By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A pair of intruders who cornered and stabbed a resident in his Narre Warren bedroom and stole his laptop have faced court.
Benjamin Allen Delphin, 29, of Narre Warren, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to aggravated burglary, causing injury intentionally and theft.
Co-offender Joel Kyle, 25, of Cranbourne North, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, drug possession, dealing with suspected proceeds of crime, theft and aggravated assault.
The pair kicked open the home’s front door about 7.20am on 30 July 2021.
Delphin was armed with a large knife and Kyle grabbed a knife from the kitchen. They stormed through the house throwing fixtures and fittings.
The victim – who was known to Delphin – armed himself with kitchen knives and retreated into his bedroom.
Kyle climbed in through the bedroom window and Delphin came in through the door. They cornered the man who dropped his knives.
Delphin struck out at the man with his knife, slashing his wrist with a deep laceration as he raised his arm to protect his face.
The intruders fled with the man’s laptop to a getaway car, which was driven to Delphin’s mother’s home in Narre Warren South.
In a raid of Kyle’s home in March 2022, police seized $4750 cash, as well as various illicit drugs.
“You should both be under no misapprehension that your offending is serious,” sentencing judge Daniel Holding told them on 8 August.
Their break-in with intent to assault or steal created a “highly volatile situation that is completely intolerable”.
Both must serve jail terms, though Delphin’s offending and prior criminal history were more serious, he said.
Judge Holding noted Kyle grew up in deprivation in Cranbourne, with an alcoholic single mother. He left home in his teens, experienced homelessness and started using drugs at 13.
Many of his prior criminal offences were a result of his chronic drug addiction and didn’t result in convictions.
He’d not offended since the break-in, and was successfully engaging with a CISP bail program, which tackled his drug abuse.
Noting Kyle was relatively young, his continued rehabilitation was the best way to protect the community, Judge Holding said.
Delphin grew up in an “awful” violent, dysfunctional home with drug-addicted parents in Castlemaine. He started using drugs from his parents, had only a primary-school education and hadn’t held a meaningful job.
As an adult, he’d used a variety of drugs, including sniffing paint, and had suffered drug-induced psychoses.
The father-of-seven had never undergone drug detoxification or residential rehab. At the time of offending, he was on daily doses of GHB, ice and dope.
Delphin had served several jail stints for burglary and dishonesty offences.
At the time of the break-in, he was on a court-supervised drug-treatment order – which was “clearly not effective”.
His rehabilitation prospects were “guarded to say the least”, but not extinguished, Judge Holding said.
He was at risk of institutionalisation if he couldn’t remain drug-free, according to a psychologist report.
Delphin was jailed for up to four years and eight months, with a three-year-and-three-month non-parole period. His term includes 494 days in pre-sentence detention.
Kyle was jailed for 419 days – which had already been served in remand – plus an 18-month community corrections order with drug and mental health treatment.
