[2024] VSCA 296
General information, not legal advice.
Court of Appeal (Vic)
2024-12-03
Walker JA, Forrest JA
Original judgment source is linked above.
(1) The sentence imposed on the applicant infringes the principle of parity;
(2) The individual sentences imposed, orders for cumulation, total effective sentence and non-parole period were manifestly too long.
(a) The applicant is resentenced to 12 months' imprisonment on charge 1.
(b) We will not disturb the sentences imposed for charges 2 and 3.
(c) We will order that 3 months' imprisonment on charge 2 be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on charge 1.
(d) The total effective sentence is 15 months' imprisonment.
(e) We will set a non-parole period of 9 months.
The offenders have pleaded guilty to the following offences:
Rose:
(1) Charge 1 - Aggravated burglary
(2) Charge 2 - Reckless cause injury
(3) Summary charge - Possess prohibited weapon (crossbow)
Lagerwey:
(1) Charge 1 - Aggravated burglary
Circumstances of the offence
On 31 December 2020, the victims were celebrating New Year's Eve at 1 Chaffey Square, Corio.
Rose had left his premises at around lunch time, telling his father he was going to a party. Lagerwey remained at home. Lagerwey made several phone calls to her son throughout the evening.
Between 12:30 AM and 12:40 AM on 1 January 2021, Lagerwey contacted her former partner Troy Murray, who lived at 16 Finch Street, Norlane.
Between 12:40 AM and 1:30 AM Lagerwey knocked on the front door of the victims' residence. Kerrie Patmore answered the door. Lagerwey was very intoxicated. She asked Kerrie Patmore if a taxi had arrived for her. Kerrie Patmore told Lagerwey it had come earlier but had left. Kerrie Patmore then offered Lagerwey a lift to Norlane.
Kerrie Patmore drove Lagerwey to 16 Finch Street Norlane. Hills was also present and was seated in the back seat of the vehicle. They thought from their conversation with her during the trip that Lagerwey was going to her ex-partner's house to use drugs.
Kerrie Patmore dropped Lagerwey off out the front of 16 Finch Street, Norlane and Lagerwey went inside leaving her handbag inside the vehicle. Lagerwey told Kerrie Patmore and Hills to wait for her.
However, Kerrie Patmore and Hills threw the bag onto the nature strip and drove back towards Chaffey Square.
A short time later, Lagerwey returned to Chaffey Square and was dropped off in an unknown vehicle. Lagerwey approached Kerrie Patmore out the front of the victim's residence, pushed her and said, 'Where's my fucking bag?'
Lagerwey then said words to the effect of, 'You're all fucked', and 'I'm going to get my son and come back and smash up your house and cars,' before leaving.
A short time later, a Holden Commodore Sedan arrived and parked outside the accused's residence.
Lagerwey had left the premises prior to the arrival of the Commodore.
Several unidentified men got out of the car, walked over to the victim's residence and began smashing windows down the side of the house. At some point, they entered the house via the side dining room door.
Rose arrived at the victim's residence at approximately the same time as the unidentified men and entered the property. Lagerwey also arrived and entered the property at approximately the same time. It is not known who entered the property first, or the order in which Rose, Lagerwey and the unidentified men entered the property. (Charge 1 - Aggravated burglary - both accused)
Rose was seen inside the premises by Hayes. Hayes asked Rose, 'What the fuck are you doing here? Get the fuck out of my house.' Rose attacked Hayes using a baseball bat. Some of the unidentified males then joined the attack on Hayes, using bats and poles**. (Charge 2 - Recklessly causing injury - accused Rose)**
The prosecution does not allege that either Rose or Lagerwey was complicit with the actions of the unidentified offenders.
Lagerwey grabbed Tanya Patmore by the hair and tried to rip her phone from her hand as she tried to phone police. Tanya Patmore said, 'Get out, I have six kids,' several times. At some point thereafter, the accused persons left. The unknown males also left.
Hayes was conveyed to the Geelong Hospital for treatment. Hayes sustained bruising and swelling to the face and mouth region, a nasal bone fracture and bruising and swelling to his left wrist.
As a result of this incident, 13 panels of the living room and dining room windows were smashed. The passenger side window of Tanya Patmore's vehicle was also smashed.
Investigation
On 1 January 2021 Police examined, photographed and seized items from the crime scene before executing a Section 465 Crimes Act 1958 search warrant at 4 Chaffey Square, Corio.
