DPP v Ford-McRorie [2025] VCC 1214

1. Oscar Mint was in pain, particularly the back of his head and neck, from your assault upon him. Police saw that his condition was deteriorating and arranged for him to be transported to hospital.
2. Mr Mint reported the following matters to a doctor at the Royal Melbourne Hospital:

(i) He received two strikes to the head;

(ii) He attempted to deflect the strikes with his right hand;

(iii) He suffered a head injury with loss of consciousness;

(iv) He had general body numbness, neck pain, and was sensitive to light.

1. Dr Tegan Kay reported the following diagnoses - midline cervical spine (neck) tenderness with associated neurology, mild bilateral upper limb paraesthesia (pins and needles), There was no cervical spine injury seen on CT scan or MRI.

1. You were born in June 2000. You were 23 years of age at the time of this offending and are now 25 years old. You are the eldest of three siblings. You have two younger sisters.
2. Your parents separated when you were young. You had regular contact with both parents throughout your childhood. You report having witnessed family violence prior to their separation.
3. When you were eight years of age, you witnessed a home invasion at your mother's house. You and your sister hid in a cupboard, and you saw the intruders violently assault your mother.
4. You had difficulties at school. You struggled with the curriculum, your behaviour and in your relationships with others at school. You described your behaviour as 'uncontrollable'. You report having been diagnosed with ADHD during primary school but you were never medicated for it. You were expelled from four or five primary schools and in high school you received a number of suspensions because of your involvement in physical fights. You were expelled in Year 10.
5. Since leaving school, you have worked variously as a roofer, as a brickie's labourer, and installing plaster boards.
6. You were in a relationship for some two years prior to being remanded. You described the relationship as positive and loving, notwithstanding that you are both currently incarcerated. You have contact with your girlfriend through phone calls and monthly Zoom calls. You are uncertain as to the current status of the relationship.
7. You also report having the support of your family and participate in regular phone calls from custody with your mother, father, sister and grandmother. Your mother and younger sister also visit you in prison.
8. You have a long history of drug abuse, starting at the age of 14. You report having tried most drugs including Cannabis, Methylamphetamine, Cocaine, MDMA, Heroin and GHB. You have never been involved in any drug treatment programs.

1. You have an extensive and relevant criminal history which you attribute to negative peers and drug use. It commenced in the adult jurisdiction on 28 August 2019 at the Wodonga Magistrates' Court where you appeared for the offences of contravening a Family Violence Intervention Order, unlawful assault, intentionally damaging property, committing an indictable offence whilst on bail, criminal damage, theft of a motor vehicle, failure to stop on police direction and other driving offences. You were convicted and sentenced to two concurrent Community Correction Orders of 18 months' duration, with conditions.
2. Those Community Correction Orders were breached and on 20 April 2021, you were sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of four months for the offences on which you were placed on the Orders, alongside offences of theft of a motor vehicle, three charges of driving whilst disqualified, failing to stop vehicle on police direction, dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, charges of theft and charges of committing indictable offences whilst on bail.
3. On 22 April 2021, for offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage you were sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and placed on a two-year Community Correction Order. That Order was also breached and on 12 November 2021, the Order was confirmed.
4. On 10 September 2021, on charges of theft of motor vehicle and driving whilst disqualified, you were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two months.
5. On 16 May 2023, you were sentenced to 12 months' gaol for intentionally causing injury. You were also sentenced to 12 months gaol on the original charges on which you were placed on the Correction Order on 12 November 2021. With orders for concurrency, you were sentenced to a total of 18 months' gaol.
6. On 29 May 2023, for charges including burglary, theft, committing indictable offences on bail, intentionally damaging property, unlawful assault and handling stolen goods, you were sentenced to three months' gaol.

1. You were assessed by Christine Kennedy, psychologist, on 26 May 2025. Her report was tendered on your behalf at the plea hearing.
2. Ms Kennedy states you present as an immature young man of dull intellect and poor coping skills. She states you have minimal insight into your psychological functioning; you struggle to take responsibility for your behaviour; you are prone to impulsive or poor quality decision making; and you are likely to act on snap decisions that lack appropriate planning. In Ms Kennedy's opinion, you suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for which you self-medicate with illicit substances; you present with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; and you satisfy the criteria for severe Anti-Social Personality Disorder. This latter disorder, in Ms Kennedy's opinion, means you lack empathy and are largely mistrustful of others
3. In the absence of appropriate treatment and counselling, Ms Kennedy considers that you are likely to reoffend.

