STATE OF TASMANIA v DYLAN RAY WEBB 7 AUGUST 2024
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Mr Webb has pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving. I will also be sentencing him under s 385A of the Criminal Code in relation to 12 summary offences.
On the afternoon of Sunday 24 September 2023 Mr Webb was driving a Commodore vehicle in a northerly direction on the Murchison Highway near Boco Siding when police officers noticed that his vehicle was travelling at 119 Km/h on a section of road with a speed limit of 100 Km/h. The police pursued Mr Webb’s vehicle with their emergency lights flashing, hoping to intercept him. He accelerated, and crossed double white lines into the southbound traffic lane. He slowed to a speed below the limit but remained on the wrong side of the road. As he approached a crest in the road, a driver travelling south was forced to brake and take evasive action in order to avoid a collision. That driver had to swerve onto the shoulder of the road. The police ceased pursuit because of the danger to the public.
The police officers continued to travel north. A number of southbound motorists told them that the Commodore was continuing to travel at speed on the Murchison Highway and the Ridgley Highway. Road spikes were set up in Ridgley. Mr Webb took evasive action and avoided them. He drove onto the southbound lane of the Ridgley Highway. His vehicle’s brakes locked. It spun out of control into the path of oncoming traffic and then collided with an Armco railing on the incorrect side of the road. It came to rest at right angles to the flow of traffic, blocking the southbound lane.
Mr Webb got out of his vehicle. He was very agitated. The police were eventually able to arrest him. He has been in custody ever since. Under caution he said that he had driven from Zeehan; that he knew that if he steered onto the wrong side of the road and endangered innocent lives then the police would have to back right off; that he had bail conditions that meant that he was not allowed to drive; that he saw the road spikes and had tried to steer around them; and that he had had three or four beers. Police officers searched his vehicle. They found a quantity of cannabis, an Ice pipe, and a cannabis smoking device. Mr Webb was taken to the Burnie Police Station where he submitted to a breath analysis and a reading of 0.072 was obtained. An oral fluid test returned positive readings for methylamphetamine and THC. He declined an opportunity to participate in a formal interview, but admitted that the cannabis and the smoking device were his, that he had used cannabis in Zeehan that morning, and that he had used Ice two days earlier to self-medicate.
On the day in question Mr Webb did not hold a driver’s licence. He was on bail on a number of charges with bail conditions that required him not be found behind the controls of a motor vehicle and not to consume alcohol.
The summary offences for which I must sentence him are as follows:
- Evading police by failing to stop on the Murchison Highway;
- Driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.072 when not the holder of an Australian driver licence;
- Speeding (119 Km/h when the speed limit was 100 Km/h);
- Possessing cannabis;
- Possessing an Ice pipe;
- Possessing a used smoking device;
- Using methylamphetamine;
- Using cannabis;
- Driving while not the holder of a driver licence;
- Breaching bail conditions by being found behind the controls of a motor vehicle;
- Breaching bail conditions by consuming alcohol; and
- Driving a motor vehicle whilst prescribed illicit drugs, namely methylamphetamine and THC, were present in his oral fluid.
Mr Webb was 32 years old on the day in question and is now 33. He has prior convictions for a wide variety of offences and has been to prison several times. Very few of his convictions related to driving or drugs, though he does have two drink driving convictions dating from 2017 and 2020.
Mr Webb lives with his fiancée. They have a child aged 6. The fiancée also has a 9 year old who is part of their household. Both children suffer from autism and ADHD. Mr Webb is a disability support pensioner. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Mr Webb had a chaotic childhood and adolescence. He has a long history of drug use. He abused illicit drugs and prescription medications from about the age of 13 or 14 to about the age of 24 or 25. During that period he was often homeless, couch surfing between friends’ homes, and associating with people who paid him in drugs for his assistance in committing crimes for them and with them. He went onto the Suboxone program for about four years, but resumed using methylamphetamine when he was 29. Since he has been in custody he has been drug-free and has been taking appropriate medication for his mental health conditions. He has undertaken a drug and alcohol program whilst in custody, and has commenced the EQUIPS program. I was told that he would not be able to continue in that program if he left the Hobart Remand Centre. As I understand it, being convicted and sentenced would ordinarily result in him being moved from there to the prison at Risdon. For his sake, and for the benefit of the community, I hope that does not happen and that he is able to be kept where he is to continue in the EQUIPS program. I would like these sentencing comments drawn to the attention of the Director of Corrective Services in the hope that that might happen.
I obtained an assessment report as to Mr Webb’s suitability for participating in the Court Mandated Diversion Program. The author of that report considers that that sentencing option is not appropriate. One of her concerns, which may be unwarranted, is about the possibility of family violence if he returns to live with his partner. More significantly in my view, there is a concern about his attitude towards people in authority such as police officers and Community Corrections officers.
Mr Webb cooperated with the police after he was arrested. He acknowledges now that failing to stop for the police was the worst mistake that he had made for a long time. He is ashamed of what he did, of the impact on his family, and of the fact that he could have caused a fatal accident. He pleaded guilty at an early stage, before any steps had been initiated to prepare the case for trial.
This was a bad case of dangerous driving. He drove into the face of oncoming traffic on two occasions. He drove while intoxicated, and did not stop until he crashed his car. I do not think I should explore the possibility of Community Corrections changing their minds about his suitability for the Court Mandated Drug Diversion Program in the circumstances. I think having regard to the seriousness of this case and their unwillingness, at this stage, to take him, that the most appropriate course is to send him to prison. I have to impose a separate sentence on the charge of evading police. Because of the steps that he has taken towards remaining drug-free, I will impose the shortest possible non-parole periods. I hope that a parole officer will be able to assist him in remaining drug-free. The sentences that I impose will be backdated to commence from the day of his arrest.
Dylan Ray Webb, I convict you on all charges. On the charge of evading police (count 1 on complaint 53059/2023), I sentence you to 4 months’ imprisonment with effect from 24 September 2023 and disqualify you from driving for 2 years from today. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served 2 months of that sentence. On all the other charges, I sentence you to a cumulative term of 20 months’ imprisonment and disqualify you from driving for an additional period of 2 years. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served 10 months of that sentence.
For the purposes of s 92A of the Sentencing Act 1997, I specify that the total of these two sentences of imprisonment is 24 months, and that the total period of imprisonment that you must serve before you are eligible for parole is 12 months with effect from 24 September 2023.