The State of Western Australia v ADS

In this case, the respondent was convicted on his pleas of guilty of four offences. All of the offending occurred on 4 September 2019 and involved the respondent unlawfully detaining and assaulting an elderly firearms dealer and stealing a large quantity of firearms and ammunition. The State appealed against the sentences imposed by Davis DCJ in the District Court, contending that the individual sentences for counts 1, 2 and 3 were manifestly inadequate and that the total effective sentence infringed the first limb of the totality principle. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the sentencing decision, including the sentences imposed by Davis DCJ. The Court exercised its discretion to resentence the respondent. The Court imposed a new total effective sentence of 9 years' imprisonment, backdated to 21 December 2019, with a parole eligibility order.