R v Paki
[2015] NZHC 472
•13 March 2015
IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND HAMILTON REGISTRY
CRI 2014-019-1743
CRI 2014-019-4812 [2015] NZHC 472
THE QUEEN
v
LORRAINE PAKI
THOMAS CROSBY, IAN CROSBY, AKE CROSBY
ISAAK MAIHI, PATRICIA THOMAS, SHAAN DWAYNE HENRY, MOSE IAKOPO, SOPHIE NUTH
MICHAEL JAMES DAVIS and DELICIA JEANS
Hearing: 13 March 2015 Counsel:
J N Foster for Crown
M H McIvor for Ms Paki
K Tustin for Mr Thomas Crosby
K Burroughs for Mr Ian Crosby and Mr Iakopo
R Laybourn for Ms Ake Crosby
C Bean for Mr Maihi
P Kaye for Ms Thomas
M A Edgar for Mr HenryM Bates for Ms Nuth M Sturm for Mr Davis R Boot for Ms Jeans
Judgment:
13 March 2015
SENTENCING NOTES OF HEATH J
R v PAKI and ORS [2015] NZHC 472 [13 March 2015]
Introduction
[1] Lorraine Paki, Thomas Malcolm Crosby, Ake Taife Crosby, Ian David Crosby, Isaak Maihi, Patricia Thomas, Shaan Dwayne Henry, Mose Douglas Iakopo, Sophie Nuth, Michael James Davis and Delicia Jeans, each appear for sentence today for drug related offending detected during the course of a Police investigation code-named Operation Fremont. The operation was commenced in November 2013, and involved, in part, covert surveillance through the interception of private communications. The bulk of the charges relate to events that occurred in the period between 1 December 2013 and 9 April 2014. The latter date was when the operation was terminated.
[2] To accommodate the number of prisoners to be sentenced today and the need for some segregation, I will be sentencing in stages. While all prisoners except Ms Paki are currently out of Court, counsel for the remaining persons to be sentenced have confirmed agreement to the process I intend to follow. That will involve a general background being read out solely in the presence of Ms Paki. Particular comments in relation to the role played by individuals will be made while those people are in the dock. My comments on individual involvement will be brief. I have instructed the Registrar to make available to any members of the press who may wish to view them, copies of the summaries of facts on the basis of which sentencing is proceeding. In the event that there were reporting of the sentencing that will enable a more fulsome and accurate report to take place.
[3] All of those appearing for sentence today sought a sentence indication. Most took place before me on 24 November 2014.1 Two, in respect of Ms Jeans and Mr Davis were conducted by Asher J on 4 February 2015.2 Those indications were accepted. Pleas of guilty were entered in respect of the sentencing indications promptly, on 3 December 2014, in relation to those which I conducted. Those that were entered in consequence of Asher J’s indication, were entered about a week later,
on 10 February 2015.
1 R v Paki [2014] NZHC 2934, R v Crosby [2014] NZHC 2935, R v Maihi [2014] NZHC 2936,
R v Iakopo [2014] NZHC 2937.
2 R v Davis and Jeans [2015] NZHC 124.
[4] I will be hearing submissions from counsel today on some personal mitigating factors of which I was unaware when giving the sentence indications. Any adjustments I may make to reflect those circumstances will be the only form of departure from the sentence indications given either by Asher J or myself. I will not necessarily refer to all of the material which has been provided by counsel to support personal mitigating factors but I indicate for the benefit of the prisoners, that I have read them all.
[5] The circumstances in which Ms Jeans and Mr Davis were charged is a little different from other offenders. I will provide a separate explanation of that when they are sentenced.
Background
[6] The Waikato Police Organised Crime Squad began Operation Fremont in November 2013. Its initial focus was on the supply of methamphetamine by patched members and associates of the Waikato Chapter of the Mongrel Mob. A number of individuals were identified who appeared to be working together to supply both methamphetamine and, to a lesser extent, cannabis to third parties.
[7] During the covert phase of the investigation, communications were intercepted that led to charges being brought. In addition to methamphetamine and cannabis, offending involving lysergide, pseudoephedrine, together with precursor substances and equipment capable of being used for the manufacture of methamphetamine were detected.
