Burglary Dandenong Charges
The client had a multitude of charges including driving offences, drug offences, violence, theft, and burglary.
Facts
The client had just been released from prison. He was keen to make a fresh start. However, with little support from family and friends he turned to drugs and ultimately embarked upon a drug-fuelled crime spree spanning some three months. Charges followed.
He accepted his responsibility for the offending and instructed that he wanted to plead guilty to all charges save for one relating to an alleged incident at his ex-partner’s home, which he denied completely.
We negotiated the charges and entered a consolidated plea of guilty on most charges. The client received a term of imprisonment. This sentence was however significantly reduced due to his having entered an early plea and tendered valuable information to the police.
The prosecution was unwilling to withdraw the disputed charge. They instead made a number of offers to reduce the charges to less serious ones if the client was to plead guilty. We held our ground and insisted that the prosecution prove their case at a contested hearing (mediation).
Results
As we anticipated, the prosecution had difficulty organising their witnesses for contest. Shortly prior to the contest the prosecution again sought to resolve the matter for a lesser plea. We refused and the prosecution ultimately withdrew the charge. Although our client was already serving a term of imprisonment the withdrawal meant that he had one less charge on his record and ensured that his sentence was not lengthened.
