R v Almoustafa, Ali [2009] NSWDC 217

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Almoustafa, Ali [2009] NSWDC 217

HEARING DATE(S): 15/01/2009 and 30/01/2009

JUDGMENT DATE: 27 February 2009

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Nicholson SC DCJ

DECISION: Convicted. Sentenced to 3 years and 9 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years and 8 months.

CATCHWORDS: Criminal Law - Sentencing - Robbery - Larceny of good from vehicle on Form 1 - Victim sales staff of liquor outlet - threat of concealed weapon - other threats - robber present for extended period - personal threat to victim to pursue him if matter reported to police - damage to vehicle in course of larceny - on bond at time of offending.

R v Cuthbert (1967) 2 NSWR 329 CASES CITED: R v Rushby (1977) NSWLR 597 R v Hayes [1984] 1 NSWLR 740 R v Rause unreported NSWCCA 8 August 1992

PARTIES: Regina Ali Almoustafa

FILE NUMBER(S): 2008/000011785

SOLICITORS: Crown: Ms Barnes Defence: Ms Darcey

JUDGMENT 1. Between March 2004 and March 2005 Ali Almoustafa served a non-parole period of twelve months imprisonment. He celebrated, if that is the right word, his twenty-third birthday in prison. At 1.55 on Sunday 6 April 2008, that is three years after his release from prison, he was released from police custody at Newtown Police Station on bail.

2. If the doctrine of general and personal deterrence was ever going to work its magic on Ali Almoustafa surely it would have done so on 6 April 2008 at 1.55pm. Newtown and Enmore are adjoining suburbs in Sydney. The most direct route from one to the other is along Enmore Road. Enmore Fine Wines operates at 141 Enmore Road, Enmore. Twenty-five minutes after signing his bail papers and being released Almoustafa entered Enmore Fine Wines with serious criminal conduct on his mind. In a one on one robbery that must have taken at least twenty minutes to complete, he departed Enmore Fine Wines with $1,500 of its stock and $1,900 of its cash.