TASMANIA v NICHOLAS LEONARD PAYNE
TASMANIA v ANTHONY LEIGH JOYCE 30 OCTOBER 2009
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE CRAWFORD CJ
Nicholas Leonard Payne and Anthony Leigh Joyce pleaded guilty to an assault committed on 3 December 2008 and Joyce also pleaded guilty to unlawfully setting fire to vegetation on 19 January 2009.
The assault was an appalling crime, committed by two against one, a total stranger who was out jogging through the University campus at Launceston. It was committed for no reason other than it gave them pleasure. The victim of the assault said and did nothing to bring about what happened.
Both of them repeatedly punched him to the head and neck, causing him to fall to the ground. After he had lost consciousness, their viciousness continued with more punches. Fortunately, a passer-by came upon the scene and they ran away.
The victim was admitted to hospital by ambulance suffering from severe swelling to his face. He was unable to open his right eye for about a week. He suffered bruising to the head and neck, a bleeding nose and a cut lip. Painful headaches continued for several weeks. It took about a month for noticeable signs of injuries to disappear. Understandably, he has suffered psychologically with difficulty in concentration and considerable nervousness when out and about.
Police arrested both men that evening. They denied any involvement in the assault. However, DNA testing revealed the victim's blood was on their footwear and after that damning evidence became known to them, they indicated that they would plead guilty.
I will deal next with the charge of unlawfully setting fire to vegetation that concerns only Joyce. On 19 January 2009 he lit three vegetation fires in the general area of the University and its surrounds. The fires were contained by the Tasmanian Fire Service after they had burned out about one hectare of grassland and also some minor shrubs. He was found intoxicated in the area. When he had sobered up by the following day, he denied any involvement when interviewed.
Payne was 26 years old at the time of the assault is now 27. He has a record for over 20 offences of dishonesty, almost all of them old, and one for armed robbery in 2001 for which he was sentenced to imprisonment for two years. Since then he has committed many offences but mainly to do with the use of motor vehicles, drinking and cannabis. He is the carer of his disabled mother following a gunshot wound to her head about two months before this crime. She is likely to suffer through his incarceration.
Joyce was 21 and is now 22. Although younger, he has a record that is worse than that of Payne so far as relevant offences are concerned. It includes about 20 offences of dishonesty, five assaults, one wounding and one dangerous driving. He was in his mid-teens when he committed many of them. He served imprisonment from about February 2007 until July 2008, only five months before this assault. As with Payne, he has wasted much of his recent years, and no doubt money, on alcohol and drugs. Account is taken of their counsel's submissions.
The assault was a particularly nasty crime and one that the Court must condemn by its sentence. Because Payne's record for violence is not as bad as the record of Joyce, his sentence for the assault will be less severe.
Convictions are recorded. Nicholas Leonard Payne, for the assault you are sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year from 27 October 2009 and it is ordered that you are not to be eligible for parole until you have served 6 months of the imprisonment. It is ordered that you pay a victims of crime compensation levy of $50 within 28 days of your release from prison. Anthony Leigh Joyce, for the assault you are sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year 3 months from 27 October 2009 and it is ordered that you are not to be eligible for parole until you have served 8 months of the imprisonment. For unlawfully setting fire to vegetation, you are sentenced to imprisonment for 3 months cumulative on the other sentence and it is ordered that you are not to be eligible for parole until you have served 2 months of the imprisonment. It is also ordered that you pay victims of crime compensation levies of $100 within 28 days of your release from prison.