IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA	Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication	
AT Melbourne
CRIMINAL DIVISION
CR-21-00359

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS		
		
v		
		
LIAM BILLY KING		

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CANNON 	
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne	
DATE OF HEARING:	17 May 2022	
DATE OF SENTENCE:	7 July 2022	
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v King	
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2022] VCC 1093		

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:	CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: 	Sentence - Pleas of guilty - Recklessly cause serious injury (2) - Damaging or destroying property (2) - Prohibited person possess firearm - Posses drug of dependence - Impact on victim profound - Relevant criminal history of violence - Escalation of offending - History of drug abuse, particularly methamphetamine - History of mental illness - Expert report that accused suffering from Bipolar Affective Disorder with psychotic features at the time of the offending and was seriously unwell - also suffers from substance use disorder in remission and ADHD - Difficult to distinguish to what extent offending conduct was due to mental illness and sleep deprivation as opposed to methamphetamine use - Extremely deprived background
Cases Cited:		 R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269; Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571
Sentence:	Convicted and sentenced to Total Effective Sentence of 4 years and 6 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years’ imprisonment - 922 days imprisonment declared as having already been served as part of the sentence imposed - s.6AAA Sentencing Act 1991 declaration - Ancillary orders Forfeiture and Disposal
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APPEARANCES:
	Counsel	Solicitors	
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr C. Thomson (Plea)
Mr N. Cescato (Sentence)	Solicitor for Public Prosecutions	
			
For the Accused	Mr G. Hughan	JDA Law	

HER HONOUR:

1	Liam Billy King, you have pleaded guilty to the following offences:
•	two charges of recklessly causing serious injury; that offence has a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment; 
•	two charges of damaging or destroying property; that offence has a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment;
•	one charge each of prohibited person possessing firearm which has a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment; and
•	possession of a drug of dependence which, in your case, has a maximum penalty of 12 months' imprisonment.
2	You have also pleaded guilty to the summary offence of possessing cartridge ammunition without a relevant licence, which has a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units.
3	In sentencing you I must take into account the maximum penalty as these reflect the seriousness with which Parliament regards the offences.
4	On 2 March 2019 you and an unidentified male went to a McDonald's restaurant in Berwick South at just after 4 am.  You and the male walked to the front door of the place and knocked at the door, but at that time only drive through or takeaway was available.
5	When you could not get into the café you became angry and kicked the locked door.  You then walked to the car park and kicked the driver's side door and back driver's side door of a Volkswagen hatchback which belonged to a Ms Vega who was 19 years old at the time.  Your unprovoked actions caused $4,194.92 worth of damage to the car which was covered by Ms Vega's insurance, but as a result she lost her no claim bonus and she had to make do without her car for a period of time whilst it was being repaired. This conduct gives rise to Charge 1.
6	About five minutes after this offending, you went to another McDonald's in Berwick and drove your car to the drive through area.  Upon being told that one of the items that you wanted was not available, you got out of your car armed with a baseball bat and struck the drive through window twice with the bat causing the window to shatter.  At the time an employee was in the vicinity of the window.  It takes no imagination to know that this would have been a most frightening experience for that person.  The cost of repair to the window was $3,790.50 which had to be paid for by the owner, a Mr Seale.  This conduct gives rise to Charge 2.
7	The basis for Charge 3 is as follows:  in August 2019, a Daniel Winther, who was 41 at the time, was staying with Bruce Gooding at his home in Clyde.  You regarded Bruce Gooding as a close family friend to the point where you regarded him as an uncle.  On the afternoon of 12 August 2019, you and your then partner, Lisa Johnson, were also at Mr Gooding's premises.  Mr Gooding and his partner left the premises at about 5 pm which left you, your partner, another male Mr Perry-Albery, and Mr Winther at the house.  You and Ms Johnson had an argument about a trailer.  Mr Winther asked you to stop arguing as he was worried about disturbing a neighbour. 