[8] Ms Paki and Mr Ian Crosby are the parents of Ms Ake Crosby and Mr Thomas Crosby. Mr Ian Crosby is a patched member of the Mongrel Mob gang, and his membership is of long duration. He, Ms Paki and Ake Crosby lived together at a family home in Te Rapa, while Thomas Crosby was a frequent visitor to the family home.
[9] Mr Maihi, Ms Thomas, Mr Iakopo, Ms Henry and Ms Nuth are associates of the Crosby family. Mr Maihi is also a known Black Power associate. Mr Iakopo had
longstanding associations with patched members of the Mongrel Mob. Mr Henry is the domestic partner of Mr Thomas, and is also a known Black Power associate.
[10] Mr Davis and Ms Jeans are domestic partners. They operated independently of the others but, in common with them, were involved in the supply of controlled drugs.
Principles and purposes of sentencing
[11] Drug trafficking is of great concern to right-thinking members of the community. Some of the drugs, particularly methamphetamine, are pernicious in nature. Particularly with methamphetamine, addictions results in users being trapped in a cycle of dependency on a drug that has powerful anti-social effects. Addicts are then often used by those higher in the distribution chain to conduct sales at lower levels, thereby exposing themselves to the greatest risk of detection and charge. That requires those who are higher in the distribution chain to be viewed in that light. The gravity of the methamphetamine charges in this case is compounded by dealings in other controlled drugs.
[12] The maximum penalty for the lead charges of supplying the Class A
controlled drug methamphetamine is life imprisonment.
[13] For offending of this type, the primary sentencing goals are to hold an offender accountable for the harm done to the community, to promote a sense of responsibility for, and an acknowledgement of that harm, to denounce the conduct in which the offender was involved and to deter the offender or others from committing the same or similar offences.3 I must also be alive to the need to protect the community from people who are prepared to distribute harmful drugs for monetary gain.4
[14] The sentences to be imposed must take account of the gravity of the offending, including the degree of culpability of any particular offender. They must
also take account of the seriousness of the type of offence and its maximum penalty.
3 Sentencing Act 2002, s 7(1)(a), (b), (e) and (f).
4 Ibid, s 7(1)(g).
Any sentence imposed must be consistent with appropriate sentencing levels, so that like offending is treated alike.5
[15] In the context of this case, there are two aspects to the principle of consistency in sentencing. The first requires parity as among the particular offenders whom I am sentencing today. The other requires consistency between the sentence to be imposed and others that have been passed in relation to similar offences in other cases.
Lorraine Paki
[16] Ms Paki, you entered pleas of guilty on 3 December 2014 to five charges of supplying methamphetamine, one of offering to supply methamphetamine, one of selling cannabis, one of offering to sell cannabis and one of conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine.
[17] You played a central role in the drug supply business involving yourself, members of your family, and friends or acquaintances. The operation was commercial in nature and carried a relatively high degree of sophistication. You were responsible for organising the purchase of methamphetamine and distribution to third parties, through intermediaries who were either members of your family or associates.
[18] The extent of the drug dealing operation is difficult to assess. However, by illustration, on 641 of the 683 occasions on which text messages and intercepted communications were captured, the total amount of methamphetamine supplied was
287.55gms. To put that into context, the presumptive quantity for supply purposes is
5gms.
[19] The scale of the business can be gauged from the regular sales that took place from your family home. Suppliers delivered the drug to that property and customers purchased directly from the house. The operation was akin to a supermarket. Some
customers were observed by Police using a neighbouring driveway to access your
5 Ibid, s 8(a), (b) and (e).
property due to the amount of vehicular traffic in and out of it. Nor was the business confined to known customers, as is exemplified by the ease with which undercover police officers were able to purchase drugs.
[20] The offending with which you have been charged falls within band 3 of R v Fatu,6 a guideline sentencing judgment of the Court of Appeal for methamphetamine offending, by which I am bound. I will be referring regularly to this decision in the course of sentencing you and your co-offenders.
