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District Court 16 May 2008

R v Matthew James STRATTON

[2008] NSWDC 145

Assault & violenceTheft & propertyPublic order & justice offences
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE FORM 1 ARMED ROBBERY WITH WOUNDING

Citation: R v Matthew James Stratton [2008] NSWDC 145
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 16 May 2008
Judge(s): Berman SC DCJ

Background

Over the summer of 2006 to 2007, the offender orchestrated a systematic pattern of theft across Sydney. He and his associates stole Holden Commodore vehicles, using each one to carry out multiple handbag snatches from patrons seated outside cafés and restaurants, before abandoning the car and stealing another. The offending spanned suburbs including Balmain, Manly, Newtown, Parramatta, Double Bay and Randwick, among many others.

The most serious offence involved an early morning incident on Bridge Street in the city. While the offender acted as the getaway driver, his accomplice attempted to snatch a handbag and stabbed two victims, one in the stomach and one in the chest. The offender acknowledged he knew his co-offender was armed with a knife and accepted that the stabbing was a possible consequence of their planned venture.

The offender pleaded guilty to multiple counts on the indictment, including robbery, stealing, and entering a dwelling as a trespasser. A large number of further offences were placed before the court on a Form 1 to be taken into account on sentence. All offences were committed while the offender was on parole for prior offences including stealing from a person and robbery.

  • What sentence was appropriate for armed robbery with wounding arising from a joint criminal enterprise, where the offender was the getaway driver rather than the person who wielded the knife?
  • How should multiple additional offences on a Form 1 affect the overall sentence?
  • Whether accumulation of sentences was warranted across the many counts on the indictment, and how the totality principle applied.
  • Whether special circumstances existed that would justify adjusting the standard ratio between non-parole period and head sentence.

Decision

The court treated count 1, the armed robbery with wounding, as the principal offence and the centrepiece of the sentencing exercise. Although the offender was the driver rather than the person who carried and used the knife, the court found that he knowingly participated in a joint criminal enterprise and accepted the risk that his co-offender might use the weapon. This placed the offending squarely within the doctrine of common purpose.

In assessing the Form 1 matters, the court observed a strikingly consistent pattern of offending: twenty-seven of the twenty-eight victims were women seated outside cafés or restaurants, and the total value of cash and property stolen was approximately $3,000, much of which was recovered by police. While no individual Form 1 matter approached the gravity of count 1, the sheer volume of offending was a significant aggravating consideration.

The court declined to find special circumstances. Although the offender would benefit from post-release supervision, the length of the sentence provided sufficient parole time without any adjustment to the standard ratio. The fact that all offences were committed while the offender was on parole was treated as a weighty aggravating factor.

The court determined that some accumulation of sentences was necessary given the number of discrete offences on the indictment, but applied the totality principle to ensure substantial overlap. The effective commencement date for all sentences was fixed at 23 January 2007, the date of the offender's arrest.

Orders Made

  • Count 3: Fixed term of four years commencing 23 January 2007.
  • Count 4: Fixed term of four years commencing 23 January 2008.
  • Count 5: Fixed term of four years commencing 23 January 2009.
  • Counts 6 and 7: Fixed term of four years commencing 23 January 2007.
  • Counts 2, 8, 9 and 10: Fixed terms of three years commencing 23 January 2007.
  • Count 1 (armed robbery with wounding, the principal offence): Non-parole period of seven years commencing 23 January 2010, with a head sentence of ten years and four months.
  • Overall effective sentence: Non-parole period of ten years, head sentence of thirteen years and four months.

Key Takeaways

  • A getaway driver who knows his co-offender is armed with a knife, and who accepts the risk that the weapon may be used, is criminally liable for the resulting wounding under the doctrine of joint criminal enterprise and common purpose.
  • The District Court confirmed that a large volume of Form 1 matters, even where each is relatively minor in isolation, constitutes a significant aggravating factor when sentencing on the principal offence.
  • Offending committed while on parole is a serious aggravating circumstance and weighs heavily against the offender at sentence.
  • Accumulation of sentences is warranted where there are multiple discrete offences on an indictment, but the totality principle requires substantial overlap so that the combined sentence remains proportionate to the overall criminality.
  • Absence of special circumstances does not prevent adequate post-release supervision where the head sentence is sufficiently long to allow a meaningful parole period within the standard non-parole ratio.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

No specific legislation or cases were cited in the text of the judgment or its metadata. The judgment applied the following general sentencing principles, without citation to specific authorities:

  • Joint criminal enterprise and common purpose doctrine
  • Form 1 procedure (taking additional offences into account on sentence)
  • Principle of accumulation of sentences
  • Totality principle
  • Special circumstances (adjustment to non-parole period)