During the search police located a silver aluminium baseball bat and a crossbow. (Summary charge 3 - Possession of a prohibited weapon - accused Rose)
Lagerwey was arrested at the scene and conveyed to the Geelong Police Station for Interview. A Digitally recorded interview was conducted with Lagerwey at the Geelong Police Station.
Lagerwey said she was given a lift to her former boyfriend's house by a dark-haired girl and another girl from across the road, she went inside briefly and when she came back out they were gone and so was her bag.
Lagerwey said she returned to 1 Chaffey Square and had a verbal dispute with the residents out the front about the bag and then went home.
Lagerwey denied pushing anyone or making any phone calls. Lagerwey said the alleged incident inside 1 Chaffey Square didn't happen.
Rose attended at the Geelong Police Station on the evening of 1 January 2021. A Digitally recorded interview was conducted with Rose. He gave a largely 'no comment' interview and made no admissions.
(a) The applicant was still youthful, aged 24 years, at the time of the offending and 27 years at the time of the plea hearing.
(b) He had no prior convictions or pending charges at the time of sentence.
(c) He was not bailed for 49 days and when he was bailed, he was subject to very strict conditions including a curfew and a prohibition on contacting his mother.
(d) He suffered from a childhood that was 'full of trauma and abuse' and developed consequential alcohol and drug problems.
(e) He successfully completed the CISP[5] after being released on bail.
(f) He continued in his employment upon release from bail.
(g) His plea of guilty had a significant utilitarian value, evidenced remorse and ought to be treated as an early plea.
(h) The victims of the offending were not entirely blameless - much alcohol, noise and fighting were evident at the premises on this New Year's Eve before the arrival of the applicant.
(i) No complicity is alleged with the unidentified men, who arrived with the applicant, but then acted on their own accord.
(j) The applicant intended to protect his mother and recover her bag.[6]
(k) He has a good relationship with his mother and lived with her in housing commission houses all his life. She also was the victim of significant domestic violence. He would try, usually unsuccessfully, to intervene.
(l) His father left the family home when the applicant was 12 months old and lives in Queensland. He has seen very little of his father over the years.
(m) He has a good relationship with his sister and his maternal grandmother. Whilst on bail, he lived with his grandmother for 18 months.
(n) He is in a new and stable relationship.
(o) He moved to several primary schools and was bullied in secondary school. He left school part-way through year 11 and commenced an apprenticeship as a baker. He completed this; although he enjoyed it, he has also worked at other occupations including labouring and as a shipping container surveyor. At the time of the plea he was working as a concrete labourer and has a medium rigid truck licence.
(p) He started smoking marijuana when he was about 16 years of age. He commenced drinking alcohol at about the same age.
(q) A report from clinical psychologist, Mr Luke Armstrong, was tendered. Amongst other things, the psychologist opined that, as a consequence of observing his mother's distress in response to domestic violence, the applicant became pre-occupied with 'rescuing or attending to his mother's needs'. The psychologist described this process as 'parentification'. The psychologist's view was that the applicant has a relatively low risk of similar offending.
(r) It was submitted that the principles in Bugmy v The Queen ('Bugmy') were engaged which mitigated moral culpability.[7]
(s) The applicant contended that a sentence of time served (49 days) together with a CCO was the correct disposition, having regard to his pleas of guilty, youth, delay, rehabilitation and Bugmy principles.
(a) She was aged 48 years at the time of offending and was 51 years at sentencing.
(b) It was submitted the principles of Worboyes v The Queen ('Worboyes') should apply.[8]
(c) She found her 70 days in remand for this current offence 'particularly difficult', and this was supported by a psychological assessment from Ms Cara Lechner.
(d) It was submitted that she has ongoing anxiety, that her anxiety increased after her time in remand, and that this would enliven limbs 4 and 5 of Verdins.[9]
(e) Her guilty plea had significant utilitarian value and ought to be treated as an early plea.
(f) She co-operated with police and abided by her bail conditions.
(g) She has two prior criminal charges of theft and possessing cannabis, both adjourned without conviction.
(h) At the time of the current offending, she was 'extremely drunk' and acted on the belief that her handbag had been stolen.
(i) She was subject to 'serious family violence' in 'every relationship [she] has ever been in'.
(j) She has a 'probable diagnosis' of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
(k) She is a carer for her mother.
