R v Aitken - [2012] NZHC 2901

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND CHRISTCHURCH REGISTRY

CRI 2010-009-008952 [2012] NZHC 2901

REGINA

v

GEMMA LOUISE AITKEN

Hearing: 1 November 2012

Counsel: B Hawes and N Robson for Crown
S J Shamy for Prisoner

Judgment: 1 November 2012

SENTENCING REMARKS OF WHATA J

[1] Ms Aitken you have pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to manufacture a Class A controlled drug (methamphetamine). The maximum penalty for this offending is 14 years imprisonment.

Wider background

[2] You were charged with several other accused in relation to this offending, including Mr Newton, Mr Situ, and others. It is now clear that Mr Newton was a central figure in a methamphetamine enterprise. It is equally clear to me however that you played a very minor role in this enterprise. Indeed your role was limited to providing assistance to find properties for drug related purposes, permitting premises that you occupied to be used for storing drug items and manufacturing
methamphetamine and acting as a gofer for Mr Newton. Nevertheless you resided

R V AITKEN HC CHCH CRI 2010-009-008952 [1 November 2012]

with Mr Newton in an apartment at 6/32 Cashel Street and you were present when a search warrant was executed there. Quantities of methamphetamine and drug related items were found, including 81 grams of methamphetamine, scales, large numbers of gram deal bags and point bags, cash of $22,100 and cannabis. Given your limited role, it is not necessary for me to detail the facts of the methamphetamine enterprise, other than to observe that a significant quantity of methamphetamine was found at four different addresses, all linked in some way to Mr Newton, and that various types of substances containing pseudoephedrine were also located at four addresses.

Personal circumstances

[3] I now turn to your personal circumstances. You are 28 years old and the mother of a six year old daughter. You currently live alone and share care for your child with the father. You have a stable and caring extended family. You have recently received an offer of employment in a real estate firm and by this sentencing date I understand you will have completed your university studies for the year. You have also enrolled in summer school at the university and the course will run for the summer break between the hours of 9.30 am and 11.30 am, Monday to Friday. You are also engaged in a running group three times a week.

Pre-sentence report

[4] The pre-sentence report helpfully provides some insight into your background, including your relationship with Mr Newton. You described it as a short lived and turbulent relationship. At the interview you indicated that you were medicated for anxiety and depression, both of which you state became prominent following your arrest. Self reported alcohol, gambling and drug tests were undertaken at interview and these revealed no harmful pattern of abuse in the past 12 months. You said that you had been addicted to P for a couple of years between
2008 and 2011, reportedly spending…

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 Aitken

Details

AGLC: R v Aitken [2012] NZHC 2901
Case: [2012] NZHC 2901
Decision Date: 1 November 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the High Court of New Zealand, Christchurch Registry, the case of Regina v Gemma Louise Aitken was heard on 1 November 2012. Ms Aitken had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture a Class A controlled drug, methamphetamine, and faced a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. Ms Aitken was part of a larger methamphetamine operation, but her role was minor, limited to providing assistance in finding properties for drug-related purposes and permitting her premises to be used for storing drug items and manufacturing methamphetamine. She was also present when a search warrant was executed at her residence, where quantities of methamphetamine and drug-related items were found.

The court had to determine the appropriate sentence for Ms Aitken, taking into account her limited role in the methamphetamine enterprise, her personal circumstances, and the mitigating factors presented. Ms Aitken was 28 years old, the mother of a six-year-old daughter, and had recently received an offer of employment and completed her university studies. The court also considered the pre-sentence report, which revealed that Ms Aitken had no history of previous offending, had actively sought counseling for drug and alcohol abuse, and was assessed at low risk of reoffending and moderate risk of harm to others. Based on these factors and the purposes and principles of the Sentencing Act 2002, the court imposed a sentence of eight months' home detention, with specific conditions attached.

The court acknowledged Ms Aitken's limited role in the methamphetamine enterprise and her diminished culpability due to her domestic relationship with Mr Newton, who played a dominant and at times violent role towards her. The court also considered Ms Aitken's guilty plea, which warranted a 15% discount, and her strong prospects of rehabilitation. The court found that home detention was appropriate given the nature of Ms Aitken's offending and her personal circumstances, and it allowed her to continue her studies during this period.

Orders