[21] In the course of your sentence indication, I stated that, on the methamphetamine charges alone, I would take a starting point in the mid range of band 3. That band involves the supply of large commercial quantities of methamphetamine, between 250gms and 500gms. The starting point for sentence is
between eight years and 11 years imprisonment.7
[22] My starting point for the offending in which you were involved is nine years imprisonment. I uplift that by six months to allow for other drugs being involved in the operation, together with the availability of equipment to manufacture methamphetamine. The adjusted starting point is one of nine years and six months imprisonment, from which a credit for guilty pleas of 25% is given.8 Using that credit, the end effective sentence will be one of seven years imprisonment. No minimum period of imprisonment will be imposed.
[23] Despite the submissions made by Mr McIvor on your behalf, I am not persuaded that any further credit should be given for rehabilitative efforts. Having said that, those efforts should be applauded. But, they are more relevant to whether you can seek parole at an early time or not.
[24] I also see from the way in which you have been looking around the back of the courtroom while I have been sentencing you, that you do not seem to be taking this occasion particularly seriously. That being the case, I am not really prepared to
put much store on the expressions of remorse that have been put to me.
6 R v Fatu [2006] 2 NZLR 72 (CA).
7 Ibid, para [34](c).
8 Hessell v R [2011] 1 NZLR 607 (SC), at para [75].
[25] I have been advised that you have outstanding fines in excess of $4,500. No reparation orders are involved. I remit those fines. There is no point in having someone serving a lengthy period of imprisonment coming out and having to meet a significant debt. The danger is that there may be a temptation to revert to criminal ways to pay them.
[26] Ms Paki, please stand. On each of the charges of supplying methamphetamine I impose a sentence of seven years imprisonment. On the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine, I impose a sentence of three years imprisonment. On the charges of selling cannabis, offering to sell cannabis and conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine, I impose a sentence of two years imprisonment. All of those sentences shall be served concurrently, meaning that the effective sentence is one of seven years imprisonment. No minimum period of imprisonment is imposed. The outstanding fines are remitted.
[27] Stand down please.
Ian Crosby, Thomas Crosby and Ake Crosby
(a) Ian Crosby
[28] Mr Ian Crosby pleaded guilty on 3 December 2014 to one charge of supplying methamphetamine and one of offering to supply methamphetamine.
[29] Mr Crosby, you are Ms Paki’s husband. You knowingly involved yourself in the drug operation, and were well aware of its scale. Nevertheless, I tend to see you more as a lieutenant than someone who carried out a primary role akin to your wife.
[30] As I said in my sentence indication,9 I consider that you fall within band 2 of R v Fatu,10 but at the lower end. That band deals with the supply of commercial quantities between 5gms and 250gms. The band within which a starting point for
sentence is chosen is between three and nine years imprisonment.
9 R v Crosby [2014] NZHC 2935, at para [11].
10 R v Fatu [2006] 2 NZLR 72 (CA), at para [34](b).
[31] As indicated, I take a starting point of four years imprisonment. I uplift that by three months for other aggravating factors. I allow a credit of 25%, for the guilty pleas, meaning that the end effective sentence would be one of three years and three months imprisonment.
[32] I have heard submissions this morning from Mr Burroughs on the question of remorse and whether any credit can be given in addition to that inherent in the acceptance of responsibility through entry of guilty pleas. I have considered the information available. I do not accept that there is anything that goes beyond the level of remorse that is inherent in a guilty plea.
[33] Mr Ian Crosby, you are sentenced to three years three months imprisonment on the charge of supplying methamphetamine and to three years imprisonment on the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine. Those sentences will be served concurrently, so the effective end sentence is one of three years and three months imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment imposed.
[34] You may now be seated.
(b) Thomas Crosby
[35] Thomas Crosby, you pleaded guilty, on 3 December 2014, to two charges of supplying methamphetamine, one of offering to supply methamphetamine, one of selling cannabis, one of offering to sell cannabis, one of unlawful possession of a firearm and one of unlawful possession of an explosive. Your situation is different in that you made admissions to the Police about involvement in the supply of methamphetamine over a period of some 11 years prior to the operation. You were also found in possession of a firearm and ammunition, albeit that they were located separately from each other.
