STATE OF TASMANIA v ANDREW JAMES BRENNAN BLOW CJ
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE 5 AUGUST 2019
Mr Brennan has pleaded guilty to two charges of dangerous driving, and to 22 other offences that I am dealing with under s 385A of the Criminal Code. These crimes and offences were all committed during a period that commenced last Christmas Eve at the earliest, and ended on 2 January when Mr Brennan was arrested.
At some stage between 1.30pm on Christmas Eve and 7.10am on New Year’s Eve, Mr Brennan broke into the yard of a government department where vehicles were parked. He did that by forcing open a magnetic gate. He entered an office building through a window and stole 16 sets of car keys and access fobs. The fobs could be used to open the gate of the yard. In relation to those activities, Mr Brennan has pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and a charge of stealing (counts 1 and 2 on complaint 73/19).
He drove off in one of the department’s vehicles – a station wagon. In respect of that vehicle, Mr Brennan has pleaded guilty to a charge of motor vehicle stealing (count 4 on complaint 79/19).
At 12.29am on New Year’s Day, Mr Brennan was driving that vehicle in Rosny when a police officer signalled him to stop at a random breath test site. Instead of stopping, he drove around the police, and drove out of sight. He was a disqualified driver. A short time later, members of the public told the police that they had observed a vehicle matching the stolen station wagon driving at speed and overtaking vehicles. The vehicle was seen shortly after that travelling over the Bowen Bridge towards Glenorchy. Police officers saw it at 12.57am on Elwick Road, but lost sight of it. Police officers found that vehicle parked on a street in Lenah Valley at 5.45am. It was undamaged and locked. In respect of the driving of that vehicle, Mr Brennan has pleaded guilty to charges of evading police and driving whilst disqualified (counts 9 and 10 on complaint 70/19).
On the night of New Year’s Eve, between 9pm and about 5am, Mr Brennan broke into a parked car in Glenorchy by smashing a window, and stole a wallet, a Commonwealth Bank debit card, some keys, and about $120 in cash. He has pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and stealing in relation to that vehicle (counts 1 and 2 on complaint 68/19).
Between 5am and 6am he used the stolen debit card to make purchases totalling $314.94 from a McDonalds outlet, two service stations, a hotel, and a supermarket. In respect of those transactions he has pleaded guilty to five counts of computer related fraud (counts 3 – 7 on complaint 70/19).
At some time on the same night, Mr Brennan broke into another parked vehicle on the same street in Glenorchy, again by breaking a window. From that vehicle he stole items with an estimated total value of $1232, including a camera, some clothing items, and a package containing four pieces of corn. In respect of that vehicle, he has pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and stealing (counts 3 and 4 on complaint 68/19).
By 8am on New Year’s Day, two more vehicles had been stolen from the departmental car yard. Both were vehicles whose keys Mr Brennan had stolen.
On the night of 1 January, Mr Brennan broke into a parked vehicle on a street in New Town, again by smashing a window. From that vehicle he stole a wallet and its contents and a bag containing some t-shirts and towels. In respect of that vehicle he has pleaded guilty to burglary and stealing (counts 1 and 2 on complaint 70/19).
Mr Brennan then went to a supermarket and used a credit card from the stolen wallet to make a purchase for $74.50. In respect of that transaction he has pleaded guilty to a charge of computer related fraud (count 8 on complaint 70/19).
