Convicted armed robber Kamm Luke Levi Tomasovich to be supervised upon prison release

A Bunbury man who demanded money from a bank while pretending to have a gun is due to be released from prison in a matter of weeks. State prosecutors made an application before the Supreme Court of Western Australia in November to have Kamm Luke Levi Tomasovich placed under a restriction order. The matter was brought before the court for a preliminary hearing to determine if there were suitable grounds to deem Tomasovich a “high-risk offender” and place him under an interim supervision order until a final decision was made. The court was told Tomasovich “welcomed” an interim supervision order to provide him with structure upon his release. Tomasovich is due to be released from prison in January after serving four years and two months for an armed robbery during which he entered a local shopping centre and took a black hoodie and tracksuit from a shop to disguise himself before entering a bank. The court was told he pretended to be carrying a gun and requested that a bank officer hand over bank notes, with which she complied before leaving and catching a bus. At trial, Tomasovich relied on a defence of not guilty by reason of unsoundness of mind, claiming he was involuntarily intoxicated after accidentally being prescribed double the required dose of the medication he was taking at the time. During his time in custody on remand, Tomasovich was convicted of assaulting prison officers on two separate occasions. The court was told on one occasion Tomasovich punched a female officer in the face while holding a pen, causing a fractured nose and lacerations, as well as another occasion when he punched a male officer in the face, causing a mild concussion and soft tissue injuries. As a result of the offences, Tomasovich was deemed a “management risk” while in prison and was housed in the special handling unit at Casuarina Prison. It was submitted Tomasovich had a history of violent offending dating back to 1998, which included eight convictions for armed robbery, multiple assault public officer convictions, an assault occasioning bodily harm offence and a wounding. It was also submitted he had a history of poor compliance with orders while in the community, having breached four of his six previous orders. The court was also told Tomasovich had a history of mental health issues but the diagnosis had been complicated by illicit substance use and his antisocial personality. A psychiatric report that was submitted to the court made the submission Tomasovich had a “history of antisocial personality disorder, substance use disorder and delusional disorder. The report, written by Dr Siva Bala, also read that some psychiatrists that had been involved with his care have “opined that he might be malingering psychotic symptoms for secondary gain such as evading legal sanctions or justifying his aggression”. However, Tomasovich had been unable to address those issues through intervention programs within the prison setting. In his assessment, Chief Justice Peter Quinlan noted Tomasovich’s significant history of violent offending as well as the risk he posed due to being unable to participate in treatment programs. “That has created something of a catch-22, given that the necessary treatment to address Mr Tomasovich’s offending is not able, it would appear, to be effectively delivered in a prison environment,” he said. Chief Justice Quinlan ultimately found there were “reasonable grounds” for a court to find Tomasovich a high-risk serious offender and granted the interim supervision order to begin when he was released from prison.