[36] I have heard submissions about the effect of the admission you made about prior dealing in methamphetamine. That really cuts two ways. At one level you should be given some credit for the fact that you were prepared to admit to that without it having been put specifically to you, but on the other there is the fact that you engaged in conduct of this type over that length of time.
[37] In the sentence indication, I considered that you fell within band 2 of Fatu. I took a starting point of four years six months imprisonment in relation to the Operation Fremont charges and uplifted that by 12 months to allow for the earlier drug dealing and the finding of a weapon in your presence. That took the adjusted starting point to five years six months imprisonment, from which I allowed a 25% credit. That would mean the effective end sentence would be one of four years imprisonment.
[38] Ms Tustin today, on your behalf, has made a number of submissions in an endeavour to persuade me that a further credit for personal mitigating factors should be given. The points she raises are all valid but I need to decide whether they justify a deduction separate from that inherent in the credit for the guilty pleas.
[39] I have to say that it is pleasing to see that you have finally come to a realisation that your lifestyle must change. You have stoic support from a long-time partner whom you have let down badly by this offending. Nevertheless, I cannot give any further credit for the remorse shown. Your level of remorse is, I believe, adequately captured within the credit for the guilty plea. The efforts you are making in the absence of a minimum period of imprisonment give you the opportunity to use those rehabilitative means as a measure of seeking parole at an earlier time than would otherwise be expected.
[40] Mr Thomas Crosby, would you please stand. Mr Thomas Crosby, I impose the following sentences:
(a) On the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to four years imprisonment.
(b)On the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years imprisonment.
(c) On the charges of selling cannabis and offering to sell cannabis you are sentenced to two years imprisonment.
(d)On the charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of an explosive you are sentenced to a term of one years imprisonment.
[41] All of those sentences will run concurrently, so the effective end sentence is one of four years imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment imposed.
(c) Ake Crosby
[42] Ms Ake Crosby you are the daughter of Mr Ian Crosby and Ms Paki. You have no prior drug convictions. You pleaded guilty to five charges of supplying methamphetamine and two of offering to supply methamphetamine.
[43] I considered at the sentence indication that you had more than a passing interest in the family business. Your active involvement was demonstrated by your interactions with an undercover constable. I consider that you provided significant assistance to the business enterprise, though that must be balanced by the fact that when you returned to the family home you were effectively captured within it.
[44] I considered that your offending fell within band 2 of Fatu. I chose a starting point of five years imprisonment. To that I applied a credit of 25% for guilty pleas, leaving an effective end sentence of three years and nine months imprisonment.
[45] Mr Laybourn has today referred to a number of efforts that you have made in relation to reform and rehabilitation. It is plain to me that you have a much greater insight into what happened and your situation is different in that you can be seen as being drawn into the family enterprise in a manner that is not the same as your brother and your father.
[46] On balance, I am satisfied that some additional credit should be given for the steps you have taken and I propose to allow a period of three months for that, which I will simply deduct from the original sentence I intended to impose.
[47] Ms Crosby, please stand. Ms Crosby, on the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and six months. On the charges of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to two years imprisonment. Those sentences will be served concurrently, meaning that the effective end sentence is one of three years and six months imprisonment. No minimum period of imprisonment will be imposed.
[48] I have been advised that you owe fines of $1,855.23. Those fines are remitted.
[49] Please stand down.
Isaac Maihi and Patricia Thomas
(a) Mr Maihi
[50] Mr Maihi, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of supplying methamphetamine, one of offering to supply methamphetamine, one of possessing methamphetamine for sale, one of conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine, one of threatening to do grievous bodily harm, one of common assault and one of male assaults female. The supply of methamphetamine charges are the most serious and are taken as lead charges for sentencing purposes.
[51] You had associations with the Black Power gang yet were able to deal closely with Ms Paki and her associates to source methamphetamine regularly. Your situation is distinguished from others through the use of violence linked to the drugs and a charge involving conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine.
[52] When I gave the sentence indication, I regarded your offending as falling within band 2 of Fatu. I took a starting point of four years six months imprisonment and uplifted that by six months in relation to previous convictions, the conspiracy charge and violence. That left the adjusted starting point as five years imprisonment. Allowing 25% to reflect guilty pleas, the end sentence on the indication was one of three years and nine months imprisonment.