At about 5pm on 2 January, two police officers saw Mr Brennan driving one of the stolen departmental vehicles in Goodwood. They made a u-turn and followed him. They pursued him as far as the Hobart CBD, but abandoned pursuit when he was driving along Davey Street. The first count of dangerous driving relates to that journey. The police officers began to follow Mr Brennan when he was driving south on Howard Road. He drove around a roundabout and proceeded back along Howard Road heading north. He accelerated to 80 Km/h in a 50 Km/h zone. He turned left onto Goodwood Road without indicating, and without giving way to traffic on his right. He accelerated along Goodwood Road to over 120 Km/h in an 80 Km/h zone. He weaved in and out of other vehicles. The pursuing officers activated their lights and sirens. Mr Brennan turned left onto the Brooker Highway, overtaking a vehicle that had stopped to give way to traffic on the highway. A number of drivers heading south on the highway were forced to brake heavily to avoid collisions. Mr Brennan proceeded south at about 100 Km/h in an 80 Km/h zone, weaving in and out of other vehicles. He turned left onto Derwent Park Road without giving way to oncoming traffic. Some motorists were forced to brake heavily to avoid collisions. He drove through various streets in Lutana, cutting corners, sometimes travelling on the incorrect side of the road, travelling at excessive speeds, and not giving way to other traffic when he should have. He turned right onto Risdon Road, causing motorists travelling in both directions to brake heavily to avoid collisions. He resumed travelling on the Brooker Highway, weaving in and out of traffic travelling towards the city. He turned left onto the Domain Highway and proceeded towards the CBD, again weaving around vehicles travelling in the same direction. At the junction with Lower Domain Road, he overtook an off-duty police officer using the turning lane on the right side of the southbound lanes. As he approached the junction with the Brooker Highway and the start of Davey Street, Mr Brennan cut in front of other vehicles, mounted the footpath on the left side of the road, and travelled along the grass and the shared pedestrian/bike path for about 150 metres. A number of pedestrians had to get out of his way. He stopped outside the Royal Engineers’ Building, let a passenger get out from the front seat, and drove off along Davey Street. In respect of that episode, Mr Brennan has pleaded guilty not only to dangerous driving, but also to evading police and driving whilst disqualified (counts 1 and 5 on complaint 79/19).
At about 8.50pm that evening, police officers in a marked police vehicle saw Mr Brennan driving the same stolen vehicle along Devines Road, Glenorchy. He accelerated to about 130 Km/h in a 50 Km/h zone. The officers activated their lights and sirens. Mr Brennan did not stop, but proceeded along Barossa Road. The officers lost sight of him. In respect of that episode, he has pleaded guilty to a charge of evading police (count 2 on complaint 79/19).
About 15 minutes later in Glenlusk, two police officers observed the same vehicle travelling along Molesworth Road and Glenlusk Road. Other officers were tasked to set up road spikes on Berriedale Road. Another officer was tasked to maintain an observation point about 600 metres west of the site of the road spikes. Mr Brennan drove past that point at about 9.10pm, and saw the police. His driving from then on is the subject of the second charge of dangerous driving. He accelerated, crossed an unbroken single road marking line, overtook another vehicle, reached a speed of about 90 Km/h in a 60 Km/h zone, and travelled over the road spikes. Both tyres on the driver’s side were deflated, but Mr Brennan continued towards Mary’s Hope Road, with two police vehicles in pursuit. He drove over a roundabout. The police activated their lights and sirens. Mr Brennan failed to stop. In respect of that failure, he has pleaded guilty to evading police (count 3 on complaint 79/19).
Mr Brennan drove towards the Brooker Highway, travelled onto the wrong side of the road as he rounded a left hand bend, and lost effective control of the vehicle. He drove over a second set of road spikes, causing the two left tyres to be deflated. As he approached the intersection of Main Road, he moved onto the incorrect side of the road. He travelled on the incorrect side of a traffic island, and then turned right without giving way to oncoming traffic. He proceeded south on Main Road towards the Riverfront Motel with limited control of the vehicle. He crossed onto the incorrect side of the road, crossing unbroken double white lines, mounted the kerb, crashed into a street sign that was ripped out of the ground, drove about another 50 metres along a grass verge, and brought his vehicle to a stop. He got out and ran, but the police intercepted him. He was arrested, and has been in custody ever since.
He was interviewed by police officers the next day. He admitted that he had taken half a gram of Ice intravenously not long before driving. He said he knew the risks of his driving, but did not want to go to gaol, and had therefore tried to get away from police. He said it was never his intention for anyone to get hurt, and that he knew what he had done was stupid. He said that there were two passengers in the vehicle initially; that neither knew the vehicle was stolen; that one passenger was telling him to stop the whole way, before getting out; and that the second passenger got out of the vehicle in Collinsvale.