1. The offence of carjacking is an inherently serious offence as reflected in the maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment that may be imposed. Causing injury intentionally is also a serious offence and has a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
2. With respect to the drug possession charges, I accept that your possession of the drugs was not for any purpose related to trafficking. Accordingly, the maximum penalty that may be imposed on each charge is 12 months' imprisonment. The summary charge of driving without a license has a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment.
3. Although victim impact statements were not obtained, your conduct was undoubtedly frightening to the victim and those who had the misfortune of witnessing the events, including the victim's young daughter. You would not listen to reason even when Mr Mint offered to pay for your Uber fare.
4. Your counsel, Mr Backwell, submitted that the carjacking had some unusual features about it. That may be correct, but it nevertheless is a serious offence. Your overall behaviour was aggressive, brazen, obnoxious and thuggish. You acted in complete disregard of the rights of others. You caused injury to Oscar Mint, striking him with a weapon to the head, a vulnerable area of the body. I am prepared to accept that your offending was unsophisticated and showed little signs of planning. You were not disguised, and you produced some identification with your actual name on it. You were not armed until such time as you wrested the crowbar from Mr Mint's grasp. I am also not able to find to the requisite standard that it was your intention from the outset to steal the motorbike.
5. I do not agree with Mr Farrugia, who appeared on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that your offending fell at the high end of objective seriousness. I agree, however, that it was serious and your moral culpability was high. You knew that what you were doing was wrong and you had ample opportunity to leave without incident. There was no justification or excuse for your conduct.
6. You pleaded guilty to all the offences but did not do so at an early opportunity. There was a committal hearing on 22 October 2024 at which witnesses were called and cross-examined. There was a case assessment hearing on 17 February 2025 which was adjourned to enable resolution discussions to take place. The case against you resolved on 21 March 2025 at a Directions Hearing and was listed for arraignment and plea on 11 April 2025. Through your pleas of guilty, the victim and witnesses have been spared the further ordeal of having to give evidence at trial. You have also saved the Court and the community the cost and time of a trial. Your pleas are of utilitarian value and entitle you to a reduction in what would be an otherwise appropriate sentence.
7. The offence of carjacking is a Category 2 offence. Accordingly, unless you fall within one of the exceptions to s5(2H), I must impose a term of imprisonment, other than a sentence of imprisonment in addition to making a Community Correction Order. Mr Backwell, did not submit that you fell within any of the exceptions and properly conceded that the only appropriate sentence is a head sentence with a non-parole period.
8. You were arrested on 1 April 2024 and have been on remand since then. Mr Backwell informed me that you have been subject to 23-hour lockdown for the entirety of your remand. This submission was not challenged. He said that when you are out of your cell, you are on your own and you are unable to participate in any rehabilitative programs. However, you do work as a unit billet distributing food at mealtimes. Mr Backwell submitted that the conditions under which you are remanded is relevant to the sentencing synthesis and ought to be given significant weight. I accept that some weight should attach to this consideration, but without evidence concerning why you are subjected to such conditions, I am not prepared to attach 'significant' weight to that consideration.
9. With respect to your prospects of rehabilitation, having regard to your extensive criminal record, your history of illicit substance abuse, and the need for appropriate psychological and other treatment, they are, at best, guarded.
10. In my opinion, considerations of general and specific deterrence, denunciation of your conduct, just punishment and the protection of the community from you, remain significant considerations, notwithstanding your relatively young age and mental health diagnoses. You are towards the upper end of the range for a youthful offender, you have numerous relevant prior convictions, and you have been afforded many opportunities by the Courts to rehabilitate. Reliance is not placed on any of the well-known principles set out in The Queen v Verdins[9]. I will, however, moderate the sentence somewhat having regard to the conditions in which you have been kept during your remand and having regard also to your mental health diagnoses.
11. I have also had regard to current sentencing practise for the charged offences. I was also referred by Mr Farrugia to the decision in Leishman v The Queen[10] and to sentencing statistics for the offence of carjacking produced by the Sentencing Advisory Council for the period I July 2018 to 30 June 2023. I have also had regard to decisions referred to in the Judicial College of Victoria's Sentencing Manual. Sentences passed in other cases may provide assistance in informing the instinctive synthesis, but they are not precedents that must be followed. Each case must ultimately be decided by reference to the circumstances of the offender, of the offending, and the aggravating and mitigating features.
12. I was informed today that you have been in custody, as earlier mentioned, since the 1 April 2024, that is the date on which these offences were committed. However, on the 13 February 2025 you were sentenced at the Geelong Magistrates' Court to a term of imprisonment of seven months. This means that your period of pre-sentence detention for the matters on which I am to sentence you is 318 days. Mr Backwell submitted that I should have regard to the totality principle in determining the appropriate sentence. I accept that submission, noting you have now been in custody in excess of 16 months.

1. Having regard to all the relevant sentencing considerations, including the principle of totality, you are sentenced as follows:
2. On Charge 1, Carjacking, you are convicted and sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment.
3. On Charge 2, intentionally causing injury, you are convicted and sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment.
4. On Charge 3, you are fined the sum of $500.
5. On Charge 4, you are fined $500.
6. On summary Charge 5, driving without a license, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.
7. All licenses held by you are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of 18 months from today.
8. Three months of sentence imposed on Charge 2 is to be served cumulatively with the sentence imposed on Charge 1. This makes a total effective sentence of two years nine months' imprisonment. I set a non-parole period of 22 months.
9. This total effective sentence is to be served concurrently with all other State sentences currently being served.
10. Pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act 1991, the period of imprisonment reckoned as already served under this sentence is 318 days not including today.
11. Pursuant to 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, had you not pleaded guilty to the charges, the sentence I would otherwise have imposed is a sentence of four years with a non-parole period of two years nine months.
12. Mr Tagar, are there any other orders?
13. MR TAGAR: There is the single disposal order, Your Honour.
14. HIS HONOUR: Concerning which property? Was it the drugs?
15. MR BACKWELL: Drugs, screwdriver, jack handle, mobile phone, victim's clothing.
16. HIS HONOUR: Mr Backwell.
17. MR BACKWELL: No objection.
18. HIS HONOUR: Yes, I will make the disposal order that has been sought.
19. MR TAGAR: Thank you, Your Honour.

[10] [2019] VSCA 270, [25]