A man who stole a ute and four firearms from an Axedale property before crashing into two vehicles during a morning crime spree last November will spend 12 months in jail, serve a community corrections order and pay a fine.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Blake Flower was sentenced in the County Court on Friday.
The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including theft, attempted burglary, burglary, theft of firearm, being a prohibited person using a firearm, and shortening the barrel of a longarm, as well as traffic offences.
County Court Judge Mark Dean sentenced Flower to a total of 12 months’ imprisonment for eight of the charges.
Flower will also undertake a community corrections order for 18 months, on which Judge Dean imposed special conditions.
These include receiving assessment and treatment in relation to his mental health and drug addiction, undergoing a program to reduce his risk of reoffending, and supervision from a community corrections officer.
Flower was also fined $1500 for two counts of careless driving.
About 4am on November 22 last year, Flower stole petrol from a Strathdale service station before attempting to break into the Junortoun Post Office.
He then stole a ute from an Axedale property and left, before returning and stealing four firearms and ammunition, including a shotgun.
He fled in the stolen ute, but crashed into a tree.
In another vehicle he drove to the Axedale Golf Course, where he fired a firearm twice.
Flower cut down the shotgun with an angle grinder.
He intended to store the firearms at a property in Castlemaine, but on the way ran a red light in Kangaroo Flat and hit two other vehicles.
Flower grabbed the firearms and fled, but information from witnesses allowed police to arrest him a short distance away.
Judge Dean said he took Flower’s early guilty plea into account as a mitigating factor when determining the sentence, noting this spared witnesses the need to give evidence and the community the burden of a trial.
“I accept you are now remorseful for your offending and its consequences,” Judge Dean said.
But he said Flower’s offending and the disregard he had displayed for the safety of others had a “deeply traumatic” impact on the occupants of the cars with which he had collided, having heard their victim impact statements.
Judge Dean said deterrence was a significant consideration for sentencing in this case.
Flower’s theft of the firearms and cutting down of the shotgun suggested his offending might have escalated, Judge Dean said, had he not been arrested.
He said it appeared Flower came from a stable, supportive family, which bode well for his future prospects.
But Judge Dean noted his developmental years were marked by personality and psychological disturbances, which contributed to his poly-substance abuse.
He said an assessment had found Flower met the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, which was closely linked to his drug addiction.
Judge Dean said Flower needed treatment for both his mental health issues and drug addiction, but to date had not received that.
Corrections Victoria had deemed Flower suitable for a community corrections order under appropriate supervision.
Had Flower not pleaded guilty, Judge Dean said, he would have been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years.
Flower will face the court again in December 2019 for judicial monitoring.