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District Court 15 December 2025

R v Shiels

[2025] NSWDC 551

Theft & propertyTraffic & drivingPublic order & justice offences

Citation: R v Shiels [2025] NSWDC 551
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 15 December 2025
Judge: Haesler SC DCJ

Background

The offender had been convicted of his father's murder in 2011 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with a three-year non-parole period. He was released to parole in April 2024 but was back in custody by November 2024, within approximately seven months of his release.

The offending involved four counts spanning a period of nine days in November 2024. The offender was found in a stolen Range Rover on 17 November 2024 and then drove a stolen Mitsubishi on two occasions in late November 2024. The final incident involved a police pursuit through suburban streets in southern Wollongong, during which the offender drove at speeds of up to 115 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, failed to stop at stop signs, made dangerous U-turns, drove through red lights, and ran over police road spikes before the vehicle was later found outside his home. Two summary offences of driving whilst never licensed were also before the Court.

Because the offender was subject to a lengthy parole order stemming from his 2011 sentence, the Local Court's sentencing jurisdiction was constrained under s 58 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW): any penalty that court could impose would be inadequate. The Director of Public Prosecutions accordingly elected to proceed in the District Court.

  • Whether the custody threshold under s 5 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) was crossed for each count, including the first count of being carried in a stolen conveyance.
  • How to assess the objective seriousness of vehicle theft and dangerous driving offences committed while on parole.
  • How to weigh subjective mitigating factors, including a background of chronic family violence, substance abuse, suspected untreated learning disorder, and schizophrenia, against the aggravating circumstances.
  • How to structure an aggregate sentence, including the non-parole period, where the offender had already served a portion of time in custody and where special circumstances existed.
  • Whether a 25% discount for guilty pleas entered in the Local Court should apply, and how to prevent accumulation from eroding that benefit.

Decision

Objective seriousness and the custody threshold

Haesler SC DCJ found that the custody threshold was crossed for all four counts. While his Honour acknowledged that the first count (being carried in a stolen vehicle) might not ordinarily warrant imprisonment in isolation, the pattern of offending and the fact that all offences were committed while the offender was on parole brought it over the threshold. The police pursuit offence attracted findings of high moral culpability: the offender had an obligation to stop when directed by police, and instead drove at dangerous speeds through residential streets, placing himself, police, and other road users at risk. His Honour noted the offender had never held a licence and that his post-pursuit comment to police further illustrated his attitude to the offending.

Subjective considerations

The offender's background was described as sad but uncontroversial. His childhood was marked by chronic exposure to family violence, alcohol, and drug abuse. He has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a suspected untreated learning disorder. His Honour accepted that, following his 2024 parole release, the offender initially responded well to supervision before deteriorating significantly, coinciding with non-attendance at reviews, disengagement from programs, and apparent illicit drug use. The principles in Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37 regarding the enduring relevance of profound disadvantage in sentencing were implicitly engaged. His Honour also noted NDIS and family support as factors that could assist the offender on his next release.

Guilty plea discount

A 25% reduction was applied to each sentence to reflect the utilitarian value of the guilty pleas, which were indicated in the Local Court. His Honour took care to ensure that the process of accumulating sentences did not erode that discount.

Special circumstances and aggregate sentence

His Honour found special circumstances justifying a non-parole period significantly below the standard proportion. The aggregate sentence was set at 1 year and 10 months, with an 11-month non-parole period. Because the sentence was backdated to commence on 26 November 2024 (the date of arrest), the non-parole period had effectively already expired by the time of sentencing, leaving the question of release to the State Parole Authority at its next review.

Orders Made

  • Count 1 (carried in stolen Range Rover, 17 November 2024): 3 months imprisonment.
  • Count 2 (drove stolen Mitsubishi, Caltex incident, 25 November 2024): 9 months imprisonment.
  • Count 3 (drove stolen Mitsubishi, Lake Heights, 26 November 2024): 9 months imprisonment.
  • Count 4 (police pursuit, dangerous driving, 26 November 2024): 1 year and 2 months imprisonment, with a driving disqualification of 1 year and 6 months (suspended while the offender is in custody).
  • Two driving-whilst-never-licensed offences: conviction recorded, no further penalty, pursuant to s 10A Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW); no licence disqualification imposed on those counts.
  • Aggregate sentence: 1 year and 10 months imprisonment, commencing 26 November 2024.
  • Non-parole period: 11 months (reflecting a significant finding of special circumstances), expiring 25 October 2025.
  • Total sentence expires: 25 September 2026.
  • Release to parole on the current sentence was noted as a matter for the State Parole Authority at its 27 January review date.

Key Takeaways

  • Under s 58 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), where a parolee's existing non-parole period is lengthy, a Local Court magistrate's jurisdiction to impose an adequate custodial sentence may be constrained, enabling the Director of Public Prosecutions to elect to proceed in the District Court instead.
  • Offending committed while on parole is a significant aggravating factor: the District Court treated it as sufficient to bring even a relatively minor first count over the custody threshold that it might not otherwise have crossed.
  • A 25% guilty plea discount, where pleas are indicated in the Local Court but the matter proceeds by indictment, applies to each individual count, and a sentencing court must take care that the structure of any aggregate sentence does not inadvertently erode that benefit.
  • Profound and longstanding disadvantage, including childhood exposure to family violence and substance abuse, a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and suspected untreated learning disorders, remains relevant to moral culpability and the structure of a sentence, consistent with the High Court's approach in Bugmy v The Queen, even where the objective seriousness of the offending is considerable.
  • A significant finding of special circumstances can reduce the non-parole period well below the standard ratio, particularly where the offender's rehabilitation prospects and NDIS and family support suggest that an extended parole period would better serve the purposes of sentencing.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 51B(1), 154A(1)(b)
- Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW), s 58
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 5, 10A
- Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW), s 53(3)

Cases
- Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37; (2013) 249 CLR 571
- Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194
- Mill v The Queen [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59
- R v Shiels [2011] NSWSC 1177
- R v Shiels [2011] NSWSC 1693