R v John YOUKHANA [2011] NSWDC 62

R v John YOUKHANA [2011] NSWDC 62

The offender ran an organised and systematic street-level cocaine supply operation, had 657.83 grams of cocaine held primarily for supply, substantial cash and indicia of supply, and possessed firearms in connection with premises used for drug storage and distribution. The asserted pre-arrest mental illness and cocaine addiction were not established as mitigating the offences. The seriousness of the drug and firearms offending, the need for general and personal deterrence, the standard non-parole periods, Form 1 matters, guilty pleas attracting a 25 per cent reduction, and the principles of totality and proportionality required a substantial aggregate term of imprisonment.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 April 2011
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentencing / Sentence Following Guilty Pleas
Outcome
Offender convicted on each count and sentenced to a total effective sentence of 9 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 6 years 9 months.
Legal Topics
['supply Prohibited Drug' 'supply Prohibited Drug on Ongoing Basis' 'possess Prohibited Drug' 'proceeds of Crime' 'possession of Firearms' 'domestic Assault' 'form 1 Matters' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'totality and Proportionality' 'guilty Plea Discount']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing' 'drug Offences' 'firearms Offences' 'common Assault'] ['supply Prohibited Drug' 'supply Prohibited Drug on Ongoing Basis' 'possess Prohibited Drug' 'proceeds of Crime' 'possession of Firearms' 'domestic Assault' 'form 1 Matters' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'totality and Proportionality' 'guilty Plea Discount']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentencing / Sentence Following Guilty Pleas

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that the offender supplied cocaine on more than two hundred occasions to over forty customers.' 'Whether the offender prepared cocaine for sale by grinding and adding Diltiazem.' 'Whether asserted mental illness or cocaine addiction mitigated the objective seriousness of the offending.' 'How the Form 1 matters should affect sentence.' 'How to impose sentences reflecting seriousness, standard non-parole periods, guilty pleas, totality and proportionality.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offender ran an organised and systematic street-level cocaine supply operation, had 657.83 grams of cocaine held primarily for supply, substantial cash and indicia of supply, and possessed firearms in connection with premises used for drug storage and distribution. The asserted pre-arrest mental illness and cocaine addiction were not established as mitigating the offences. The seriousness of the drug and firearms offending, the need for general and personal deterrence, the standard non-parole periods, Form 1 matters, guilty pleas attracting a 25 per cent reduction, and the principles of totality and proportionality required a substantial aggregate term of imprisonment.

Court Disposition

Offender convicted on each count and sentenced to a total effective sentence of 9 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 6 years 9 months.

Orders

  • ['Count 1, taking into account three matters on Form 1A: non-parole period of 5 years 7 months 15 days commencing 13 February 2008 and expiring 27 September 2013, with a balance of term of 1 year 10 months 16 days; total effective sentence 7 years 6 months expiring 12 August 2015.' 'Count 2, taking into account...