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District Court 1 March 2019

R v Sean Hollis

[2019] NSWDC 139

Assault & violenceDrugsTraffic & drivingFirearms & weapons
SENTENCING A POLICE PURSUIT RECKLESS DRIVING POLICE ASSAULTED POLICE VEHICLES DAMAGED POLICE DOG DEPLOYED

Citation: R v Sean Hollis [2019] NSWDC 139
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 1 March 2019
Judge: Haesler SC DCJ

Background

On the evening of 18 March 2018, police pursued an unregistered Ford Falcon travelling at speeds of up to 160 km/h through the Albion Park and Wollongong areas. The driver, the offender, was later found to have been affected by drugs. The pursuit ended when the vehicle entered the car park of the Accident and Emergency department at Wollongong Hospital.

Police moved to arrest the offender, but he produced a 15-centimetre knife and resisted apprehension. He then doused himself and the interior of the vehicle with flammable liquid from a jerry can, threatened to set himself and the car alight using a cigarette lighter, rammed police vehicles, assaulted officers, and kicked and stabbed a police dog. The standoff lasted approximately two hours before police subdued him using a fire hose and a dog deployment. Officers suffered superficial injuries; the hospital's emergency department was forced to shut down temporarily.

The offender pleaded guilty to multiple charges arising from the pursuit and the siege. The charges included police pursuit, two counts of using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, assault of police officers, property damage, and possession of a dangerous article (a Molotov cocktail found in the vehicle). A drug driving matter and a possess ammunition matter were also before the court.

  • What aggregate sentence was appropriate given the objective seriousness of a prolonged, dangerous siege involving weapons and flammable materials outside a major hospital?
  • How should the offender's mental health, drug-affected state, deprived background, and history of abuse affect the assessment of moral culpability?
  • What weight should be given to the offender's early guilty plea, his long period of non-offending before this incident, and his expressed remorse?
  • How should the purposes of sentencing, including general deterrence, specific deterrence, and rehabilitation, be balanced given the offender's mental illness and treatment needs?
  • Whether a Community Treatment Order was appropriate as part of the sentencing disposition.

Decision

Haesler SC DCJ characterised the offending as objectively serious. The prolonged siege occurred in the car park of a major hospital emergency department, creating substantial risk to police, hospital staff, and the public. The use of a knife, flammable liquids, and a Molotov cocktail, combined with the repeated ramming of police vehicles and attacks on officers and a police dog, placed the conduct at the higher end of seriousness. His Honour commended police for exercising extraordinary restraint throughout the incident.

Turning to subjective factors, the court accepted that the offender's moral responsibility was reduced by a combination of circumstances: a deprived and abusive background, a long history of illicit drug use, a resumption of drug use after an extended period of abstinence, and the presence of a significant mental illness. Although no mental illness defence had been raised, the court accepted that the offender's mental state at the time materially affected his culpability. His Honour referred to the principles in Bugmy v The Queen in considering the ongoing effects of the offender's background.

The court acknowledged that, in ordinary circumstances, the maximum penalties available for offences of this nature would call for very substantial sentences with significant emphasis on general deterrence. However, the combination of the early guilty plea, reduced moral responsibility, the offender's personal history, family support, expressed remorse, and the need for a treatment plan justified a moderated sentence. His Honour indicated that a Community Treatment Order would be required to address the offender's mental health needs upon release.

An aggregate sentence was imposed under the relevant provisions, with substantial concurrence applied across the weapon-related sequences given their closely connected factual basis. The drug driving and ammunition possession matters were each disposed of pursuant to section 10A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, meaning no additional penalty beyond a licence disqualification was imposed for drug driving, as the imprisonment terms already imposed rendered further punishment inexpedient.

Orders Made

  • Sequence 3 (police pursuit): 1 year and 6 months imprisonment; 2-year driving disqualification.
  • Sequence 6 (use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, with Form 1): 3 years imprisonment.
  • Sequence 7 (use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention): 2 years and 3 months imprisonment; substantial concurrence applied with sequence 6.
  • Sequence 14 (assault police in execution of duty, with Form 1 matters): 1 year and 1 month imprisonment.
  • Sequence 9 (damage police vehicle): 6 months imprisonment.
  • Sequence 18 (possess dangerous article): 6 months imprisonment.
  • Sequence 4 (dangerous driving): 3 months imprisonment; 2-year driving disqualification.
  • Aggregate sentence: 4 years and 1 month imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 2 years and 1 month, commencing 18 March 2018. Eligible for parole consideration from 17 April 2020; total sentence expires 17 April 2022.
  • Sequence 5 (drug driving): Disposed of pursuant to s 10A; 3-month licence disqualification.
  • Possess ammunition: Disposed of pursuant to s 10A; no further penalty.

Key Takeaways

  • Even where offending is objectively serious and involves prolonged violence, weapons, and significant risk to emergency personnel and the public, an aggregate sentence can be substantially moderated by reduced moral culpability arising from mental illness, drug-affected state, and a deprived background, particularly where an early guilty plea is entered.
  • The principles in Bugmy v The Queen were applied to give ongoing weight to the effects of the offender's history of deprivation and abuse, not merely as a one-off mitigating factor but as a continuing circumstance bearing on moral responsibility.
  • Where multiple offences arise from a single, continuous incident, substantial concurrence in individual sentences can be appropriate when imposing an aggregate term, though the court must ensure the aggregate reflects the totality of the criminality involved.
  • A finding that the offender was drug-affected at the time does not automatically ground a mental illness defence, but it can, together with a diagnosed mental illness, substantially reduce the weight given to general deterrence in fixing the appropriate sentence.
  • Disposal of less serious related charges pursuant to s 10A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (under the equivalent Criminal Procedure Act provision as referenced) is available where the imprisonment terms already imposed make the imposition of further penalties inexpedient.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 33B(1)(a), 51B(1), 60(1)
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s 166
- Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW)

Cases:
- Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571
- Attorney General's Application No 2 of 2002 (2002) 137 A Crim R 196
- Courtney v R [2007] NSWCCA 195; 172 A Crim R 371
- DPP v De Le Rosa [2010] NSWCCA 194