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[2014] ACTSC 300
Supreme Court of the ACT
2014-10-21
Penfold J
Original judgment source is linked above.
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
CRIMINAL LAW - JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Judgment and Punishment - offender sentenced for one offence of aggravated robbery - hold-up of service station with home-made spear - premeditation - no criminal history - offender recognised on AFP website by friend - offender persuaded by parents to hand himself in to police - offender made numerous admissions - early guilty plea - low risk of re-offending - importance of rehabilitation in sentencing young offenders - offender sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, fully suspended subject to good behaviour order for 18 months requiring performance of 160 hours of community service.
Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT), s 20
Murray Walter Hearne [2001] NSWCCA 37; (2001) 124 A Crim R 451
R v Mills [1998] 4 VR 235
Legal Aid ACT (Offender)
1. Jye Bradley Slater has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery, an offence under s 310 of the Criminal Code 2002 (ACT) which carries a maximum penalty including 25 years imprisonment.
2. The agreed Statement of Facts describes the offence as follows:
[Mr Slater left a friend's house at about 1.00 am on Saturday, 7 June 2014 and] drove to his parent's house in Charnwood. While at his parent's house, [Mr Slater] obtained the following items:
Using the cable ties, [Mr Slater] attached the knife to one end of the block splitter, creating a makeshift spear.
[Mr Slater], drove from Charnwood to Monash and parked his car on a grass island between Tindale Street and Sturdee Crescent. This location was approximately 500m from the [7-Eleven service station at Erindale].
At about 2.30am on Saturday 7 June 2014, the console operator for the service station, Jawwad Chowdhary, was stocking drinks in the cool-room of the service station. At this time, Mr Slater rang the buzzer to the front glass door.
Mr Chowdhary saw [Mr Slater] waiting outside the front door. Mr Chowdhary also saw a taxi waiting in the fuel pump area with its headlights on. Mr Chowdhary, mistakenly thinking that [Mr Slater] was a customer who had just been dropped off by the taxi, pressed a button to unlock and open the front glass doors, allowing [Mr Slater] to enter the service station. [He] was wearing a green beanie, a dark grey jumper, dark jeans and black boots, and a short brown beard.
As soon as [Mr Slater] entered the service station, he walked to the counter carrying his makeshift spear. [He] pointed the knife blade of the spear towards Mr Chowdhary and said:
"Give me all the cigarettes and money".
The blade of the knife was about 50cm away from Mr Chowdhary and he felt fear for his safety. He said "Ok", opened the cashier till and started to quickly remove the notes from the till. Mr Chowdhary removed around $1000 in various denominations and handed over about half these notes to [Mr Slater]. [Mr Slater] then said:
"Give me all the money".
Mr Chowdhary handed over the rest of the money to [Mr Slater]. [He] then turned around and quickly walked out of the service station through the front entrance. Altogether, [Mr Slater] had stolen $1,300 belonging to 7-Eleven Service Stations Pty Ltd, trading as 7-Eleven Erindale.
The robbery was captured on a CCTV camera located inside the service station. The CCTV footage showed [Mr Slater] entering the service station carrying the makeshift spear; threaten Mr Chowdhary with this weapon; take the money from Mr Chowdhary; and leave the service station.
After leaving the service station, [Mr Slater] ran towards the intersection of Erindale Drive and Ashley Drive. [He] threw the makeshift spear in the grassland near the service station and then drove away from the area.
After Mr Slater had left, Mr Chowdhary rang '000' and reported the robbery. Later when the police arrived and conducted a search of the area, they located the makeshift spear in grassland about 50m from the service station. The weapon was sent away for forensic analysis and fingerprint examination.
Later [the same day], [Mr Slater] returned to his parent's house in Charnwood ... wearing the same green beanie, the same jeans and the same black boots he had worn during the robbery.
About 8.00pm on the same day, [Mr Slater's parents] were at their residence in Charnwood when one of Mr Slater's friends, ..., came to their house. [Mr Slater] had already left his parent's house by the time [his friend] arrived.
[The friend] first spoke with [Mr Slater's father]. [He] said:
"I think Jye has done something really dumb".
When Mr Slater [senior] asked what this was, [the friend] said:
"I saw a picture of Jye on the Police website which said he did an aggravated armed robbery, there is a photo of him".
... [Mr Slater's parents] looked at the AFP website on Mrs Slater's mobile phone and saw a picture of [Mr Slater] wearing his green beanie and dusty purple jacket. The photo was one of the stills taken from the CCTV camera inside the service station at the time of the robbery. Both [parents] immediately recognised the person depicted in the photo as their son, [Mr Slater].
