Mustafa Al-Mofathel and Daniel Geoffrey Fensom have both faced court over their roles in a burglary. Photo: Albert McKnight
Two offenders used drugs at a south Canberra home before returning with hammers and assaulting a resident, then stealing his belongings.
Mustafa Al-Mofathel, then 35, and 27-year-old Daniel Geoffrey Fensom covered their faces and carried hammers into a home in Deakin on 31 August 2024, according to sentencing remarks by the ACT Supreme Court.
When their victim encountered the pair inside his home, one of the offenders yelled at him and punched him in the face, knocking him backwards onto a lounge.
An offender instructed him to empty his pockets, and he complied, placing his wallet and mobile phone on a table. The intruders stole both items before fleeing.
Al-Mofathel and Fensom both pleaded guilty to burglary and asked for two charges by joint commission, common assault and minor theft, be taken into account on sentencing.
Justice Verity McWilliam, when sentencing Al-Mofathel, said the offending was related to drug use as Al-Mofathel had used drugs at the same home he later burgled.
“The occupants of the premises were present at the time of the burglary, the offenders interacted with the occupants and the weapons were visible to the occupants while the offenders moved about the premises,” she said.
“There was a degree of planning or premeditation, given that the offenders left the premises and returned, with their faces covered and with weapons.
“In respect of the assault, physical trauma was suffered by the victim, who experienced pain upon being punched by one of the offenders.”
Al-Mofathel was born in Iraq and suffered a turbulent childhood due to the Iraq war before his family migrated to Australia in 1996.
“Unlike his co-offender, he does not appear to have any separate mental health issues (that is, other than those related to the consequences of drug use),” Justice McWilliam said.
She said he had a substance use disorder, which included regular use throughout his adult life. He had been in custody for more than 400 days by the time he was sentenced on Monday (10 November).
Justice McWilliam said she would take into account the time he had already spent in custody and sentenced him to one year and four months’ jail, suspended from Monday for him to enter into a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order. This is a community-based order focused on rehabilitation for substance use.
While Fensom did plead guilty, he was sentenced on different facts from Al-Mofathel.
According to a recently released decision from Chief Justice Lucy McCallum, Fensom has been placed on a Griffiths remand. This means his sentence was deferred while he undergoes rehabilitation.
“I have indicated to Mr Fensom that in the event that he does not fare well in his path of rehabilitation, he is likely to be returned to custody for something in the order of a period of six months,” Chief Justice McCallum said in July.
“However, of necessity, that will be a decision I will have to make at the conclusion of the period of Griffiths remand.”
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