STATE OF TASMANIA v JAIDON GLEN POLDEN 6 DECEMBER 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Mr Polden has pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated burglary, two charges of aggravated armed robbery, and a charge of armed robbery.
The first three charges relate to a home invasion by four armed men at the home of a couple named Daniel Dance and Leah Farley in Moonah on the evening of 22 June 2022. The couple were at home with their five children and two adult visitors. There was a knock at the door at about 6.10pm. Mr Dance opened the door. The four men pushed their way into the house. The first had a handgun. The second had a knife. Mr Polden was one of the other men. He was armed with a pair of knuckledusters. Another of the men had a Taser. The man with the knife swang it towards Mr Dance as the group entered, cutting his left arm. The men forced him into one of the children’s bedrooms. Ms Farley told Mr Polden that she recognised him. He disputed that and told her to get onto the ground, threatening her and her children if she did not comply. She had taken two of her children into her bedroom. Mr Polden entered that room and robbed her of her mobile phone. Mr Dance was robbed of $3425 in cash, three lizards (being two bearded dragons and one water dragon), a CCTV recorder, a pouch of tobacco and a bong.
Mr Polden was arrested at a youth shelter in Moonah about 30 minutes later. He was taken to the Hobart Police Station where he participated in a video recorded interview but denied being involved in the robbery and made some nasty comments about Mr Dance. He was then taken to the custody desk for processing, and made admissions to participation in the robbery at that stage. Police officers analysed his mobile phone and found a message to somebody giving details of his participation in the robbery. He was charged and bailed.
Six nights later, on 28 June, Mr Polden committed another armed robbery at about 11.35pm. His bail conditions required him to be at his home between 5pm and 7am each night, but he went to a food van in Moonah in breach of that condition and robbed its chef at knifepoint. He was wearing a balaclava. He grabbed the till and ran off with it. It contained about $260 in cash. He was intercepted travelling away from the scene in a taxi. He was arrested and taken to the Hobart Police Station where he participated in an interview and admitted what he had done. The till was recovered, as were $16.70 of the stolen money, the balaclava and the knife.
Mr Dance has provided a victim impact statement. He, his partner, and their children have all suffered serious psychological symptoms as a result of the home invasion. Ms Farley had pre-existing depression and anxiety. Her symptoms were dreadfully exacerbated as a result of the incident, to the extent that Mr Dance arranged for CCTV cameras, motion sensors, sensor lighting and alarms to be installed. He could not leave his partner alone on a daily basis. His own symptoms included nightmares and flashbacks, mild anxiety and depression. He has been left with a long scar on his left arm.
All of the children appear to have suffered psychologically, but the greatest impact was on an autistic boy whose 12th birthday was being celebrated when the intruders arrived. He had a continuing fear that the intruders would return. It was nearly impossible for the couple to get him to go to school. He had a constant fear of being attacked or followed. In the end Mr Dance left his job and the family left Tasmania because of the continuing fears of various family members.
I was not provided with a victim impact statement in relation to the food van robbery.
Mr Polden was 18 years old when he committed these crimes and is now 19. He comes from a highly dysfunctional family. He was the victim of severe child abuse. He lived in a number of foster placements from the age of four, and then in a group home where he was physically and sexually abused. He has a low cognitive function and suffers from complex post traumatic stress disorder. He has worked in a supermarket and as a spray painter. Each job lasted about a year. Each job ended as a result of Mr Polden using drugs. He has not had stable housing. He continues to have alcohol and drug problems.
When Mr Polden committed these crimes he had never been dealt with by a court for an offence. He has been in custody ever since 29 June 2022. During April 2023 a magistrate convicted him of various offences of dishonesty committed in April, May and June 2022, imposed a wholly suspended sentence of 28 days’ imprisonment, and made a 12-month community correction order to commence at the end of his current imprisonment.
Mr Polden pleaded guilty to the armed robbery charge relating to the food van in the Magistrates Court in September 2022. However he did not plead guilty to the charges relating to the home invasion until November of this year.
The only appropriate penalty is a significant prison sentence, backdated to the time of Mr Polden’s second arrest. I will impose the shortest possible non-parole period because he is so young. However these were very serious crimes, and the impact on Mr Dance, Ms Farley and their children has been horrendous.
Jaidon Glen Polden, I convict you and sentence you to 3 years 8 months’ imprisonment. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served 22 months of this sentence. I make three compensation orders, ordering you to pay compensation to Daniel Dance, Leah Farley and Uddhav Karki for the loss and damage suffered by them. I adjourn each assessment of compensation sine die. I order that the balaclava and knife seized by the police be forfeited to the State of Tasmania and assess their value to be $1.