Mr and Mrs Slater tried to call [Mr Slater junior] but were unable to get hold of him. They then drove to [his] house and found him there. Mr Slater [senior] told Mr Slater that there was a picture of him on the AFP website and asked him if he had done a 'stick-up'. [Mr Slater] admitted that he had. [His parents] asked [Mr Slater] if he still had what he had stolen. [He] replied that he did. Mr Slater[senior] then asked [Mr Slater] if he was going to come with him to the police station. He agreed to go with his parents to the police.
Mr and Mrs Slater drove Mr Slater junior to the Belconnen Police Station. [He] took part in a taped record of interview with police at 8:55pm on 7 June 2014. [He] declined to take part in an identification parade, but did consent to provide a DNA Buccal Swab and to have his photographs taken by the AFP.
During the interview, [Mr Slater] made full admissions about carrying out the aggravated robbery, including:
Following the interview, the AFP accompanied [Mr Slater] to his house in Macgregor. At [this] residence, the AFP located and seized his jacket. [Mr Slater] was then charged by the AFP and remanded to appear before the Magistrates Court on Monday 9 June 2014.
...
The AFP recovered $1,022.50 of the $1,300 stolen by [Mr Slater] during the aggravated robbery.
3. As well as the Statement of Facts, still photographs taken from the CCTV footage of the service station were tendered and the CCTV footage was shown in court.
4. Aggravated robbery is an offence that covers a multitude of sins. This particular offence falls somewhere in the middle of the range. The statutory aggravating feature is the use of a weapon but the offence is also aggravated by the degree of premeditation demonstrated by Mr Slater's collection of the parts for his weapon, his careful assembly of the weapon, and his consideration of where to find an easy target for his robbery.
5. There is no Victim Impact Statement before me but I note the report in the Statement of Facts that, unsurprisingly, the victim of the robbery felt fear for his safety. As the prosecutor pointed out, the victim was not to know that Mr Slater didn't intend to hurt him and, in any case, things can go badly wrong in that kind of situation despite good intentions.
6. The service station owner seeks reparation of the amount of $277.50, being the difference between the $1,300 stolen by Mr Slater and the $1,022.50 that he handed to police when he was arrested.
7. Mr Slater is 19 years old. He has no criminal history.
8. There is a Pre-Sentence Report before me giving information about him as follows:
Single and living with his parents, Mr Slater could recall no incidents in his formative years that had a detrimental effect on his upbringing. Mr Slater's mother described her son as generally well behaved, and pledged her continued support for [Mr Slater].
Educated in the public school system, Mr Slater reported average grades and attendance. He stated he completed Year 10 before he left school to pursue employment opportunities.
Currently unemployed, Mr Slater reported that at the time of the current offence he had worked as a trade assistant for three years. He was dismissed once his employer learned of the matters now before the Court. He also credited the recent termination of a plumbing apprenticeship to his current offence.
Mr Slater reported ongoing financial issues which are exacerbated by his unemployment status. He stated outstanding debts of approximately $7000. He reported that pecuniary concerns had caused him anxiety and he struggles to break his debt cycle.
Mr Slater stated he agreed with the Statement of Facts; he ... committed the offence in an attempt to alleviate money concerns but now regrets his actions. In relation to victims, although Mr Slater was able to identify and show a degree of compunction for the immediate victim of his crime he did not demonstrate an understanding of the possible impact of his offence on the wider community.
Until the commitment of the current offence Mr Slater appears to have led a pro social lifestyle and the offence, according to him, was perpetrated out of an ill-conceived attempt to address financial concerns.
Nevertheless, the serious nature of the offence and Mr Slater's inability to fully understand the impact of his crime on the community are areas of concern and suggest at best poor decision-making ability.
9. Mr Slater has apparently found further part-time employment since the report was prepared and has moved back to live with his parents. Both these actions should reduce his financial difficulties but there was no evidence before me that there has been any more active attempt to address his outstanding debts in a legal way.
10. I note that Mr Slater's financial stresses do not appear to relate to the feeding of any kind of addiction, whether drugs, alcohol, gambling or otherwise, nor is there any evidence that Mr Slater has any mental health problems.