8	You and Ms Johnson stopped arguing but after a few minutes you asked Mr Winther to leave the house.  He left through the front door but, as he bent over to put on his shoes, you approached and swung a baseball bat at his head.  Mr Winther raised his arm to protect himself, resulting in the baseball bat connecting with his forearm, causing him significant pain.  As Mr Winther walked to the front of the premises you pushed him in the back which caused him to fall to the ground.  He got to his feet as Mr Perry-Albery was exiting the premises as you had told him to leave as well.  You then chased Mr Perry‑Albery from the property whilst holding the baseball bat.  You and Ms Johnson then got in the car and left.
9	Mr Winther sought treatment for his injury 10 days later as he had been unable to find someone to drive him to the hospital.  He had been in a good deal of pain and was taking Neurofen in a bid to deal with it.  He was treated for a broken forearm, that is, an oblique and slightly displaced fracture of the ulna.  Ultimately, he needed surgery and the insertion of a plate.  His arm was in a cast for a while. 
10	At about 9.06 on the same night that you injured Mr Winther some CCTV footage showed you holding a longarm firearm.  You placed the gun into the backseat of Ms Johnson's car and drove to the place where you were staying in Koo Wee Rup.  This was the weapon that you used to shoot Mr Gooding with about 90 minutes later.
11	The basis for Charges 4 and 5 is as follows:   at about 10.31 that evening Mr Gooding took a taxi to your address, arriving about seven minutes later.  He wanted to talk to you about the attack upon Mr Winther.  He started to walk up the driveway to the house, however, upon becoming aware that someone was at your place you armed yourself with the firearm and walked outside.  You aimed the gun down the driveway towards Mr Gooding and fired the gun. 
12	As a result, Mr Gooding was shot in the chest, suffering an injury in that area, with the bullet lodging in the chest cavity.  He fell to the ground.  After you realised who you had shot you and Ms Johnson put the victim into the back of Ms Johnson's car and drove him back to his house, arriving at about 11.02 pm.  Ms Johnson went inside and emerged with a person by the name of Hood and another male, who then carried Mr Gooding inside.  You and Ms Johnson then drove away. 
13	Mr Hood, who was not medically trained, used the internet on his mobile phone to see how to treat a gunshot wound.  At about midnight Hood and the other male placed Mr Gooding on a mattress that was inside and they used a van that they had access to to drive the victim, Mr Gooding, to the local hospital in Berwick.  He was taken straight to the emergency department, then to the Alfred Hospital where he received specialist treatment for a single-entry gunshot wound to the chest.  He spent three days in intensive care and a total of 20 days in hospital.  He had suffered a gunshot wound to the right upper quadrant of the abdomen causing a five-centimetre laceration to his liver.  The bullet passed through his liver and lodged just under the skin on the inside of his back.  He suffered significant internal bleeding and required five units of blood to stabilize his condition. 
14	The prosecution says that you chose to arm yourself with the gun, which you voluntarily and deliberately fired towards Mr Gooding who was a short distance away from you, thereby committing the offence of recklessly causing serious injury. 
15	The basis for Charge 6 is that on 29 August 2019 police executed a search warrant at your house and your father's house.  At your father's house they found, amongst other things, a vial of steroids which was found in the bedroom that you occupied.
16	The basis for the summary charge is that police also found spent rounds of .22 calibre ammunition which was identical to that used to shoot Mr Gooding, six live rounds of .22 live ammunition, a live round of 9 mm ammunition and a magazine containing 30 rounds of ammunition.  
17	On 30 August you were arrested and gave a largely 'no comment' record of interview. 
18	Mr Gooding [sic], your offending is most serious and calls for a punishment which is just in all of the circumstances and which must be appropriately denounced.  On each of the occasions of your offending you behaved in an outrageous, unhinged manner, subjecting people to most frightening behaviour, and in the case of Mr Winther and Mr Gooding particularly, to serious injury.  It is most concerning that you, a prohibited person, were able to access a firearm, let alone use one.  Objectively, your conduct in relation to Charge 5 gives rise to a very serious example of recklessly causing serious injury.
19	Your explanation in relation to shooting Mr Gooding, that you thought it was one of your enemies coming up the driveway, is quite disturbing.  Upon learning that it was in fact a person who you regarded as an uncle you attended to him.  However, it does not serve you well to consider what you would have done if the person you shot had been someone you considered to be an enemy.  I will put this consideration to one side.
