STATE OF TASMANIA v RACHELLE MAREE O’BRIEN 7 MAY 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant, Rachelle Maree O’Brien, has been found guilty by a jury of the crimes of attempted aggravated armed robbery and dangerous driving. I have agreed to deal with two associated summary offences to which she has pleaded guilty, namely dishonestly displaying a number plate and evading police in aggravated circumstances.
On 23 December 2019, at about 6.30 am the defendant in company with another person who was wielding a large knife entered the Derwent Park Newsagency. They were both masked and hooded and the defendant’s companion demanded money from the complainant, Glenn Commane. Mr Commane responded by chasing them out of the shop with a baseball bat with which he smashed the rear window of the defendant’s Ford Falcon as she and her companion drove off. The Falcon was fitted with false number plates which were memorised by Mr Commane and reported to police.
The two would-be robbers drove along the old main road and, when stopped at the Lagoon General Store, they were sighted by police who activated the lights and siren on the police car. The defendant sped off, evading them and thereafter drove dangerously from there, across the Bridgewater Bridge before abandoning the car at Bridgewater. The defendant drove at excessive speeds and on the wrong side of the road, including around three roundabouts and overtook in dangerous circumstances. Traffic was medium at the time.
The defendant has a long record of prior convictions including for violent crime. She was sentenced in this court in 2002 for aggravated armed robbery, in 2005 for causing grievous bodily harm, in 2007 for Criminal Code assault, and again in 2010 for that crime. She has previous convictions for stealing, common assaults and breaches of Family Violence Orders.
It must be said however that in the last 10 years her offending has been related in the main to driving offences, including drug driving. So, her future is not without hope.
The defendant is a 34 year old single mother with a teenage daughter and a 6 year old son. She was the victim of physical and sexual abuse as a child and was introduced to illicit drugs when she was aged 9. She suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse disorder. She has a history of being in abusive relationships and was in such a relationship and suffering mental decline and an increase in drug use around the time of this offending.
The attempted robbery was a brazen crime on vulnerable premises and committed to fund the defendant’s companion’s drug use. The dangerous driving was a bad example of that crime given the area and the traffic flow. A truck driver was forced to take evasive action to avoid being struck head on.
The defendant is convicted of attempted aggravated armed robbery, dangerous driving, dishonestly displaying a number plate and evading police in aggravated circumstances.
I am satisfied that an appropriate sentence of imprisonment is not greater than 2 years from today and that it is appropriate to make a drug treatment order, for which the defendant has been assessed, as I have said, as suitable and eligible.
The defendant is convicted of aggravated armed robbery and dangerous driving and I impose a drug treatment order.
As to the sentencing order, the custodial part is a term of 2 years’ imprisonment in respect of all charges with the exception of the evading police and displaying a false number plate. In respect of the evading police charge I record a conviction and impose no further penalty, as in this case the dangerous driving was solely in evading police. In respect of the displaying of a false number plate I again simply record a conviction.
The total custodial period then is 24 months. In arriving at the custodial component of the drug treatment order I have taken into account time already served in prison by the defendant in respect of these offences.
The defendant is disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for a period of three years from today.
Ms O’Brien, you will not be required to serve any part of that sentence unless you are ordered by a court to do so as a result of you not complying with the treatment and supervision part of the order.
The drug treatment order will contain all of the core and program conditions contained in ss 27G and 27H of the Sentencing Act 1997.
The core conditions of the drug treatment order are as follows:
(a) You must not, in Tasmania or elsewhere, commit an imprisonable offence.
(b) You must attend court, as directed by a court.
(c) You must report to a court diversion officer at Community Corrections, 114 Bathurst Street, Hobart at 2pm on Monday, 10 May 2021.
(d) You must undergo such treatment for your illicit drug use problem as is specified by a court from time to time.
(e) You must report to, and accept visits from your case manager or court diversion officer.
(f) You must, unless there are special circumstances, give your case manager and court diversion officer at least 2 clear working days’ notice before any change of address.
(g) You must not leave Tasmania except with the permission, granted either generally or in a particular case, of a court.
(h) You must comply with all the lawful directions of a court.
(i) You must comply with all reasonable directions of your case manager and court diversion officer concerning the core conditions and program conditions of this order.
The following program conditions are added to the order:
- You must not use or associate with anyone determined by CMD to be an inappropriate contact and/or who uses any mood or mind altering substances, synthetic substances, or any unidentified substances and to submit to testing as directed by CMD.
- You must not associate with [named person] or any other individual determined by CMD as being an inappropriate contact.
- You must reside at [address] or any other address approved by CMD.
- You must not be absent from those premises between the hours of 9pm and 7am, and you are to present to an officer between those times, when required to do so, unless you have pre-approval from your Court Diversion Officer.
- You must be contactable by phone 24 hours a day and inform CMD immediately of any change in telephone number.
- You must obey all the directions from your court diversion officer or any other case officer (this includes case management appointments, counselling, medical appointments or assessments, urinalysis and any other appointment or assessment as required).
- You are not to use any prescription medication without approval from a general practitioner or court diversion officer, and only to take prescribed medication in accordance with directions.
- You must comply with the direction of your general practitioner or other mental health practitioner in relation to the management of your mental health, including taking prescribed medications as directed.
- You must notify CMD of any prescribed medication as soon as possible.
- You must refrain from the consumption of alcohol and submit to breath analysis as requested by CMD or Tasmania Police.
- You must appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday 24 May at 10.30 am.