A Supreme Court judge has dismissed an application to review the sentence of a 26-year-old man, describing his crime spree as “outrageous”.
But Justice Phillip Priest quashed one charge against Shannon Riley, reducing his sentence by two months to six years and 10 months.
Riley was charged last December with 20 offences, including assault, burglary, armed robbery, false imprisonment and possessing an unregistered firearm.
He was sentenced to seven years’ jail.
Riley’s spree spanned from Burnside Heights – where he broke into a house and stole items valued at about $5000 – to Mill Park and Ivanhoe.
Riley applied to have his sentence reduced because it was “manifestly excessive” and to drop an unregistered firearm charge because he used an imitation pistol to force entry.
The judge said Riley’s offending was “appalling” and “merited a substantial term of imprisonment’’.
“The use of the imitation pistol puts the aggravated burglary at the serious end of the spectrum,” he said.
Justice Priest said the sentence imposed was “far from being manifestly excessive” and was within the permissible range.
“We regard much of the appellant’s conduct … as outrageous. It could not be sensibly argued that anything other than a substantial sentence of imprisonment was appropriate.”
