R v Gowans [2024] NSWDC 482

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Gowans [2024] NSWDC 482 Hearing dates: 29 August 2024 Date of orders: 29 August 2024 Decision date: 29 August 2024 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Haesler SC DCJ Decision: Aggregate sentence of imprisonment of 5 years 2 months with a non-parole period of 3 years Catchwords: CRIME — Property offences — Break, enter, in company, steal — Circumstances of aggravation — Take and drive a conveyance — Larceny CRIME — Violent offences — Robbery in company SENTENCING — Aggravating factors — Breach of conditional liberty — In company — Record of previous convictions SENTENCING — Guidelines for sentencing — Role of guidelines SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Plea of guilty — Remorse SENTENCING — Penalties — Imprisonment SENTENCING — Relevant factors on sentence — Co-offenders — Form 1 offences — Moral culpability — Multiple offences — Accumulation, concurrency and totality — What is a crushing sentence — Objective seriousness — Purposes of sentencing SENTENCING — Sentencing procedure — Instinctive synthesis SENTENCING — Subjective considerations on sentence — Aboriginal offenders — Drug addiction — Intoxication — Mental illness and disorders — Risk of institutionalisation — Traumatic and abusive childhood — Disadvantaged childhood Legislation Cited: Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Cases Cited: Abbas, Bodiotis, Taleb and Amoun v R [2013] NSWCCA 115 Attorney General's Application under s 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 No 1 of 2002 [2002] NSWCCA 518; (2002) 56 NSWLR 146 Grube v R [2005] NSWCCA 140 Markarian v The Queen [2005] HCA 25; (2005) 228 CLR 357 R v Henry [1999] NSWCCA 111; (1999) 46 NSWLR 346 Texts Cited: "Impacts of Imprisonment and Remand in Custody" (2022) The Bugmy Bar Book Project Category: Sentence Parties: Nathaniel Gowans (the offender) Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) Representation: Counsel: R McMahon (for the accused)