R v McCloskey (No 5) [2020] NSWSC 1087

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v McCloskey (No 5) [2020] NSWSC 1087 Hearing dates: 3 August 2020 Date of orders: 20 August 2020 Decision date: 20 August 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Davies J Decision: For the offence of accessory after the fact to the murder of John Salafia the offender is convicted and sentenced to a non-parole period of 13 months commencing 13 April 2021 and expiring 12 May 2022 with a balance of term of five months expiring 12 October 2022. The earliest date the offender will be eligible for parole is 12 May 2022. Catchwords: CRIME - sentence – accessory after the fact to murder – plea of guilty to this offence when offender arraigned for murder – where offender drove assassins to and from crime scene– where offender understood purpose of attending the deceased's home was to assault the deceased - where offender did not know the assassins were armed – where offender has a criminal history and is currently serving prison time for another offence – where offences committed subsequently to the present offence – where offender has provided valuable assistance to police concerning a number of crimes – where some evidence suggests that the offender has changed course - poor prospects of rehabilitation – concerns for reoffending – where discount awarded for the plea and assistance – where no finding of special circumstances SENTENCING — sentencing procedure – victim impact statements – where relatives of deceased are not victims of accessory crime for purpose of making victim impact statements Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) ss 21A, 23, 27, 30E Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) s 4 Cases Cited: R v Burns, Renae [2013] NSWSC 1851 R v Cowen [2008] NSWSC 104 R v Dileski [2002] NSWCCA 345; (2002) 132 A Crim R 408 R v Hawken (1986) 27 A Crim R 32 R v McCloskey (No 3) [2020] NSWSC 914 R v Mirad [2004] NSWSC 701 R v Urriola [2010] NSWSC 367 Regina v Scowen [2007] NSWSC 792 Rios v R [2012] NSWCCA 8 Sheather v R [2020] NSWCCA 162 TT v R [2014] NSWCCA 206 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Crown Robert John Stewart McCloskey (Offender) Representation: Counsel: S Hughes (Crown) D McMahon (Offender)