[53] Mr Maihi, as you heard me say I accept that you have greater insight now into the reasons for your offending and that you are taking genuine steps to try to rehabilitate yourself so that you do not behave in this way again when you get back into society. The difficulty I have however is that I believe I was reasonably generous in terms of the uplift that I gave for prior offending and prior convictions and I think in the round, the sentence I intended to impose is the right one and that no further adjustment should be made. That said, I repeat what I have said to others and that is if you continue your efforts at rehabilitation that is likely to help you in applications to the parole board and may see you released sooner than would otherwise be the case as there will be no minimum period of imprisonment imposed.
[54] Mr Maihi, on the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment. On the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years imprisonment. On the charge of possession of methamphetamine for sale you are sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. On the charges of conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine, threatening to do grievous bodily harm, common assault and male assaults female, you are sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. All of those sentences will be served concurrently, so that the end sentence will be one of three years and nine months imprisonment.
[55] You may be seated now, thank you.
(b) Patricia Thomas
[56] Ms Thomas, would you stand. Ms Thomas, you pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying methamphetamine, two of offering to supply methamphetamine, two of conspiring to supply a precursor substance and one of conspiracy to supply equipment.
[57] You have no previous drug convictions. The Crown accepted at the sentence indication that you should be entitled to additional credit for prior good character. The degree of culpability that attached to you arose out of the quantities with which you dealt. You were a very busy street dealer and a prolific supplier of methamphetamine to others.
[58] On that basis, I considered that a starting point of seven years imprisonment should be taken with an uplift of six months for others. That would make a total of seven years six months imprisonment. Subtracting the 25% for the guilty pleas and a further 5% for prior good character left an end effective sentence of five years and three months imprisonment.
[59] I have heard further submissions today. The expression of “deep” remorse (as it was recorded) is something I am bound to take into account in showing that your level of remorse and insight is greater than the credit for which I gave you solely in the guilty pleas.11 It is also separate from the prior good character for which you received a credit. In the circumstances, I propose to reduce the intended sentence by a further two months so that the end effective sentence becomes one of five years and one month’s imprisonment.
[60] Ms Thomas, on the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to five years and one month’s imprisonment. On the charges of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years imprisonment. On the three conspiracy charges you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year. All of those sentences shall be served concurrently, so the effective end sentence is one of five years and one months imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment.
[61] You may both stand down now, thank you
Shaan Dwayne Henry
[62] Mr Henry, please stand. Mr Henry, you pleaded guilty to one charge of supplying methamphetamine and one of offering to supply methamphetamine. You are the husband of Ms Thomas, whom I have already sentenced. You, like her, were a reasonably prolific street dealer but someone with no prior relevant convictions. The quantities in which you were dealing were lower than those attaching to
Ms Thomas.
11 Sentencing Act 2002, s 9(2)(f).
[63] Comparing your situation with that of Ms Thomas, I took at the sentence indication, a starting point of five years imprisonment. Allowing a credit of 25% for guilty pleas resulted in an effective end sentence of three years and nine months imprisonment.
[64] Today Mr Edgar, on your behalf, has raised three points that he submits justify a further reduction in that sentence.
[65] The first concerns the totality principle. This is a principle that operates if a number of offences are committed around the same time but someone is dealt with at different times. Mr Edgar is asking me to take the view that a lesser sentence would have been imposed on these charges if I had sentenced together on others. The difficulty with that, primarily, is that they are matters on which it is almost certain that cumulative sentences would have been ordered so I do not see how that principle can apply. I also agree with Ms Foster, for the Crown, that further information would be required if I were to act on Mr Edgar’s submission.
[66] The second concerns a traumatic head injury that you suffered some six years ago in 2008 when you were struck by a golf club. This has left cognitive and vision problems and memory loss. I do not consider that these are sufficiently proximate to the offending in this case to justify a further credit. However, they may be relevant to explain why offending has taken place and should be properly before the Parole Board when you come to make an application for parole. I make a recommendation to the prison authorities that a neurological assessment be obtained so that that will be available when the Parole Board considers your situation.
