R v Michael Anthony GRUPE [2007] NSWSC 1303

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : R v Michael Anthony GRUPE [2007] NSWSC 1303

HEARING DATE(S) : 7 November 2007 8 November 2007

JUDGMENT DATE : 30 November 2007

JUDGMENT OF : Berman AJ

DECISION : The offender is sentenced to imprisonment for 19 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 14 years and 6 months.

CATCHWORDS : Criminal Law - Sentence - Murder - Extortion - Assault Rifles - Assistance to Authorities

LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED : R v Liew and Lim unreported CCA NSW 24 December 1993 Markarian v The Queen (2005) 79 ALJR 1048

PARTIES : The Crown Michael Anthony Grupe

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2007/1719

COUNSEL : C. McPherson - Crown C. Bruce - Offender

SOLICITORS : NSW DPP Legal Aid Commission

SENTENCE

Introduction

1 Victor Elliot was the chief radiographer at Tweed Heads Hospital. He also had a number of other business interests and was believed to be reasonably well off. He ran cattle on two properties and looked after a family company.

2 At one stage he had a financial interest in a legal brothel named the Stardust Club. His interest in the brothel was transferred to a man by the name of Daniel Scott. Mr Elliot was in the process of building another brothel, also legal, at 31- 33 Morton Street Chinderah.

3 At about 5.30 pm on the 26th of May 2000 Mr Elliot went to leave the building site. He was driving his black Mercedes Benz sedan. He parked his car on the footpath in order to lock the wire gates to the premises. He got out of his car leaving it running but as he did so a dark green Nissan Patrol 4-wheel drive drove in front of Mr Elliot's car blocking its exit. There were two men in the 4-wheel drive: one was the offender Michael Anthony Grupe and the other was a man by the name of Utz. They were each heavily armed. They had been engaged by Mr Scott to kidnap Mr Elliot and extort money from him, but when Mr Elliot resisted and tried to get away he was shot and killed. The circumstances of Mr Elliot's death will require some close examination later in these remarks on sentence.