STATE OF TASMANIA v XAVIER MITCHELL 30 SEPTEMBER 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE CUTHBERTSON J
Xavier Mitchell, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding. On 6 December 2025, you were outside in the smoking area at the Day Space in Hobart with the complainant, Renee Trojan. The complainant is someone you know. She wanted to speak to you about who you were sleeping with at the time. The reason for her interest in this aspect of your life was not made clear during the sentencing hearing. The conversation, however, became heated and you threatened to “glass” her. You then went inside the Day Space, grabbed a glass tumbler, and went back outside. The complainant suggested the two of you go around the corner to have a chat and calm down. Once the two of you went around the corner, you hit the complainant to the top of her head with the glass tumbler with significant force. You then left the area.
The complainant received a wound to the top of her head, which required six stitches. The incident was captured on CCTV. I have viewed the footage. It is quite clear you are worked up and engaged in a heated discussion with the complainant. The complainant did not offer any violence. You moved in front of her and smashed the glass to her head with considerable force. You did not remain to offer her any assistance.
You were arrested on 17 December 2025 and participated in a record of interview with police. You made full admissions to the offending. You entered a plea of guilty to this charge on your second appearance in the Hobart Magistrates Court.
You were 19 years old when you committed this offence. You had a difficult childhood. You were born and raised in Queensland. Your family life was unstable and itinerant. You lived with your mother, as your father was in gaol throughout your childhood and of little assistance to you. You were also exposed to significant violence and trauma from a young age. It is not necessary to detail this further, but you were not brought up in a safe environment. You were also exposed to your mother and her partner’s drug use from an early age.
Your mother brought you to Tasmania when you were 14. She then decided to return to Queensland, abandoning you at one of her drug dealer’s houses. You started using drugs yourself at that time. Since then, you have spent periods living on the streets. This was also an unsafe environment, and you were exposed to further trauma. You first met the complainant at this time. She apparently considers that you are her foster son, but you do not accept that description. It seems that your relationship with the complainant was complicated. You consider her to be another inconsistent figure in your life and felt that she was using you. Although the exact nature of your relationship with the complainant is not clear, it is not one that you regard as positive.
Your background of childhood deprivation, instability and vulnerability has exposed you to situations where you have experienced and witnessed traumatic events. Adults have rarely been positive people in your life. You became a father yourself when you were 16, and I note you have recently become a father again. Your first child was taken into State care shortly after being born.
Last year, you met a prosocial person who you considered to be a mother figure at that time. She is a mature woman with adult children of her own. She provided you with shelter and support to assist you to change direction. It seems the complainant resented your involvement with this woman, leading to the argument when you encountered each other at the Day Space. I am told that you acknowledge your behaviour was unacceptable and you regret the harm that you have caused. I am told that you are motivated to improve your circumstances so you can be involved in your children’s lives. I am told you accept you will need to do considerable work to make that happen and are prepared to do so. You have expressed an interest in engaging in courses and obtaining qualifications to enable you to enter the workforce.
You have a number of prior matters, although few involve any element of violence. In August 2024, you were sentenced to a wholly suspended detention order without conviction on a large number of charges, including two counts of common assault. The bulk of the matters for sentence on that occasion comprised dishonesty offences, driving matters, motor vehicle stealing and breaches of bail. Part of that sentence was activated in August 2025. In October 2025, you were sentenced in the Hobart Magistrates Court on charges of burglary and stealing, drive while disqualified, breaches of bail, stealing and drug related matters. You also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and failing to take all precautions to ensure the safe keeping of it.
On that occasion, you were sentenced to 90 days’ imprisonment, the balance of which was suspended for 15 months. As a consequence, you spent a total of four months in custody in 2025, committing this offence within two months of your release from prison. This offence also breached the suspended sentence imposed in October 2025. That sentence was activated in May 2026 when you were sentenced for new driving, drug, possession of dangerous article and bail offences.
I requested a report from Community Corrections in relation to you. Unfortunately, you have not cooperated with the assessment process. This is despite me giving you two opportunities to do so. Community Corrections have outlined their multiple attempts to arrange for you to attend their offices for the purposes of preparing the report. In total, you have missed six appointments. You have also been difficult to contact. The report indicates that you have also not complied with the conditions of a Community Correction order made in October last year, having only attended one appointment. That order is now the subject of breach proceedings. You have provided various explanations to Community Corrections for not attending, including feeling overwhelmed and having health and mental health issues. In my view, they are wholly inadequate explanations given they are not supported by any corroborating information. Unfortunately, this conduct suggests that you are not yet ready to receive the support you clearly require.
I take into account your plea of guilty which was entered a very early stage. I also take into account your young age at the time of committing this offence. Your background, and the profound social and personal deprivation to which you have been subject during your childhood and adolescence, are also relevant considerations. In my view, it is appropriate to recognise that your moral culpability is likely to be less than that of an offender whose formative years have not been marred in a similar way.
In spite of all of these difficulties, you strike me as someone who has a level of resilience. You have managed to survive your terrible childhood with little assistance from the community. I do not want to be taken as approving what you have done to survive. You have a significant record of prior matters for dishonesty, driving and drug offences. You need to make significant changes in your life if you want to avoid spending significant periods of time in prison.
This offence was very serious. Hitting anyone to the head with force, let alone with an object capable of breaking and causing a laceration, is inherently a very dangerous thing to do. It does not take much imagination to realise how the outcome could have been so much worse for the complainant if, for example, you had struck her close to her eye. The facts also suggest that you deliberately armed yourself, which is a matter aggravating your offending. Using violence is no way to deal with your personal grievances. It is important to make clear to you that violence of this type is unacceptable. The sentence I impose is intended to send a message to you and the community in general that such conduct is not acceptable. It is also intended to acknowledge the harm caused to the complainant by your actions. I have not received a victim impact statement, but I have no doubt that she will at least bear the physical scars of your conduct for a considerable period of time. It must have been a very distressing incident for her. In my view, it is necessary to impose a period of imprisonment. I will suspend a portion of that sentence to encourage you to stay out of trouble in the future and get the support you need to do that.
Xavier Mitchell, you are convicted on the charge of wounding. You are sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment from 19 September 2026. Six months of that sentence will be suspended on condition that you do not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of 18 months, commencing upon your release from custody.