(l) It was contended that a combination sentence of 70 days' imprisonment (time served on remand) with a lengthy CCO would provide adequate specific and general deterrence for Ms Lagerwey.
(a) Was the 'primary agitator', making direct threats to Ms Patmore by stating that 'you're all fucked', and 'I'm going to get my son and come back and smash up your house and cars'.
(b) Arrived a short time later with the applicant and entered the victim's property as a trespasser.
(c) Was present while Mr Hayes was assaulted by the applicant and the unidentified men.
(d) Participated directly in the assault of Ms Patmore by 'grabbing her by the hair'.
(e) Attempted to 'rip the phone from [Ms Patmore's] hand as she tried to phone police'.
(f) Was present when Ms Patmore stated several times, 'Get out, I have six kids'.
(a) Entered the victim's property as a trespasser, in the presence of the unidentified males.
(b) Was seen by Mr Hayes and was told, 'What the fuck are you doing here? Get the fuck out of my house'.
(c) Attacked Mr Hayes with a baseball bat, causing him injury.
(d) Was engaged in a physical altercation with Mr Hayes before the unidentified males began attacking Mr Hayes with bats and poles. (The prosecution did not allege the applicant is complicit with the attack on Mr Hayes by the unidentified males).
(a) Aggravated burglaries involving confrontation and violence (or threats of violence) are very serious offences regardless of the setting in which they occur.[10]
(b) By their pleas, both offenders accepted that they intended to assault a person at the time they entered the premises.
(c) The applicant was carrying a weapon - a baseball bat - both before and at the point of entry.
(d) The applicant and Ms Lagerwey were acting in concert at the time of the aggravated burglary.
(e) The offending occurred at the early hours of the morning.
(f) The co-offenders knew (or were reckless as to the fact) that there were persons present at the property.
(g) The victim of the causing injury recklessly charge sustained a nasal bone fracture, swelling to the left wrist and bruising and swelling to the mouth region. The latter two injuries were alleged to have been caused by the applicant.
(h) Care must be taken to avoid doubly punishing the applicant by taking into account, on the aggravated burglary offence, conduct that occurred after entry into the premises had been effected. The offence was complete at that stage, and his causing injury charge must be considered separately.
Ms Lagerwey, you accompanied your son, and at the point of entry as a trespasser, you also intended to cause fear through those actions, and you knew that a person was present inside the house, or were reckless as to whether or not a person was so present.[12]
The judge's sentencing remarks regarding the applicant
The judge's sentencing remarks regarding Ms Lagerwey
...I consider that your time on remand weighed heavily upon you, and I am prepared to infer that imprisonment will weigh more heavily upon you than it would on a person without your personal circumstances, including your psychological presentation.[33] I take this into account in mitigation of sentence, and as urged upon me, I have reflected carefully on whether there is another available sentence that satisfies all relevant purposes of sentencing aside from returning you to custody in respect of this offence.[34]
As I am obliged to do, I consider and have regard to the considerations relevant to determining the relative seriousness of the offence of aggravated burglary, as specified by the Victorian Court of Appeal in DPP v Meyers [2014] VSCA 314; (2014) 44 VR 486 [48]. And as I have noted, your shared intention in company with one another was to assault an occupant of the home; you were acting in company with one another; the burglary took place in the early hours of the morning. That assault was reactive to a perceived grievance between you, Ms Lagerwey, and others in the house, over the missing handbag. Ms Lagerwey, you lured your son into your criminal act of aggravated burglary, and then he took the frightening situation even further by you, Mr Rose, causing injury to the occupant. I share the view of the prosecution that this is a serious example of aggravated burglary with an intention to assault.
Mr Rose, the injury that you caused in the circumstances of recklessness I have described, including the use of the weapon, the location of the offending, and in the presence of others also justify a conclusion that this is a serious example of that offence. When your premises were later searched, a crossbow was located.[35]
I am also obliged to apply the parity principle of sentencing in respect of the sentences imposed on each of you on the offence of aggravated burglary.[38]
Regrettably, her Honour did not expand on how that principle was applied in this case.
Though [the co-offenders'] total effective sentence of 20 months' imprisonment was undoubtedly lenient (some might say extremely so), it does not follow that this court should reject what seems to us to be an otherwise compelling parity argument put on behalf of the appellant. On any view, principles of parity must be taken into account, even in circumstances where the sentence imposed upon a co-offender is regarded as inadequate.
