STATE OF TASMANIA v GARRY JAMES BRODIE ESTCOURT J
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE 6 SEPTEMBER 2019
The defendant Gary James Brodie, aged 31 at the time of this offence, has pleaded guilty to a charge that on 12 August 2015 he wounded the complainant, his friend, Christopher Burrell, then aged 33. The Crown accepts that the defendant mistakenly believed that the complainant was moving to attack him again after an initial altercation, but that to stab the complainant as he did was unreasonable.
On the day in question the complainant was staying at a friend’s unit in Sandy Bay. He had known the defendant for most of his life as they grew up in the same area. He had been told by the owner of the unit that the defendant was not welcome there.
At about 5:45pm the defendant went to the unit. The complainant was there by himself. The defendant knocked on the door. The complainant assumed it was the defendant and ignored him. The defendant became more aggressive and started banging on the door and yelling for the door to be opened. He said something like “open the door or I’m going to kick it in you bastard“.
The defendant kicked the door in with one kick. The complainant attacked the defendant and tried to force him to leave the unit, but was unable to physically force him to leave. During this attack the complainant punched the defendant approximately 10 times to the head and was holding a serrated steak knife in his hand.
The complainant stopped his attack and dropped the knife. After a few seconds later the complainant moved towards the defendant having picked up the knife and stabbed the complainant twice with it.
The first stab caused a small wound on the front of the complainant’s left chest near his nipple and also a deep wound to the side of his chest. The deep wound penetrated the complainant’s lung.
The second stab caused a small wound on the top of the complainant’s leg in the femoral area.
Both the complainant and the defendant were immediately shocked about what had occurred. The complainant was bleeding and concerned that he may die. He asked the defendant to get an ambulance.
The defendant assisted the complainant down the stairs onto the street where they stopped a man who was walking past and asked him to call 000, which he did.
The complainant and the defendant waited for an ambulance and the police to arrive. When the police arrived the complainant showed them his wounds. The ambulance arrived and he was taken to the hospital. The complainant was operated on and spent a number of days in hospital.
The defendant walked up to the police at the scene with his hands in the air and told them that he had stabbed the complainant multiple times because the complainant had hit him in the face. He was arrested and taken to the police station.
The complainant made a full recovery. There is no victim impact statement.
The defendant has a number of prior convictions for assault between 2007 and 2016. The present offence however appears to be of a quite unusual nature and I note that both men had been using methyl-amphetamine prior to the offence.
I have the benefit of an extended pre-sentence report dated 28 August 2019. I am advised that the defendant had a traumatic childhood, in that he never knew his father and his mother re-married a man who sexually abused him for approximately four to five years. His step-father hurt him badly, and said he was passed from his step-father to his step-father’s friend from age 11 to 16. He did not tell anyone until he was in his twenties, and when he did his mother did not believe him immediately. He reported she came around four to five years later and left his step-father, but by then he was already using alcohol to mask his pain.
The defendant is currently unemployed and was for 12 months prior to being taken into custody, 117 days ago. Previously he has worked as a scaffolder for High Risk Solutions in Queensland for an 18 month period. Prior to that he has worked at the Zinc Works for four to five years, and as a deck hand on a boat for six years. He has prospective work with Work Force Solutions, a labour hire company in Hobart, and he stated he had a group interview in prison and is going to have a one-to-one interview at the end of the month for employment once he is released.
The defendant has been assessed and deemed suitable for Community Service with projects available and he has indicated a willingness to participate.
Community Corrections have assessed the defendant as requiring a high level of supervision and a Community Based Supervision Order is recommended. Case management would include directing the defendant to initiate engagement with an drug counselling service for continued support in his recovery from illicit substances. He would also be encouraged to connect with a GP about obtaining a referral for a Mental Health Plan, to further assist in dealing with his depression and anxiety, and identifying other barriers that have contributed to his behaviour.
In all of these circumstances and noting the defendant’s plea of guilty and remorse from the outset, the defendant is convicted and sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment. I backdate the sentence to 12 May 2019, with the balance from today suspended on condition that the defendant commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of two years from today.
In addition I make a community correction order that contains, in addition to the statutory core conditions, a special condition that the defendant must within the next two years satisfactorily perform community service as directed by a probation officer or a supervisor for a period of 210 hours.
Two further special conditions are to be added to the order, namely that the defendant must undergo assessment and treatment for alcohol or drug dependency as directed by a Probation Officer and must submit to medical, psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment as directed by a Probation Officer.