[67] The final submission was that you have shown a degree of remorse that is greater than that captured within the guilty pleas. I am not satisfied that that is so. I consider that the element of remorse is sufficiently covered by the credit for guilty pleas.
[68] On the charge of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and nine months. On the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years imprisonment. Those sentences
are to be served concurrently, so that the effective end sentence is one of three years and nine months imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment.
[69] Stand down please.
Mose Iakopo and Sophie Nuth
(a) Mose Iakopo
[70] Mr Iakopo, will you please stand.
[71] Mr Iakopo, you pleaded guilty on 3 December 2014 to one charge of supplying methamphetamine, one of offering to supply methamphetamine, one of selling cannabis and one of offering to sell cannabis.
[72] At your sentence indication, I found the quantities sold by you to be similar to those relating to Mr Maihi. Your position was, however, different because you had recently been released from prison on drug charges when this offending occurred.
[73] In order to achieve a degree of parity with Mr Maihi, I took a starting point of four years and eight months imprisonment. I provided an uplift of six months imprisonment for prior convictions and other drug dealings to which the charges relate. A credit of 25% was given for guilty pleas. That would have left an end sentence of three years and 10 months imprisonment.
[74] Submissions have been made today on your behalf by Mr Burroughs asking me to reduce that end sentence further, primarily on grounds relating to the remorse said to have been expressed. I do have some concerns about that given the way in which the pre-sentence report writer suggested there had been minimisation of the offending and the recency of other offending to the present charges.
[75] I consider that while you have now got greater insight into your offending and do intend genuinely to take steps to deal with it, they are matters which ought to be left for a parole hearing rather than matters for which any further credit can be
given on sentencing. In those circumstances, I take the view that any remorse is covered by the 25% credit for guilty pleas.
[76] Mr Iakopo, on the charge of supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and 10 months imprisonment. On the charge of offering to supply methamphetamine you are sentenced to three years imprisonment. On the charges of selling cannabis and offering to sell cannabis you are sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. Those sentences will run concurrently, so that the effective end sentence is one of three years and 10 months imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment.
[77] Please be seated.
(b) Sophie Nuth
[78] Ms Nuth, you pleaded guilty on 3 December 2014 to one charge of supplying methamphetamine and one of offering to supply methamphetamine.
[79] Your situation is broadly comparable to that of Ms Ake Crosby. I have borne in mind questions of parity in respect of that. While the offending was similar it was for a shorter period of time and the sentence I indicated in November 2014 reflected that.
[80] At the sentence indication, I took a starting point of four years and six months imprisonment, which included all aggravating factors. To allow for guilty pleas and the absence of any prior relevant drug convictions I indicated a credit of 30%, leaving an effective proposed end sentence of three years and two months imprisonment.
[81] Ms Nuth, since that sentence indication I have received a good deal of further information about your personal circumstances. Your counsel has put before me correspondence. In particular, I would like to refer to the letter penned by your sister. That was moving and articulate. I do not want to say anything in open Court about what it deals with but it gives insight to me as to the circumstances in which you have ended up before the Court in this situation.
[82] The other aspect to which your counsel has referred are your voluntary attempts, while on bail, to address the difficulties you face particularly by seeking counselling and other programme assistance. That was done while you were on bail. The Crown accept that you are the only one of the various persons charged with offending arising out of this operation who has consistently complied with terms of bail. Those terms, while not involving electronic monitoring or a 24 hour curfew were nevertheless restrictive in nature.
[83] I have found your personal situation difficult to assess in the context of sentencing. I intend to make a further deduction of eight months off the original finite sentence. That would lead to an end sentence of two years six months imprisonment which is intended to reflect the circumstances in which this came about, and the other matters to which Mr Bates and Ms Foster have referred.
[84] Ms Nuth, on the charge of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years and six months. On the charge of offering to supply you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years. Those sentences are to be served concurrently, so that the effective end sentence is one of two years six months imprisonment. There will be no minimum period of imprisonment.
[85] You may both stand down.
