R v Tafra; R v Westaway [2021] NSWDC 833

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Tafra; R v Westaway [2021] NSWDC 833 Hearing dates: Thursday 25 November 2021 Date of orders: Thursday 2 - Friday 3 December 2021 Decision date: 03 December 2021 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Tupman DCJ Decision: Ongoing Drug Supply Matter (1) The offender, Lawrence Tafra, is convicted. (2) Sentenced to a non-parole period of 18 months with parole thereafter of 9 months giving rise to an overall term of 2 years and 3 months Detain for Advantage Matter Tafra: RE: Sequence 14, 15, 19 (1) For the three substantive offences, the offender is convicted (2) He is sentenced pursuant to s 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 to an aggregate sentence comprising a non- parole period of 2 years with parole thereafter of 18 months giving rise to an overall term of 3 years and 6 months RE: Sequences 17 and 22 (3) Form 1 offences taken into account. RE: Sequences 3 and 7 (4) Backup offences: withdrawn and dismissed. RE: Sequences 1 & 6 (5) Convicted. (6) Pursuant to s 10A, no further order is necessary. (7) In each case, he is disqualified for the minimum period of 6 months. RE: Sequence 4 (8) Convicted. (9) Pursuant to s 10A, no further order is necessary. (10) The offender is disqualified for a period of 18 months. Westaway: (1) The offender is convicted. (2) For each offence he is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 18 months to be served by way of an ICO. Catchwords: CRIME — Drug offences — Ongoing supply — methylamphetamine — Detain for advantage — Circumstances of aggravation — Detain for advantage offences arose because offenders thought person had stolen drugs from them — Each offender involved in a drug supply network —Charges range from below the mid-range of objective seriousness to the middle of the range — Offenders 33 and 47 at the time of offending — Both offenders have criminal records — One offender committed offences whilst regularly using drugs — Both offenders have mental health issues — Both offenders have history of drug use from young age — Both offenders express remorse and contrition — No victim impact statements provided — Excessive charges and delays caused by EAGP scheme negotiations discussed. Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW): ss 10A, 53A. Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 33B(1)(a), 86(2)(a), 193B(2). Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW): s 166. Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW): s 25(1); S25A. Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (The Crown) Laurence Tafra (Offender) Anthony Westaway (Offender) Representation: Solicitors: Ms. C. Black; Ms. T. Jay (The Crown) Mr. S. Bouveng (Offender, Tafra) Mr. F. Falcomata (Offender, Westaway) File Number(s): 2020/00260460 (Tafra) 2020/00356072 (Tafra) 2020/00262669 (Westaway)