R v Morunga - [2013] NZHC 1935

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

CRI-2013-055-001466 [2013] NZHC 1935

THE QUEEN

v

ALFRED WILLIAM MORUNGA

Charges:

Plea:

Possession of cannabis for supply

Guilty

Appearances: E Rutherford for Crown
R Treloar for Prisoner

Sentenced: 2 August 2013

SENTENCING NOTES OF VENNING J

Solicitors: Crown Solicitor, Auckland
Public Defence Service, Auckland

R v MORUNGA [2013] NZHC 1935 [2 August 2013]

[1] Alfred William Morunga, you are for sentence in this Court having pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for supply. The District Court Judge declined jurisdiction. The maximum penalty in this Court for your offending is eight years’ imprisonment.

[2] On 21 February this year the police executed a search warrant at your home address in Papakura. You were at the address when the police arrived. When they arrived they saw you throw an item from the back porch over to the neighbour’s property. The police recovered a large M&M tin from the property of your neighbour that had 18 tinfoil cannabis tinnies inside it. Inside the tinfoil packages was approximately 18.9 grams of cannabis material. When you were spoken to you admitted you had thrown the tin over the fence. You said you were selling cannabis to people you knew.

[3] I have to say the probation report is not particularly positive. At the age of 50 you are unemployed. You have not been in paid employment for the last eight years. However, you consider you are respected by the youth in your neighbourhood. You say you do domestic chores for friends and have been involved in coaching sports.

[4] At the time of your offending you were serving a sentence of home detention for accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and participating in an organised criminal group. You were also serving a community work service sentence for drug related offending including possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. A protection order was made against you in September last year. The children protected by the order are in your partner’s care.

[5] After the protection order was made, you and your partner have attended counselling which focuses on living without violence, anger management and relationship counselling. You say that that has opened your eyes to what a better life could be. The probation officer notes you currently have supervised visits with your daughter. I have received material that has been referred to the Court from your family. That is supportive of you.

[6] In sentencing you, however, this Court is required to take into account the purposes and principles of the Sentencing Act. In this case the particularly relevant
factors are:

to make you accept responsibility for your offending;

to deter you and others from offending in this way;

to denounce this sort of offending. Drug offending, even at a relatively low level, has the potential to impact on the community because it makes drugs
available to vulnerable members of the community;

[7] The Court is also required to consider your rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

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 Morunga

Details

AGLC: R v Morunga [2013] NZHC 1935
Case: [2013] NZHC 1935
Decision Date: 2 August 2013

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Alfred William Morunga has been sentenced in the High Court of New Zealand after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis for supply. The maximum penalty for this offence is eight years' imprisonment. The police executed a search warrant at Morunga's home in Papakura, where they found cannabis packaged in foil tins. Morunga admitted to throwing the tins over the fence to his neighbour and confessed to selling cannabis to people he knew. The court was required to consider the purposes and principles of the Sentencing Act, including making Morunga accept responsibility for his actions, deterring him and others from similar offending, and denouncing this sort of offending. The court also had to consider his rehabilitation and reintegration into the community, the gravity of the offending, and relevant authorities to ensure consistency with other sentences imposed for similar offending. The Crown suggested a starting point of two years' imprisonment, while the defence argued for a community-based sentence. The court accepted the starting point of 18 months' imprisonment, adding an uplift of three months for the fact that this offending occurred while Morunga was subject to other sentences of the court. The court took into account Morunga's personal mitigating factors, such as his recent completion of Stopping Violence and parenting programmes, but noted that these did not address his drug-related offending. The court fixed the reduction at 20% for Morunga's plea and acknowledgement of his offending, which was not entered at the earliest opportunity. The final sentence was 16 months' imprisonment. The court considered other sentencing options, such as home detention and supervision and community work, but ultimately decided that imprisonment was the only appropriate option given the nature and extent of Morunga's offending.

In conclusion, Alfred William Morunga has been sentenced to imprisonment for one year and four months for possession of cannabis for supply. On release, he is to attend an alcohol and drug assessment and any other assessments for counselling or programmes as directed by his probation officer and to complete any programmes to the satisfaction of the probation officer and programme provider. This condition is to expire on the sentence expiry date. There will also be an order for the destruction of the cannabis.

Orders