Mr Brennan was 47 years old at the time in question and is now 48. He has a great many prior convictions. He has gone to prison many times. He has dozens of convictions for crimes of dishonesty, including several for motor vehicle stealing. On my count, he has six convictions for driving whist disqualified. In 2013 a magistrate in Queensland sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment for the dangerous operation of a vehicle. In Hobart on 10 October 2018, less than three months before the time in question, a magistrate made a drug treatment order for his benefit, and imposed a wholly suspended sentence of 14 months’ imprisonment in respect of a large number of dishonesty, drug and driving offences. He spent 15 days in custody in November as a sanction in respect of that drug treatment order. He has not yet been dealt with in the Magistrates Court for breaching the conditions of that order by committing the crimes and offences that I am concerned with.
There are some matters that count in Mr Brennan’s favour. He co-operated with the police after he was arrested, and made significant admissions. He indicated from an early stage that he would be pleading guilty. I will therefore impose a sentence about 20–25% shorter than I would have imposed if he had taken the dangerous driving charges to trial. He has no prior convictions for evading police, though I notice that a magistrate in Queensland in 2016 sentenced him for failing to comply with a requirement to stop a vehicle. He lived in Queensland from about 2007 until about 2017 when he was released from prison there on parole, and had his parole transferred to Tasmania. He had been using drugs, but was off drugs for three years before returning to Tasmania. He completed his parole successfully, but then went through a period of instability and began re-offending and using drugs again. He spent several months in custody before the magistrate made the drug treatment order in October 2018. He has a problem with depression, and has been treated for that condition in the past. He has completed some training courses this year while he has been in custody. In the past, he completed an apprenticeship as a cook while in custody. He wants to commence drug replacement therapy.
On the four charges of evading police, I am required to impose four separate sentences. I will impose global penalties in respect of the other 20 charges. The only appropriate course is for me to make orders that require Mr Brennan to spend a substantial period of time in prison. This is a particularly bad case of dangerous driving because Mr Brennan drove whilst under the influence of Ice, endangered the lives of passengers, other motorists and pedestrians, drove dangerously for distances totalling over 20 Kms, drove dangerously for the purpose of evading police, drove in a stolen vehicle, was a disqualified driver, and stopped only when the vehicle could go no further. I am taking into account the fact that Mr Brennan has been in custody since about April of last year, except for about 10 weeks after the making of the drug treatment order. I will make provision for parole for up to one year because I believe there is some possibility that Mr Brennan might benefit from conditional release under supervision after some years in custody.
Andrew James Brennan, I convict you on all charges.
On the first charge of evading police (count 9 on complaint 70/19), I sentence you to three months’ imprisonment with effect from 2 January 2019. On the second charge of evading police (count 1 on complaint 79/19), I sentence you to a cumulative term of three months’ imprisonment. On the third charge of evading police (count 2 on complaint 79/19), I sentence you to a cumulative term of one month’s imprisonment. On the fourth charge of evading police (count 3 on complaint 79/19), I sentence you to a cumulative term of three months’ imprisonment. I specify that you are not eligible for parole in respect of the four sentences for evading police.
On all the other charges, as a global penalty, I sentence you to a cumulative term of three years’ imprisonment. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served two years of that sentence. I disqualify you from driving for six years from today.
For the purposes of s 92A of the Sentencing Act 1997, I specify that the total term of imprisonment that you are liable to serve for all the sentences of imprisonment that are being imposed today is 3 years 10 months, and that the period before the expiration of which you are not eligible for parole is 2 years 10 months from 2 January 2019.
I make four compensation orders for the payment of compensation to be assessed. To Jessica Whitbread, Aleck Prazbysz, Gukhyeon Kim and the Department of Health and Human Services. In respect of each order I adjourn the assessment of compensation sine die.