STATE OF TASMANIA v ZAC MICHAEL SCHEMBRI 10 AUGUST 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant Zac Michael Schembri, aged 20 at time of the offending, has pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Code assault and one count of aggravated burglary. I have also agreed pursuant to s 385A of the Criminal Code to deal with a charge of common assault on complaint 10289/22, and to accept a plea of guilty to count two on that complaint through counsel.
The complainant was aged 22 at the time of the offending.
Within the months prior to 28 December 2022 the complainant and the defendant met through a mutual friend and began talking on text message and SnapChat. They also had conversations over the phone. The complainant indicated to the defendant that the conversations were from a friendship point of view and that nothing would happen as she had just come out of a long term relationship. The defendant then commenced constantly texting her and calling her by phone.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, 28 December 2022 the defendant, his mother, and his brother arrived at the complainant’s house uninvited. The complainant opened the back door and the defendant stated that he wanted his belongings he had left at the house previously. The complainant shut the door to get the bag of the belongings. As she did so, the defendant punched the window to the side of the back door with his fist. The glass from the window smashed into the complainant’s face, causing cuts to her forehead and nose causing bleeding.
The defendant walked around to the front door and started banging to get inside the house. The complainant got the defendant’s bag and opened the front door. She threw a bag out at him and closed the door again. After she threw the bag outside and closed the door the defendant started to kick the door in. The door opened and the defendant approached the complainant with a black handled steak knife in his hand. The defendant put the knife to her throat and said “I’m going to kill you” and “why don’t you talk to me?“. The defendant then put the knife down and left. He was later arrested. He told police that the complainant was lucky that her children were there or he would have killed her. He had said the same thing to the complainant.
An application for a restraint order protecting the complainant was made by police. On 29 December 2022 that was made for 12 months.
The pleas of guilty came at a very early stage in the proceedings and the defendant is entitled to receive an appropriate discount on an otherwise appropriate sentence. He has only one prior conviction for violence, which was a common assault in March 2022. He pleaded guilty and was fined $500. He has no prior convictions for aggravated burglary.
The defendant was subject to a period of suspended imprisonment when these offences were committed. Application is made by the State pursuant to s 27(4)(a) of the Sentencing Act 1997 to breach the suspended sentence which was imposed on 18 July 2022. On 22 June 2023, part of the suspended sentence (70 days) was activated in the Magistrates Court by Magistrate Duvnjak.
No cause is shown in respect of that application, however it is submitted that it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence given that the defendant is still very young, and rehabilitation is an important consideration and given that the suspended sentence was imposed for dishonesty related and thus dissimilar offending. On the other hand the Magistrates Court was dealing with the same or similar offending to which the suspended sentence was imposed and even then it was determined it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence of six months in full. I accept the submissions made on behalf of the defendant and I make no order in respect of the application.
The defendant has been in custody at Risdon Prison for a total of 147 days (of which 77 days are unaccounted). This is the first time he has spent in custody and I am told that the experience to date has had a significant impact on him.
I also note that the defendant is subject to a Community Correction Order for a period of 12 months from 22 June 2023 and that that order includes special conditions, including a requirement to attend, participate in and complete the EQUIPS Addiction Program and the EQUIPS Aggression Program.
The defendant is single with no dependents. He reports a stable and supportive childhood. Although his parents separated when he was two years old. His parents both lived in the Hobart area, and he lived on and off with both of them. He maintains a supportive relationship with his mother and father, although his primary support is his stepmother, with whom he says he has a positive relationship and she is influential and a role model to him.
He completed Year 10 at Bayview Secondary College. He is formally diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and dyslexia. He states that he was not formally diagnosed with ADHD during school, which impacted upon his ability to engage. Upon leaving school, he completed a Certificate II in Construction and he has previously held employment, his most recent being in 2022 working at a car detailing business. He is interested in future employment in mechanics or construction and prior to going into custody, he was actively engaged with a job provider to secure employment.
I accept the submissions made on behalf of the State that the Code assault, was a serious example of that crime, involving as it did the use of a weapon, but it was short lived and the defendant desisted, although still obviously angry and aggressive. Unexplained, that conduct is reprehensible and aggravated by the presence of children in the house. Taking into account those considerations, but also the defendant’s youth and remorse, his very early pleas of guilty and the experience of imprisonment for the first time, the defendant is convicted of each of the crimes to which he has pleaded guilty, and the summary offence, and I impose a single sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment, backdated to 24 May 2023 with nine months of that sentence suspended on condition that the defendant commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of two years from today.