11. I agree with submissions made by both counsel to the effect that the absence of any of the usual triggers for this sort of offending makes it harder to understand and assess this offence at all. On the other hand, there is no doubt that young people, and perhaps particularly young men, can make very silly decisions under stresses that most adults would be able to deal with more constructively. This decision-making immaturity, as well as the very great importance to the community of rehabilitating young offenders if at all possible, requires a careful approach to the sentencing of such offenders (see, for instance, R v Mills [1998] 4 VR 235 at 242; Murray Walter Hearne [2001] NSWCCA 37; (2001) 124 A Crim R 451 at 459;[27]).
12. As noted in the Pre-Sentence Report, Mr Slater has expressed regret for his actions and probably remorse in relation to the immediate victim of the offence. His lack of insight into the possible impact of his offence on the wider community does not, in my view, indicate anything more sinister than relatively unsophisticated consequential thinking. I note his very early plea of guilty as a further indication of remorse.
13. The Pre-Sentence Report author concluded that, despite concerns about Mr Slater's poor decision-making skills:
Mr Slater's lack of criminal history and familial support contribute to him being considered as a low risk of reoffending.
14. General deterrence is always considered important in relation to offences of this kind and especially those that are in any way premeditated. I accept the assessment that Mr Slater is at low risk of re-offending, but given the difficulty in identifying a good reason for the commission of this offence, I also consider that Mr Slater needs to know that actions of this kind can have serious consequences. Having regard to the nature of the offence and the need for both general and specific deterrence, I am satisfied that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate for this offence.
15. Mr Slater's plea of guilty was very early, coming only three weeks after he was charged and on his second appearance in the Magistrates Court. As well as a sentencing discount to recognise that early plea, there will be a further sentencing discount in recognition of Mr Slater's cooperation with authorities in accompanying his parents to the police station and making extensive admissions within a very short period after the robbery. I note the prosecutor's comment that Mr Slater had to be persuaded to go to the police station rather than volunteering to do so himself, but I also consider that the family relationship that enabled his parents to achieve that result is a good sign in relation to Mr Slater's rehabilitation prospects.
16. There is nothing before me to establish that in the absence of Mr Slater's admissions, there would have been an overwhelmingly strong case against him, but nor do I accept that without those admissions, he might never have been found out, given that within only a few hours one of his friends had recognised him on an AFP website.
17. Mr Slater, please stand. I record a conviction on one charge of aggravated robbery.
18. Under s 20 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT), I order that you pay $277.50 to the owner of the service station, being Na Tan on behalf of 7-Eleven Service Stations Pty Ltd trading as 7-Eleven Erindale. That payment is to be made by 30 November 2014.and it's not made directly to the person I've just named, it's to be made into court and passed on to that person.
19. I now sentence you to imprisonment for 14 months. That sentence would have been two years imprisonment but I have reduced it by 25% for your early plea of guilty, and a further nearly 17% for your substantial cooperation with the authorities in making yourself known to the police and making significant admissions.
20. The sentence will be suspended with immediate effect, and I now order you to sign an undertaking to comply with your good behaviour obligations under the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 (ACT) for 18 months. The good behaviour order is subject only to the condition that during the period of 18 months, you perform 160 hours of community service and in making that order, I recommend that Corrective Services takes account of the importance to you of maintaining as much employment as you can find.
21. Having made a community service order, I order that you are to attend Corrective Services offices at Eclipse House within the next two days (so before the end of Thursday) to make arrangements for your community service, and I suggest you talk to Mr Davies about that as well.
22. You will be given a written copy of the good behaviour order. It will be read to you by court officials but in short it means that for the next 18 months, you need to keep out of trouble and you need to do your community service. If you fail to do your community service and, even more particularly, if you were to commit another offence during that time, you could find yourself back before this court to be re-sentenced for this offence. Especially if you were to commit another serious offence, you could find yourself serving some, or even all, of that 14-month sentence in full-time custody. I hope it won't be relevant but, for that purpose, I note that you have in fact spent one night in custody already in relation to that offence. If you have any particular questions about the sentence or about the good behaviour order, please ask the court officials or Mr Davies.
23. Mr Slater, you have, in your friend's words, done something really dumb. You're very lucky that the victim of your robbery was not more seriously traumatised, and you're also very lucky that both your friend and your parents were there to push you into owning up straight away. Financial problems can be difficult to deal with but, realistically, it is impossible to imagine any situation, financial or otherwise, in which committing an armed robbery is going to make things better. I hope that, with your parents' support, you will find better ways of dealing with stress in your life and that we will not see you back before the courts again.
I certify that the preceding twenty-three [23] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Sentence of her Honour Justice Penfold.
R
Slater [2014] ACTSC 300