20	You instructed your counsel, Mr Hughan, that you did not call an ambulance because Mr Gooding had asked you not to.  Following the plea hearing, via email to the court with the prosecution copied in, your counsel pointed to the Triple 0 call made by your partner where someone can be heard saying 'Don't' when she is giving details to the operator and Ms Johnson is heard to comply with this demand.  It is unclear as to who it is who does not want her to contact Triple 0, but even accepting it is the victim, it is something that you ought to have persisted with in spite of his alleged wishes.  You ought to have insisted on getting him help from an ambulance there and then.  In any event, I accept that you did not leave him for dead entirely, but you took him to others who were able to help him. 
21	In sentencing you I take into account the victim impact statement, although I put aside Mr Gooding's remark in respect of you 'knowing' he 'was coming around'.  However, the impact upon Mr Gooding has been profound.  He said that the offending has drastically changed his life, that he used to be healthy and outgoing, but this is no longer the case.  He keeps asking himself why you behaved as you did, and when he is alone, he often feels physically and mentally ill.  He described his moods as quickly changing from normal to anger.  
22	He said that it was not until he came out of his coma that he learned that it was you who shot him.  Mr Gooding said that his friends and family now treated him with kid gloves due to his injury, anxiety and depression, and he did not like this.  He said that his body felt like that of an 80-year-old rather than a man of 62 years, and that he dreads his children seeing his scar on his abdomen.  He included a photo of this which made for quite confronting viewing. 
23	He said that he could only stand up for 30 minutes at most, needing to sit down and rest.  He said that working was impossible and he was very limited in the activities he could perform, having to be helped practically and financially by others. 
24	He said that he is no longer able to help his elderly mother with her gardening, which he dearly wished to do, and that she was constantly checking on how he was.  He said that he felt unable to leave home for anything other than essential appointments and that this meant he no longer attended family and social events.  He said that while he knows he is lucky to be alive, his life has changed so drastically that he sometimes wishes he had not survived.
25	Mr King, these are the very real effects that your offending has had upon Mr Gooding.  I do hope that Mr Gooding does what he can to overcome the dreadful course that his life has taken and the sad thoughts that he has had since you offended against him. 
26	I take into account your criminal history.  Insofar as I am concerned it commences in 2011 when you were dealt with in the Magistrates' Court by way of a fine without conviction for recklessly causing injury.
27	In August 2013 you were dealt with in this court by Her Honour Judge Gaynor for aggravated burglary-person present and recklessly causing serious injury.  You were convicted and sentenced to a total effective sentence of two years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of eight months.  I have read Her Honour's sentencing remarks.  The offending involved you and some thugs breaking into a friend's house in a bid to attack a male who had kissed your girlfriend at a party.  However, the thugs you had organised attacked your friend instead, causing him serious injury.  You later apologised to the victim and paid him some money to repair the house.  
28	You were 23 at the time of the offending and 24 at the time you were sentenced.  At the time of this offending, you had been on an ice binge and had been awake for four days.  Judge Gaynor made some insightful remarks to you at the time about taking ice and where it could well lead.  Unfortunately, you eventually fell back into methamphetamine use despite efforts at that time not to do so. 
29	In September 2013 you were convicted of various driving offences, including three charges of driving while suspended, and you were sentenced to an aggregate term of three months' imprisonment to be served concurrently with the sentence you were already undergoing. 
30	In January 2017, in the Magistrates' Court, you were convicted of two charges of trafficking methylamphetamine, two charges of negligently dealing with proceeds of crime, one charge of theft of a motor vehicle, one charge of possessing anabolic steroids, one charge of possessing a prohibited weapon without approval, possessing cartridge ammunition without a licence, as well as some driving offences, which included drive whilst disqualified, careless driving and failing to stop after an accident.  In relation to the non-driving matters, and save for the ammunition charge, you were sentenced to an aggregate term of 12 months' imprisonment, in combination with a community corrections order for 12 months, which included conditions for mental health and drug treatment. 
31	On 15 March 2018 in this court, you were convicted in respect of making an explosive substance without excuse and criminal damage.  You were sentenced to an aggregate term of eight months' imprisonment, in combination with a community corrections order for 12 months.  According to the sentencing remarks of Her Honour Judge Condon, as she then was, you made a pipe bomb and caused it to explode underneath the car of a male with whom you had argued and whose sister owed you money.  Fortunately, the bomb did not do a great deal of damage but certainly had the potential to do so.  
