S.M.s differed over sentence

Press, 14 December 1979, Page 13

S.M.s differed over sentence

[ Because one magistrate [took the pleas of guilty and heard the statement of facts, and another imposed sentence, a youth was wrongly sentenced to residential periodic detention instead of non-residential detention, Mr Justice Casey was told in the Supreme Court yesterday. His Honour was asked to correct the misunderstanding when Mark John Gilmour, aged 18, appealled against a sentence of five months residential periodic detention imposed on him by Mr F. G. Paterson, S.M., on charges of causing bodily injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to ascertain if anyone had been injured.

The appeal was upheld and a sentence of six months nonresidential periodic detention was substituted. Gilmour pleaded guilty to the three charges before Mr B. A. Palmer, S.M. The charges arose out of an accident on the afternoon of April 5 when Gilmour took a comer at high speed, smashed into a parked vehicle, seriously injuring a passenger in the front seat of his car. He then panicked and drove off but it was not until later that he realised that his passenger had been hurt. Gilmour was driving a Ford Zepher Mark 111 north along Gayhurst Road with four passengers at a speed of

about 70km/h, according to the police statement. Without slowing down Gilmour turned into Cresswell Avenue and on a moderate right bend he lost control of the car. The vehicle swung into the path of an oncoming vehicle and in attempting to avoid it Gilmour over corrected, swung left and struck a correctly-parked vehicle on the side of the road, pushing it 30 metres. Gilmour did not stop and continued at high speed for some distance but finally halted in the park of the Kentucky Fried Chicken shop. It was there that he found that one of his passengers in the front seat was seriously injured. After hearing submissions from counsel Mr Palmer said that he was mindful of imposing a sentence of six months non-residential periodic detention and he remanded Gilmour for a medical report.

i However, after being [found to be fit Gilmour appeared before a different magistrate, Mr Paterson, for sentence. Counsel made no further submissions and Gilmour was sentenced to five months residential periodic detention. Mr T. M. Abbott, for Gilmour, yesterday submitted on appeal that the sentence was either excessive or inappropriate because of what 'had been said initially. Mr D. J. L. Saunders, for the Crown, conceded that this was a case where the sentence should be reviewed and that a term of non-residential detention, as indicated by Mr Palmer, was more warranted. His Honour said that the proposed non-residential sentence seemed to be amply justified from the probation report which portrayed Gilmour as a hard worker with an excellent character [and background.