Regina v Nicholas Hampton [2004] NSWSC 1215

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Regina v Nicholas Hampton [2004] NSWSC 1215 HEARING DATE(S) : 13/12/04 JUDGMENT DATE : 17 December 2004

JUDGMENT OF : Bell J at 1 DECISION : For the offence of entering a dwelling house with intent to commit a serious indictable offence in circumstances of aggravation the offender is sentenced to a term of two years' and eight months' imprisonment to date from from 2 December 2002. That sentence will expire on 1 August 2005. In light of the sentence next imposed, no non-parole period is specified; For the manslaughter of Steven Klor the offender is sentenced to a term of six years' and four months' imprisonment. That sentence will commence on 2 December 2003 and will expire on 1 April 2010. Specify a non-parole period of three years and four months commencing on 2 December 2003. The first date on which the offender will be eligible for release on parole is 1 April 2007.

LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes Act 1900 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 CASES CITED : R v Previtera (1997) 94 A Crim R 76 PARTIES : Regina Nicholas Hampton (Offender) FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2003/161 COUNSEL : G. Tabuteau (Crown) J. Stratton SC (Offender) SOLICITORS : S. Kavanagh SE O'Connor (Offender)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION

BELL J

Friday 17 December 2004

2003/161 Regina v Nicholas Hampton

JUDGMENT 1 BELL J: The offender pleaded guilty to an indictment that charged him in count one with the manslaughter of Steven Klor at Blackett on 1 November 2002 and in count two with entering a dwelling house with intent to commit a serious indictable offence, namely, to assault David Crowden and thereby to occasion to him actual bodily harm in circumstances of aggravation, namely that the offender was in the company of other persons, to wit AH and an unknown male. 2 The offender had been arraigned on 25 October 2004 before Davidson AJ on an indictment that charged him with the murder of Steven Klor and with the offence of entering a dwelling with intent to commit a serious indictable offence. He entered pleas of not guilty to each of the counts. A jury was empanelled and the offender stood trial. The jury were discharged without verdict and thereafter the offender was re-arraigned on the present indictment to which he entered pleas of guilty to each count. The offender had not previously indicated to the Crown that he was willing to plead guilty the manslaughter of the deceased. 3 The facts upon which I am to sentence the offender are those set out in the agreed statement of facts, Exhibit "A". I propose to set the terms of that statement out in full: " Count 1 manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act. On Friday 1st November 2002, at about 5:00 pm the accused, Nicholas Hampton, along with AH and a third unidentified male, went to the front door of [premises in] Popondetta Road, Blackett. These premises were a town housing complex, and were occupied by the deceased, Steven Klor. Klor was well known to police as supplier of prohibited drugs, in particular, methylamphetamine, and a receiver of stolen property. Neighbours heard 'open the fuckin door' yelled by one of the males and saw the front door being pushed open. One of these males was also heard to say, 'don't shut the door in my face.' The three males including the accused then entered the victim's premises. Neighbours describe hearing the sound of a king hit and of seeing a commotion inside the front door. Banging sounds were then heard from inside the premises for some minutes. After a short period of silence, the three men then left the premises. The victim was discovered, unconscious, about 7:00 pm and was taken to Mount Druitt Hospital by ambulance, where he died at 8:19 pm. The principal cause of death was a large fracture to the skull. Police recovered an electric shoe polisher at the scene which was found to contain the victim's blood on the motor casing. It is believed that this was the weapon used to inflict the fatal injuries to the victim's head. The Crown is not in a position to indicate which of the three males inflicted the fatal blow to the victim's head. Count 2 enter dwelling with intent to commit a serious indictable offence (assault occasioning actual bodily harm) in circumstances of aggravation (in company). About 8:30 pm, the three males including the accused went to [premises at] Oreades Way, Bidwill. One of them was carrying a large green sports bag containing watches, cigarette lighters and assorted other items which had been taken from the deceased's premises. At [the Oreades Way premises], DC, the former boyfriend of the occupant, JD, was present along with two young male visitors, BK and CJ. The three males entered the premises and engaged the two young male visitors in conversation, apparently in relation to the contents of the bag. According to one of the young male visitors, two of the three men who entered the premises appeared to be affected by alcohol. AH then told the two young male visitors to leave the premises, which they did. The three males also left, after which DC closed the front door. Some moments later there was a knock on the door and when DC answered the door and opened it, he was violently punched about the head by AH and one of the other two males, one of which was the accused. During the attack, AH grabbed a bread knife and held it to C's throat. C managed to release the knife and flick it away. AH then called upon the male with the bag to 'get the knife out of the bag', however C managed to escape into the street, where he was seen by police and taken to Mount Druitt Hospital by ambulance. During the attack C received two lacerations around the eyes which required sutures. A search warrant was executed the following day at the address of the accused where property was recovered which was identified as having come from Steven Klor's home. Also recovered during the search were two items of clothing which were found to contain DNA from both DC and the accused on them. The accused was arrested on 2 December 2002 and declined to be interviewed by police in relation to the two incidents."