STATE OF TASMANIA v NATASHA LYN DAVIE 16 DECEMBER 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Ms Davie has pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault. This crime was committed just over three years ago, on the afternoon of 29 November 2016.
On that afternoon, Ms Davie visited the complainant in this case, a woman she has known since childhood. Ms Davie’s partner drove her to the other woman’s home in Chigwell. Ms Davie abused the other woman, first from inside her partner’s car, and then from outside the car. After a brief verbal altercation, she got a small starter’s pistol from the car, pointed it at the complainant, and said, “I’m going to shoot you.” What she did constituted the crime of aggravated assault.
The pistol was in working order and capable of firing a blank cartridge, but not capable of propelling a projectile by means of an explosive. The complainant did not know that it was only a starter’s pistol. She was scared that she would be shot. It appears from a victim impact statement that she provided in June of this year that she has ongoing psychological symptoms as a result of this incident.
It is an offence to have possession of a starter’s pistol without an appropriate licence under the Firearms Act 1996. Ms Davie did not have such a licence. She has pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a firearm when not the holder of a firearm licence of the appropriate category. I will be dealing with that offence under s 385A of the Criminal Code.
Ms Davie was 42 years old when this incident occurred. She is now 45. She has lots of prior convictions, mostly for crimes of dishonesty. She received a wholly suspended sentence of four weeks’ imprisonment for assault in 2003, and was fined for disturbing the public peace by fighting in 2007, but she does not appear to have any other convictions for offences involving violence. She had a suspended sentence of three weeks’ imprisonment hanging over her head when she committed this crime. That sentence related to her stealing two pairs of shoes from Harvey Norman in July 2015. The Crown have applied for me to activate that suspended sentence, but I think that would be grossly unjust, given that it is now nearly 4½ years since she stole those shoes, and given that the conduct that has brought her here is very different from shoplifting.
Ms Davie suffers from epilepsy and borderline personality disorder. She has been receiving therapy from a psychologist in relation to that disorder. I have received a report from the psychologist. It appears that Ms Davie also suffers from some post-traumatic stress symptoms. The report suggests that a term of imprisonment would be likely to exacerbate the symptoms of the borderline personality disorder.
I have obtained a pre-sentence report from a probation officer. She has reported that Ms Davie is not suitable to participate in Court ordered community service, but that an order requiring community supervision is considered suitable.
Ms Davie is single. She has no children. She is currently being cared for by her father. As far as I know, she has not got into any serious trouble in the last three years. The charges against her are now somewhat stale. In all the circumstances, I do not think they are serious enough for me to send her to prison today. Instead I will impose a wholly suspended prison sentence, which she will only have to serve if she re-offends.
Natasha Lyn Davie, I convict you on both charges and sentence you to three months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended on condition that you commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months. I order that the starter’s pistol be forfeited to the State of Tasmania. I make no order in respect of the suspended sentence.
I make a community correction order, to operate for 12 months from today, with special conditions that:
(a) Ms Davie must, during the operational period of the order, submit to the supervision of a probation officer as required by a probation officer;
(b) she must, during the operational period of the order, undergo assessment and treatment for drug dependency as directed by a probation officer
(c) she must, during the operational period of the order, submit to medical, psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment as directed by a probation officer.