Bourke St murderer James Gargasoulas given life jail sentence but could get parole in 46 years - ABCNews - 22 Feb 2019

Bourke Street murderer James Gargasoulas has been sentenced to life in prison for killing six people and injuring 27 others when he drove his car through pedestrians two years ago.

Justice Mark Weinberg set a non-parole period of 46 years for what he described as a "callous and cowardly act", after sentencing Gargasoulas to six life terms for murder.

Prosecutors had argued for a life sentence without any prospect of release, but the judge said he had considered factors including Gargasoulas's mental health in determining his eligibility for parole.

In the lead-up to the CBD rampage in January 2017, Gargasoulas had spoken of "mowing people down" on at least three occasions, the court heard.

Justice Weinberg rejected the notion that Gargasoulas was oblivious to what was going on around him as he drove through the city, despite the fact he was in a drug-induced psychosis at the time.

"You knew full well what you were doing," Justice Weinberg said.

"You knew that, by your actions, you were likely to kill or seriously injure those who happened to be in your path."

Justice Weinberg described Gargasoulas as a "persistent law-breaker", with a criminal history that included acts of dishonesty and violence dating back to 2008.

He also noted that Gargasoulas had five children to three different women, but was "effectively homeless" and sleeping in his car at the time of the rampage.

During last year's trial, the court heard police had been tailing Gargasoulas for 12 hours before he drove into the busy pedestrian mall at lunchtime on January 20.

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In the hours before the rampage, police had repeatedly tried to get him to stop via calls to his mobile phone and text messages.

In sentencing, Justice Weinberg described the attack as "one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history".

"It was entirely fortuitous that you did not kill or injure many more," he said.

"You made no attempt to avoid people, or to slow down. You simply ploughed through them, as I have said, quite deliberately.

'The sentence is not harsh enough'

In November last year, a jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Gargasoulas guilty of six counts of murder and 27 charges of reckless conduct endangering life.

During the trial, CCTV was played to the court, which showed his victims walking along the footpath, oblivious to the car approaching behind them.

"You made no attempt to stop or slow down — you simply ploughed through them," Justice Weinberg said.

Following the sentencing, lawyer Genna Angelowitsch read a statement from Melinda Tan, the widow of Matthew Poh Chuan Si.

The 33-year-old architect was killed while on his way back to work after having lunch with Ms Tan.

The statement said:

"There is no excuse for murder.

"If you are a danger to society you should never be allowed to roam freely.

"The sentence is not harsh enough.

"Our family hopes that no one will ever have to suffer a similar fate as those who lost their loved ones and will continue to struggle with survival.

"We are looking forward to the inquest to shed light on past mistakes and to enforce changes that are needed."

Ms Angelowitsch said the statement also reflected the sentiments of Bryant family, who lost their baby son Zachary Matthew-Bryant.

'I'm not evil,' Gargasoulas told court

At the end of a three-day plea hearing last month, Gargasoulas read from a handwritten letter.
 

His address to the court lasted 20 minutes and was at times rambling and incoherent as he talked about government oppression, God's Law, and how God had kept him safe that day.

"I'm not evil, I'm not a terrorist — I'm a freedom fighter," the 29-year-old said.

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