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District Court 1 December 2023

R v Traynor (a pseudonym)

[2023] NSWDC 612

Drugs

Citation: R v Traynor (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWDC 612
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 1 December 2023
Judge: Haesler SC DCJ

Background

The offender (referred to by the pseudonym "Traynor" under a non-publication order) appeared for sentencing on three serious drug supply charges under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW). He had indicated guilty pleas at the Local Court stage. A Form 1 offence of dealing with proceeds of crime was also taken into account on one of the charges, though not separately sentenced.

The charges arose from a police undercover operation investigating drug distribution in a local area. Between August 2021 and October 2022, Traynor supplied cocaine through a series of transactions to undercover operatives and other customers. He was also identified, through intercepted phone communications, as agreeing to supply approximately 360 grams of cocaine. On his arrest in March 2022, police found roughly 190 grams of cocaine and over $55,000 cash at his home.

The sentencing exercise required the court to weigh the objective seriousness of the offending against a range of significant subjective mitigating factors, including drug addiction, mental illness, the impact of multiple traumas, family hardship, and demonstrated remorse.

  • What was the appropriate assessment of the objective seriousness of each offence, including the relevance of the quantity, persistence, and commercial nature of the supply?
  • What weight should be given to the offender's subjective circumstances, including addiction, mental illness, trauma history, and family impact?
  • Whether an Intensive Correction Order (ICO) was available or appropriate as an alternative to full-time custody.
  • Whether special circumstances existed justifying a departure from the standard ratio between non-parole period and balance of term.
  • What reduction applied for the utilitarian value of the early guilty plea?

Decision

Haesler SC DCJ assessed the objective seriousness of the offending as considerable, though not at the most serious end. The commercial supply charges involved multiple transactions over many months, a substantial total quantity of cocaine, and an organised (if unsophisticated) operation run from the offender's own home. His Honour noted that the persistence and commercial character of the supply elevated its seriousness beyond a one-off transaction involving comparable quantities, citing R v R E [2023] NSWCCA 184.

The court found that Traynor operated as a conduit for an upline supplier, using his own phone and premises, bearing the risks his supplier avoided, and in doing so exposed his family to danger. While the operation lacked sophistication, the volume of transactions and the drugs and cash found at arrest indicated a functioning supply business. The fact that police had allowed transactions to continue while pursuing intelligence about higher-level suppliers did not mitigate the offending.

Turning to subjective factors, the court accepted significant mitigation from Traynor's drug addiction, mental illness, history of multiple traumas, genuine remorse, and the hardship his imprisonment would impose on his family. His Honour acknowledged Traynor's progress toward rehabilitation. These matters, taken together with a finding of special circumstances, resulted in a total sentence shorter than might otherwise have applied and a proportionally extended parole period.

An ICO was ruled out as inappropriate given the nature and seriousness of the offending. The court reduced each sentence by 25 percent for the utilitarian value of the early guilty plea, with rounding applied in the offender's favour to preserve that benefit across accumulated sentences.

Orders Made

  • Indictable supply (greater than indictable quantity): 1 year and 10 months imprisonment.
  • Each commercial supply (two counts): 3 years imprisonment, non-parole period of 1 year and 6 months.
  • Total aggregate sentence: 3 years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of 1 year and 11 months.
  • Sentence dated from 26 November 2023 (to account for time served on remand).
  • Eligible for parole consideration on 25 October 2025; balance of term commencing 26 October 2025; total sentence expiring 25 September 2027.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court confirmed that where drug supply involves repeated transactions over many months, the persistence and commercial character of the conduct increase objective seriousness beyond a single comparable supply, consistent with R v R E [2023] NSWCCA 184.
  • Significant personal mitigation, including addiction, mental illness, trauma history, and family hardship, can reduce the overall sentence and support a finding of special circumstances, but does not displace the requirement for a full-time custodial sentence where the offending is serious.
  • Operating a drug supply business from the family home, even without sophisticated methods, does not reduce culpability and carries the additional aggravating dimension of exposing family members to risk.
  • An ICO is not an available sentencing option where the nature and seriousness of commercial drug supply offending demand a full-time custodial response.
  • A 25 percent reduction for an early guilty plea applies on utilitarian grounds, and care must be taken when accumulating sentences not to inadvertently erode that reduction.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), ss 25(1) and 25(2)
- Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW)

Cases
- R v R E [2023] NSWCCA 184
- Hamzy v R (1994) 74 A Crim R 341
- Jadron v R [2015] NSWCCA 217
- Henry v R [1999] NSWCCA 111; (1999) 46 NSWLR 346
- R v Way (2004) 60 NSWLR 168; [2004] NSWCCA 131
- Stanley v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2023] HCA 3
- Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194
- Donald (a pseudonym) v R [2021] NSWCCA 198
- Lloyd v R [2022] NSWCCA 18
- Luque v R [2017] NSWCCA 226
- Pym v R [2014] NSWCCA 182
- Devaney v R [2012] NSWCCA 285
- Tootell v R [2012] QCA 273
- Attorney General's Application under s 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 No 1 of 2002 [2002] NSWCCA 518
- R v Edwards (1996) 90 A Crim R 510
- R v Kelly [1999] UKHL 4; [2000] 1 QB 198
- R v Wirth (1976) 14 SASR 291