Delicia Jeans and Michael James Davis
(a) Delicia Jeans
[86] Ms Jeans, you pleaded guilty on 10 February 2015, to three charges of supplying methamphetamine, two of offering to supply methamphetamine and one of possessing methamphetamine for supply. Those pleas were entered following a sentence indication given by Asher J on 4 February 2015.12
[87] Your drug dealing operation was separate from that run by Ms Paki. Nevertheless, it also involved the supply of some wholesale amounts of
methamphetamine to others and small amounts to individuals. The sales took place
12 R v Davis and Jeans [2015] NZHC 124.
primarily from the family home occupied by yourself and Mr Davis. Ms Paki’s operation has been described as akin to a supermarket. Your’s may be seen more generally as a superette or general store.
[88] It has proved difficult to quantify precisely the amount of methamphetamine sold. However, intercepted communications reveal that on 42 of 72 occasions on which you were found to arrange transactions resulting in the actual supply of methamphetamine, an amount of 112.1gms was supplied. That must be viewed in the context of the presumptive level for supply of 5gms.
[89] In providing a sentence indication, the Judge referred, by way of parity, to the indications that I had given on 24 November 2014 in respect of other offenders sentenced today. The Judge was satisfied, on the basis of the summary of facts made available to him, that yours was a significant commercial methamphetamine operation, largely at a retail level, where most supplies were in small quantities for persons who were likely to use the drug personally.
[90] The Judge considered that the offending fell within band 2 of Fatu and that the starting point should be between three years and nine years imprisonment. The Judge chose a starting point of seven years imprisonment, though I think it is fair to say as did Ms Foster, that that was regarded as a conservative approach. He indicated a full 25% credit would be given for guilty pleas. I adopt Asher J’s indication, on the basis of which you have pleaded guilty.
[91] Mr Boot, on your behalf today, has attempted to persuade me that some additional credit should be given for personal circumstances. I take the view that the expressions of remorse and attempts at rehabilitation are captured both within the
25% credit given for the guilty pleas and, in respect of the latter, will be available for you if you go before the Parole Board and progress has been made. In the context also of the rather generous starting point taken by Asher J, I see no basis to provide any further credit.
[92] Ms Jeans, on the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of five years and three months imprisonment. On the
charges of offering to supply methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine for supply, you are sentenced to a three years imprisonment. These sentences will be served concurrently, so the effective end sentence is one of five years three months imprisonment.
(b) Michael Davis
[93] Mr Davis, you pleaded guilty on 10 February 2015 to three charges of supplying methamphetamine, one of offering to supply methamphetamine and one of possessing methamphetamine for supply. You did so following a sentencing indication given by Asher J on 4 February 2015.
[94] Mr Davis, you are Ms Jeans’ partner, both domestically and commercially. She worked closely with you in relation to the supply of methamphetamine. It appears from what Asher J said in his sentencing indication that you played an important role in this business. The Judge regarded you as falling within band 2 of Fatu, fixing a starting point of three years six months imprisonment after considering sentences I had indicated would be imposed on Ms Paki’s partner, Mr Ian Crosby.
[95] After taking account of prior convictions and ameliorating factors, the Judge indicated an uplift of three months imprisonment. That meant that the adjusted starting point was one of three years and nine months imprisonment, with a credit of
25% being given for guilty pleas.
[96] I follow the indication given by Asher J, on the basis of which you have entered your pleas of guilty.
[97] Mr Sturm, on your behalf, has accepted that there are no other personal mitigating factors that I can properly take into account. Accordingly, I will sentence in accordance with the indication given.
[98] Mr Davis, on the charges of supplying methamphetamine you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years and four months. On the charges of offering to supply methamphetamine and possessing that drug for the purposes of supply, you are sentenced to two years imprisonment. Those sentences shall be served
concurrently, meaning that the effective end sentence is one of two years and four months imprisonment.
[99] Stand down.
Solicitors:
Crown Solicitor, Hamilton
Counsel:
M H McIvor, Hamilton
K Tustin, HamiltonK Burroughs, Hamilton R Laybourn, Hamilton M A Edgar, Auckland
M Sturm, Hamilton C Bean, Hamilton M Bates, Hamilton R Boot, Hamilton
P R Heath J
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