32	Her Honour noted that you had been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder in February of that year.  However, apparently no submission was made by Mr Hughan, who also represented you on that occasion, that you were labouring under any symptoms as at the time of that offending which would serve to lower your moral culpability or moderate the weight that ought otherwise attach to other sentencing principles. 
33	Finally, on 28 May 2018 at the Magistrates' Court the community corrections order previously imposed in January 2017 was said to be varied and cancelled.
34	Having considered your criminal history, it is evident that you have behaved violently on previous occasions.  Further, that the offending before me marks an escalation in your offending. 
35	The materials tendered on your behalf show that you have a history of mental illness and it is evident that you were mentally unwell at the time of the offending in August. 
36	Dr Jacqueline Rakov, psychiatrist, assessed you on 4 February 2022 in relation to your mental state at the time of the offending, although she appears to have focused on the offending in August when it comes to some important Verdins questions.  She referred to materials evidencing your psychiatric history.  Upon her own assessment of you she found that at the time of the offending you were suffering from bipolar affective disorder with psychotic features, which was consistent with some previous diagnoses of you.  At the time she examined you she found that you were suffering from substance use disorder in remission and that you also attracted a diagnosis of ADHD. 
37	Your account, as reported by Dr Rakov, in respect of the offending in August was as follows:
'At the time of the alleged offending Mr King told me that he had been out of prison for 10 months.  He said he was doing well for six of those months while he was on medication and was working as a roof plumber and at a carpentry business.  He told me his script ran out for psychotropic medications and while feeling well he thought, "I could handle it".  He stopped taking olanzapine and sodium valproate.  As mania re-emerged, he said things really deteriorated thereafter.  He lost his job.  He lost his car.  He then faced losing his farm.  He started renovating furiously, "I took on 10 projects, I couldn't keep track… It seemed very logical at the time".
'On the relevant night Mr King said he had not used any substances.  Mr King said he went to the house of a close family friend.  He said another person attended which startled him.  "I was delirious.  I thought that he was after me."  Mr King said he quickly then went to Bruce Gooding's house "down the road".  He described Bruce, "He's an uncle to me".  He said he was seeing lasers in the window and smog under the door, noting he hadn't slept.  He believes that is when he "hit Daniel in the arm".  
'He said he raced into the car to get home.  When he returned home, around midnight he thinks, he saw a shadow over the fence, again thinking his life in danger.  He said that was when he heard a thud after the bang, he ran to the end of the drive, turned a torch on and Bruce said, "Stop, it's me".  He said he told his girlfriend Lisa to call an ambulance, which Bruce declined, requesting to be taken home after Lisa sought the assistance of two men.  Eventually he was driven to hospital.' 
38	At the plea hearing Mr Hughan made submissions in keeping with this account, although he said, in effect, that you were labouring under the symptoms of your mental illness alone at the time.  He said that while you had not slept, and were using methamphetamine in the period leading up to the night of the offending, it could not be said that you were affected by methamphetamine use as well, as you had not taken any on that particular day.  He also told me that you were admitted to a psychiatric facility for five days before police arrested you.  He also referred to some of the comments your partner made to the undercover operative about your mental health at the time of the shooting, reflecting her belief that you were very unwell. 
39	However, in respect of 'the relationship between any disorder and offending', Dr Rakov said:
'At the time of the offending Mr King had been without psychiatric medication for approximately four months.  From what he tells me he was quite paranoid and disorganised at the time.  He was also using methamphetamine (albeit not that day) which would have likely exacerbated any poor judgement and disinhibition present from the primary illness.  Mr King appears to have acted from the influence of paranoid delusional beliefs.  He was also experiencing visual hallucinations at the time.'
40	In view of these matters, I accept that at the time of the offending in August 2019 you were labouring under the effects of mental illness, namely bipolar affective disorder, however, your symptoms were exacerbated by methamphetamine use to some extent.  It is unclear and probably impossible to determine to what extent your conduct, including your inability to sleep before this offending, was a product of your mental illness as opposed to your methamphetamine use.  However, in circumstances where you had become seriously unwell at the time, having resorted to methamphetamine by way of self-medication some months earlier, I am prepared to make an allowance in your favour in keeping with Verdins.  
