convictions and his efforts towards rehabilitation were considered mitigating factors, but the court found that the sentence was appropriate given the seriousness of the offenses and the need for deterrence. The Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence, concluding that it was not manifestly excessive and dismissed the appeal.

Orders