R v Lucas

Olivia Toby Frances Lucas and Verdun Ashley Perry were charged with the manslaughter and assault with intent to rob of Arran Gairns. The Crown alleged that the pair conspired with others to rob Mr Gairns of methamphetamine, which resulted in his death. The court was required to determine the appropriate sentences for the pair. The sentencing judge found that both the manslaughter and the assault with intent to rob involved actual or threatened violence. The court noted that the offending was premeditated and planned, and that the victim was vulnerable, in part due to being outnumbered and lured to an isolated location under the pretence of a drug transaction. The court held that there were no mitigating factors relating to the offending, but that neither defendant intended for Mr Gairns to die. The court sentenced Olivia to three years, seven months’ imprisonment for manslaughter and two and a half years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to rob, to run concurrently. Verdun was sentenced to the same term of imprisonment.