41	In relation to that offending, I find that your moral culpability is reduced to a moderate extent and I make corresponding allowances in respect of the weight needed to be given to specific deterrence, general deterrence, imposition of a just punishment and denunciation.  On the other hand, I must give fairly strong weight to protection of the community.
42	Mr Hughan told me that at the time you committed the offences at the McDonald's stores you were taking your prescribed medication and were not using methamphetamine.  If I accept that this is the case, then it is most concerning that you behaved as you did on the earlier occasion, even though appropriately medicated and apparently not taking methamphetamine.  Mr Hughan was unable to offer an explanation for your conduct on that earlier occasion.  Therefore, Verdins principles do not apply in any of the ways that I have found in respect of the August offending.  So, in relation to the earlier offences, I find that your moral culpability is high and I give fairly solid weight to punishment, denunciation, general and specific deterrence, as well as protection of the community. 
Background
43	I take into account your background.  You are 33 years old.  You were born in Frankston and grew up in the Frankston/Somerville area. 
44	Your mother worked as a medical receptionist and your father worked as a garbage collector.   They separated when you were aged three to four years.    You only saw your natural father once or twice as you were growing up but reconnected with him when you were about 16.  You have a younger sister who is now 30 years old and is a primary school teacher. 
45	You lived with your mother until you were 14, then moved between your two parents over the next two years.  You then lived with your father from age 16 to 17.  You moved out for one to two years before moving back with him.   Your father and other family members suffer from schizophrenia.  Your father did not believe in medication and you have seen him in a psychotic state on a number of occasions.  You have lost two of your cousins who, sadly, also suffered from schizophrenia, as did your uncle.  When you lived with your father you would have to 'walk around on eggshells', as you said, as he was so volatile. 
46	In 1999 your mother remarried, however, according to the report from Dr Rakov, psychiatrist, this man came into your life when you were only five.    Your stepfather, a police officer, was violent to your mother and the other children.  He was ultimately dismissed from the police force because of his violent behaviour.  Your mother had a son to this individual who is now aged 23 and has struggled with LSD use. 
47	Sadly, you were bullied at school and displayed behavioural issues which resulted in you being kept in class at lunchtime and banned from playing football with the other kids.  You were afraid to wear glasses due to being bullied which exacerbated your learning difficulties, which were already occurring due to suffering from ADHD.  You were never invited to birthday parties and had no friends. 
48	When you were in Year 7 you were prescribed Ritalin which was life changing for you as you could concentrate. 
49	You were suspended from school on a number of occasions and offered alternate schooling at one stage as you were under 13 years and could not be expelled.
50	Mr Thompson for the prosecution conceded that the Bugmy principles applied to your case.  I agree and I will give full weight to your extremely deprived background and will somewhat further reduce the weight that I attach to relevant sentencing principles for the offending before me, namely, specific and general deterrence, just punishment and denunciation.  Again, the other side of the coin is, as I have said, I must give fairly strong weight to protection of the community. 
51	You left school at the end of Year 9 and started a carpentry apprenticeship, however, you had to give this up.  According to your report to Dr Rakov the reason for this was the commute, but, according to Mr Hughan, it was because the business failed.  In any event, after this you engaged in demolition work with your father for two or three years. 
52	When you were 18 you were involved in a collision with a motor cyclist where the motor cyclist died.  The collision, which was not your fault, left an indelible mark upon you and it appears that it caused you to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. 
53	To your credit you subsequently completed a roof plumbing apprenticeship and worked with a number of plumbers who were focused on their work which was helpful to you.  You worked in this area for about five years.  You worked as a bartender on a part-time basis during your apprenticeship.
54	Unfortunately, in December 2011 you broke your hand which meant that you had to stop working.
55	In 2012 you worked for two or three months in concreting and in 2013 you embarked on an Advanced Diploma of Building Design but only managed to complete 10 weeks of this.  After you were released on parole in 2013 you  worked in paving for about 12 months, however, from about mid‑2015 you relapsed into regular methamphetamine use which negatively impacted on your ability to regularly work.
