R v KING, R v TRIEU [2010] NSWDC 245

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v KING, R v TRIEU [2010] NSWDC 245

HEARING DATE(S): 30 July 2010 13 August 2010

JUDGMENT DATE: 13 August 2010

JURISDICTION: District Court Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: King : non parole period of two and a half years, and a head sentence of four and a half years. Trieu: non parole period of five years and head sentence of eight years.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - Armed robbery - Loaded weapon - Aiding and abetting

Lowe v The Queen (1984) 154 CLR 606 CASES CITED: R v White, unreported NSWCCA 23 June 1998 The Queen v Henry (1999) 46 NSWLR 346.

The Crown PARTIES: Justin King Hy Trieu

FILE NUMBER(S): 2009/00186152; 2009/00139109

Ms K Shead - The Crown COUNSEL: Mr N Steel - Offender Trieu Mr R Pontello - Offender King

Director of Public Prosecutions SOLICITORS: Benjamin & Leonardo Criminal Defence Lawyers - Offender Trieu O'Brien Hudson Solicitors - Offender King

SENTENCE

1 HIS HONOUR: On 26 May 2010 the jury found each of the offenders guilty of charges relating to their involvement in the armed robbery of the Royal Hotel at Paddington on 28 April 2008. The offender Hy Trieu was found guilty of being a principal in the robbery, whilst the offender Justin King was found guilty of aiding and abetting the offence.

2 Since their conviction two men have died in New South Wales during separate attempted armed robberies of those collecting cash, tragic reminders of the seriousness of offences such as these, which involve loaded firearms being pointed at innocent people. Often when sentencing for armed robbery we focus on the fears felt by the victims of the offences because most are not physically harmed, but it is important to bear in mind that on occasions the use of a loaded firearm will result in the death of a human being. Nothing I have said should be taken as meaning that these offenders will be dealt with more harshly than they would have been if the recent tragic events had not occurred, I merely refer to them to explain why it is that the court treat offences such as these as seriously as they do.