Khouzame v The Queen

INTRODUCTION 1 The appellant pleaded guilty to, and was convicted on, the counts on an indictment containing six counts of burglary on residential properties in Canberra, six counts of larceny of goods from those properties, and one count of being in possession of stolen property, namely goods stolen from 14 residential properties in Canberra. 2 The offence of burglary is punishable by imprisonment for 14 years (s 102(1) Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) ("the Act")). The offence of theft is punishable by imprisonment for 10 years (s 99 of the Act); and the offence of handling stolen property is punishable by imprisonment for 14 years (s 113(1) of the Act). 3 The first burglary took place on 12 February 1999, and the remaining five burglaries were committed over three consecutive days, commencing on 16 February. The burglaries, in which the property in the appellant's possession had been stolen, occurred between 7 January 1999 and 17 February 1999. An unlicensed air rifle was also found at the appellant's premises and, at the appellant's request, this offence was taken into account, under s 448 of the Act. 4 On 27 August 1999, the appellant was sentenced to a total term of six years imprisonment. A non-parole period of three years was fixed. 5 The structure of the sentence was as follows: · One years imprisonment for each of the six burglaries, to be served cumulatively. · One years imprisonment on each of the six larcenies, to be served concurrently with the relevant burglary; and · One years imprisonment on the possession of stolen property, to be served concurrently with the other sentence. 6 In summary, the facts were that on 18 February 1999, the police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle with stolen number plates at an address in Lyons. The police spoke to two men, one of whom was the appellant. The police established that both men lived at the Lyons address, and that the vehicle belonged to the appellant. A search warrant was obtained. The search revealed property taken in a number of burglaries. House-breaking instruments were discovered in a search of the vehicle. Both men were arrested and charged. The appellant admitted to the police his involvement in a number of burglaries. The property discovered on the appellant's premises was part of property of a total value of $31,760, which had been stolen in the burglaries. The other part had been stolen in other burglaries, in which property of a total value of $159,348 had been stolen. 7 The appellant was aged 18 years at the time of the offence and is now aged 20 years. He had not previously appeared before a court.