56	After your release from gaol in 2018 you recommenced roof plumbing and you were also doing carpentry work.  You commenced renovating the farm at Koo Wee Rup which was where you were living at the time of the offending before me.  However, you stopped taking your prescribed medication and your mental health deteriorated. It is also apparent that you reverted to methamphetamine use at around this time.
57	Obviously, you have a long history of using illicit drugs, especially methamphetamine.  You have tried to address your drug use from time to time and have succeeded for a time, only to revert to it once more. 
58	Mr King, it is clear to me that you are capable of working hard and that you appear to have particular talents in roof plumbing and various other aspects of the construction industry.  I hope that in the future you can properly address your mental health issues and substance abuse issues, and pursue such work in the community as you have much to contribute when you are mentally stable and substance free.  
59	The challenge for you will be to stay on appropriate medication, no matter what, receive appropriate and ongoing counselling for your mental health and substance abuse issues, and resist the temptation to take drugs.  This can be a big challenge in various sectors of the construction industry and in the community more generally, as I am sure you appreciate, but if you do not do all that you can to address these issues you will be spending ever increasing periods of your life in gaol rather than doing what you can to be a contributing member of the community and a proper father figure to your child. 
60	I understand that your mental health is now stable and that you are being appropriately medicated.  You have not taken illicit substances save that on one occasion you used buprenorphine.  Whilst in custody you have worked in engineering and as a billet.  After undertaking a COVID-19 cleaning course you have worked as a touch point cleaning billet.  I was also told that you take part in the Inside Out program for about two hours twice a week.  This involves talking to people such as trainee court registrars and Corrections officers, as well as those studying in various other fields.
61	I was told that you see a counsellor from Caraniche weekly and that you are also engaged in daily education courses for two hours, studying English, horticulture and other areas, including a course dealing with healthy living and change. 
62	When you are released from gaol you plan to live with your father and undertake roof plumbing work.  You have good family support, which is evidenced from the material put before me, and I understand that you have some family in attendance today via WebEx, but it must be said that you apparently had such support available to you at the time of the offending before me.  Unfortunately, this did not suffice to prevent you from offending in the most serious way that you did.  However, having said all that, family support is a protective factor, as is stable accommodation and structure to your day which you will have through work.  
63	Mr Hughan also submitted that you are gaining maturity which should also help with your rehabilitation.  On the other hand, the offending before me marks a serious escalation in your criminal behaviour, although I have borne in mind that this occurred about three years ago now and you have behaved well in prison since your arrest. 
64	I allow for a fairly substantial discount in the sentence which you would otherwise receive in view of the stage and circumstances in which you entered pleas of guilty in this matter.  You ran a contested committal hearing although the issues were limited and Mr Gooding was not cross‑examined.  Mr Winthers was cross‑examined but in relation to the extent of his injury.  After completion of the committal hearing, you entered pleas of guilty in respect of Charges 1 and 2 which are now on the indictment and not guilty to the rest of the charges.  You are not to be punished for running a committal hearing, as this is your right, and I understand that in taking this step you were then able to make a meaningful offer to resolve the matters.  
65	After the committal hearing the only issue was the appropriate charge in respect of Mr Gooding, as you were prepared to plead guilty to all the other charges and you accept that you shot Mr Gooding. 
66	Ultimately you offered to plead guilty to all the charges now on the indictment and the summary charge in June last year.  The prosecution rejected your offer but after a case conference before me in November last year the prosecution accepted it.  In all of these circumstances I allow for a fairly substantial discount in the sentence you would otherwise receive as you have saved the witnesses the time and trouble of giving evidence at trial and you have saved the community the time and expense of running a trial.  I have also factored in your preparedness to plead guilty to Charge 5 as at June last year. 
67	Further, the sentence I impose ought reflect a tangible allowance for the fact that you have pleaded guilty during the pandemic, which has helped to cut down on the backlog that the court faces. 
