Attorney-General Deb Frecklington wins appeal on youth who stabbed army veteran Chris Sanders
An army veteran stabbed in the chest by a youth who boasted he was “famous” as he walked out of court has hailed the “fantastic” outcome after the teen’s sentence was increased.
An army veteran stabbed in the chest by a youth who boasted he was “famous” as he walked out of court has hailed the “fantastic” outcome after the teen’s sentence was increased.
The 18-year-old, who was 17 at the time and so can’t be identified, stabbed army veteran Chris Sanders, 50, just centimetres away from his heart at Alexandra Hills Shopping Centre on December 12, 2023.
On that evening Mr Sanders and his wife were driving through the centre car park when the teen, who was with friends, struck his car.
“You were in my road. What are you going to do about it, old man?” the teen told Mr Sanders who had asked why he struck his car.
The teenager went to kick the car and Mr Sanders warned him not to prompting the defendant to goad him again.
Mr Sanders alighted his vehicle and the teenager started shaping up throwing his fists.
He told the youth not to “go down this path trying to fight” while the defendant’s peers egged him on yelling “get him” and “smash him”.
The teenager called Mr Sanders a “fat c**t” as he and an associate circled and kicked him.
The victim grabbed one of the teen’s legs, as he went to kick him, throwing him onto the ground and walked off to get security.
The teenager chased after him with a knife attached to knuckledusters.
He caught up to Mr Sanders who had run and fell over when hearing someone yell “he’s got a knife’’.
The teenager slashed Mr Sanders’ leg then stabbed him in the left upper back area near the armpit before running off.
Mr Sanders was taken to hospital where he was treated for a 5cm long laceration to the outer left thigh and a 2cm stab wound to the left upper chest area, leading to a hemopneumothorax and blood in the muscle on his chest wall.
He was discharged from hospital the following day but had to return after his hemopneumothorax grew in size leading to a catheter being inserted to drain the blood that was around his lung and in his chest.
The teenager, who had a prejudicial upbringing and a prior history of largely drug and property offences, pleaded guilty to common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and wounding.
Judge Ian Dearden called the offending appalling and sentenced the youth in March to a year detention immediately suspended along with 15 months probation with no convictions recorded.
At that stage the youth had been on remand for 189 days.
As he walked from court the cocky teen claimed “I’m famous”.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington appealed on the basis the sentence for the wounding was manifestly inadequate and failed to properly reflect the seriousness of the offending and the importance of the protection of the community.
On Tuesday Queensland’s Court of Appeal – composed of Justices John Bond, David Boddice and Paul Freeburn – agreed.
“Such a deliberate act of violence, with a weapon, in public, warranted a substantial sentence of actual detention. Actual detention was necessary to ensure public safety. Other non-custodial measures were not sufficient in respect of such wanton violence, in a public place,” they said.
The appeal court then assessed whether the circumstances surrounding the case placed it in the “rare and exceptional” category that would justify the court interfering in a sentence on a prosecution appeal against that sentence.
It decided it was necessary to intervene “to establish and maintain adequate standards of sentence for crimes of the present nature, even when committed by children”.
“Failure to intervene in the present case would undermine public confidence in the administration of justice,” the court said.
The A-G submitted for a sentence of two years detention however the appeal court imposed 18 months.
It also found there were exceptional circumstances owing to “significant mitigating factors” that warranted the teenager being released after serving 50 per cent of the detention period.
The appeal court ordered convictions be recorded for the offences of wounding and assault occasioning bodily harm while armed but not the common assault.
Mr Sanders said the appeal was a positive step forward.
“I’m feeling on top of the world,” he said.
“The outcome has been fantastic. The one thing I was hoping for was a criminal conviction to be recorded. We got that and to have 18 months on his sentence is fantastic news as well.
“It is a positive step forward to a degree. However, we shouldn’t have to go down this path of having to appeal it. If you are going to prepare to sit there and put a knife in someone, or shoot someone, or stab someone, whatever, it shouldn’t have to go in front and be appealed through the Attorney-General.”
Mr Sanders said the original sentence had been a kick in the guts but was hopeful the introduction of adult crime, adult time laws would make similar cases less likely.
“Things are changing. And in the justice system, legal system, it’s going to start taking effect on these people that are sitting there doing the crime,” he said.
“It was always going to be on the back foot from where we went in, because knowing it wasn’t blending in with the adult time, adult crime.
“But now, now, knowing that the appeal has gone through, we’ve been successful with the appeal. I thank Deb Frecklington so much for putting the appeal in and to have this outcome.
“It’s been amazing.”
Mr Sanders said the appeal was a reminder to fight for what you believed in.
“You’ve got to stand up, as hard as things are, standing up to bring these people to justice,” he said.
“It’s got to be done. And knowing that, he’s got extra time, and now it’s been recorded. I am ecstatic. I am happy about that.”
Voice for Victims Foundation board director Trudy Reading said the successful appeal was a huge victory.
“Yesterday, when we spoke with the Department of Prosecutions they were really preparing us for the worst, because it is so difficult for an A-G to win an appeal, and the current Attorney-General, Deb Frecklington, hadn’t until today won an appeal,” she said.
“So that’s an even bigger achievement, it really just outlines, hopefully, it is a turning of the tide.
“We really hope that the judges today recognise the impact that these crimes have on victims and their families and we’re glad that they’ve responded by righting the wrong in some respects.
She said the judge’s statement today was quite powerful.
“Which will set a precedent, which is huge for any cases that are still to come, and we know that there’s a few that it should have an impact on, I’d say,” she said.
“Nothing’s ever going to bring Chris’s former life back to what it was, but at least this goes some way to recognising the impact that this person had on his life, and making him accountable and that there were consequences for those actions
“And hopefully, if there are other kids out there thinking of doing the same thing, they recognise that there are going to be consequences for those actions.”