That does not mean that principles of parity require an appellate court to impose what is, in its view, a wholly inappropriate sentence. It might mean, however, that a sentence towards the very bottom of the range is called for, even if that sentence, when viewed objectively, is otherwise seen as being too low.[45]
Thus, even if this Court were to conclude that the sentence imposed on the applicant offended the principle of equal justice, this Court is not required to reduce the sentence imposed on the applicant to a point where that sentence becomes manifestly inadequate.[47]
[1] Contrary to s 77 of the Crimes Act 1958.
[2] Contrary to s 18 of the Crimes Act 1958.
[3] Contrary to s 5AA of the Control of Weapons Act 1990.
[4] Contrary to s 77 of the Crimes Act 1958.
[5] Court Integrated Services Program ('CISP').
[9] R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269; [2007] VSCA 102.
[10] Counsel for the respondent referred to DPP v Meyers [2014] VSCA 314; (2014) 44 VR 486, 489 [6] (Maxwell P, Redlich and Osborn JJA); [2014] VSCA 314 and Hogarth v The Queen [2012] VSCA 302; (2012) 37 VR 658, 673 [56] (Maxwell P, Neave JA and Coghlan AJA); [2012] VSCA 302.
[11] On the plea, there was much debate about the mental state that accompanied the entry into the house of both the applicant and his co-accused. At the outset, the applicant's solicitor contended that the intention to assault was conditional upon it becoming necessary to protect his mother. After it was pointed out that this traversed his plea, it was accepted that the assault was constituted by an intention to place persons in fear.
[12] DPP v Rose [2024] VCC 668, [18] (Judge Marich) ('Reasons').
[15] [2021] VSCA 169; (2021) 96 MVR 344, 356 [35] (Priest, Kaye and T Forrest JJA); [2021] VSCA 169 where this Court recognised the utilitarian benefit of a plea of guilty at a time when COVID-19 had resulted in significant and unacceptable delays in the administration of criminal justice in Victoria and held that persons who pleaded guilty during that time were entitled to an 'actual and palpable amelioration of sentence'.
[33] R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269; [2007] VSCA 102.
[39] Grey v The King [2024] VSCA 75, [62] (Walker and Boyce JJA).
[40] Hafner v The Queen [2012] VSCA 190, [17] (Buchanan JA, Bongiorno JA agreeing at [26], Osborn JA agreeing at [27]).
[41] Green v The Queen [2011] HCA 49; (2011) 244 CLR 462, 474-5 [31] (French CJ, Crennan and Kiefel JJ); [2011] HCA 49.
[42] Ibid. See also Postiglione v The Queen [1997] HCA 26; (1997) 189 CLR 295, 323 (Gummow J), 338 (Kirby J); [1997] HCA 26.
[43] Galea v The Queen [2020] VSCA 69, [19] (T Forrest and Osborn JJA).
[45] Ibid [31]-[32] (Weinberg and Bongiorno JJA) (citations omitted).
[47] Ibid [66] (Walker and Boyce JJA) (citations omitted).
[51] R v Mills [1998] 4 VR 235, 241-2 (Batt JA, Phillips CJ and Charles JA agreeing at 236); Azzopardi v The Queen [2011] VSCA 372; (2011) 35 VR 43, 53-5 [34]-[37] (Redlich JA, Coghlan AJA agreeing at 70 [92], Macaulay AJA agreeing at 70 [93]); [2011] VSCA 372.
[53] As we observed earlier, the sentence imposed on the applicant for the offence of aggravated burglary is to be understood as being of limited precedential value.
Rose
The King [2024] VSCA 296
DPP v Rose [2024] VCC 668 (Judge Marich)
Galea v The Queen [2020] VSCA 69; Green v The Queen [2011] HCA 49; (2011) 244 CLR 462; Grey v The King [2024] VSCA 75; Hafner v The Queen [2012] VSCA 190; O'Loughlan v The Queen [2010] VSCA 175; Postiglione v The Queen [1997] HCA 26; (1997) 189 CLR 295, considered.
(2014) 44 VR 486
(2013) 249 CLR 571
(2007) 16 VR 269
(2012) 37 VR 658
(2021) 96 MVR 344
(2011) 35 VR 43
(2011) 244 CLR 462
(1997) 189 CLR 295