68	I have also factored in, in your favour, that you have been in custody for a lengthy period already with the anxiety of not knowing your fate, and also that you have served an additional period of four months by virtue of the sentence of His Honour Judge Allen.  This is relevant to applying the principle of totality.  I also take into account that you have been, and will continue to be, incarcerated in harsher circumstances due to the fact that you have been, and will be, in protection and also from the fact that there have been, and may well continue to be, various restrictions in place from time to time due to the pandemic.  
69	In this regard I was told that you no longer receive visits from your two-year old daughter, although I understand that this was because her mother does not wish to take her to gaol to see you, and she will no longer facilitate Zoom visits due to a falling out you had with her mother.  Whatever the reason for the cessation of visits from your child your experience of custody will be harsher without these in any form. 
70	Mr Hughan submitted that you are remorseful for your conduct, as reflected by your pleas of guilty and your letter addressed to Mr Gooding, tendered at the plea hearing.  Also, Dr Rakov said that you displayed 'no psychiatric obstruction to expressing remorse, which he does so freely'.
71	I accept that you are remorseful in respect of your conduct insofar as Mr Gooding is concerned and that you were in such a poor mental state that you behaved as you did in August.  I accept that your pleas of guilty to the earlier offending reflects remorse also.  However, your ability to express remorse in the cold light of day has to be seen against a background of past violent offending and it appears there is a pattern emerging where you behave violently then express regret.  More thorough and insightful remorse will be achieved when you do all that you should do in order to address your mental illness and stay away from drugs.
72	In all of the relevant circumstances, I find that your prospects of rehabilitation are guarded.  If not for Verdins and Bugmy allowances I would have placed fairly strong weight on relevant sentencing considerations such as punishment, denunciation, and specific and general deterrence.  However, I make the reductions to the extent that I have previously indicated in these remarks and, as I have already said, fairly strong weight must attach to protection of the community.
73	In sentencing you I have had regard to current sentencing practice, noting that this is but one sentencing consideration and not a controlling one.
74	It is accepted by you that the only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment which involves a head sentence and a non-parole period.  It was submitted that a lengthy gap between the non-parole period and head sentence was warranted.  I am afraid that an unusually long gap between the two is not warranted in your case in all the circumstances, but I express my strong wish that, all things being equal, you are returned to the community with the benefit of supervision by way of an adequate parole period.
75	You are convicted of each of the offences.  I make the forfeiture and disposal orders which I understand are not opposed by you.  
76	You are sentenced as follows:  Charge 1, four months' imprisonment; Charge 2,  six months' imprisonment; Charge 3, 20 months' imprisonment; Charge 4, eight months imprisonment; Charge 5, four years which will be the base sentence; Charge 6, one month imprisonment.   The summary charge you are fined $600.
77	I direct that one month from the sentences on Charges 1 and 2, and four months from the sentence on Charge 3, be served cumulatively with the base sentence but that otherwise all sentences be served concurrently.  
78	This produces a total effective sentence of four years, six months.  I direct that you serve three years before becoming eligible for parole.
79	I declare that you have already served 922 days which will be deducted from your sentence.
80	If not for your pleas of guilty, and all that this involves in these times, I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of seven years, six months, with a non-parole period of five months.
81	Anything arising from the Crown's point of view, Mr Cescato?  I can't hear you, sorry.  You're on mute.
82	MR CESCATO:  Sorry, Your Honour.  Your Honour just said in the 6AAA that the non-parole period would be five months.  I think Your Honour meant five years.
83	HER HONOUR:  Five years - five years.  Well, I thought I said five years, but anyway, yes, it will be five years.  Yes, anything further?
84	MR CESCATO:  Thank you, Your Honour.  No, Your Honour.
85	HER HONOUR:  Mr Hughan?
86	MR HUGHAN:  No matter from me, Your Honour.  My fault here.  I just didn't hear what Your Honour said as the non-parole period.  There was a bit of a background noise at my place, sorry.  Three years and three months - - -
87	HER HONOUR:  Yes, there's been a bit of background noise.  Four years, six months is the total effective sentence. The non-parole period is three years.
88	MR HUGHAN:  If Your Honour pleases.  Thank you for clarifying.
89	MR CESCATO:  Thank you, Your Honour.
90	MR HUGHAN:  Nothing further from me, Your Honour.
91	HER HONOUR:  All right.  Yes, thank you.  We'll now adjourn.
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