Beau Symons jailed for possessing drugs for sale in a school zone

A young father was jailed after his downward spiral led to him dealing meth while living directly across from a northern suburbs primary school.

A dealer who lived directly across from a northern suburbs primary school was caught with multiple drugs and a gel blaster after a raid.

Beau James Symons, 28, was jailed for over three years after he turned to heavy drug use to deal with the trauma of losing his father.

During sentencing, the District Court heard police attended Symon’s Blakeview home on August 23, 2022.

Symons was at home with his partner and child.

Police searched the property and found a resealable bag containing 5.46g of methamphetamine in one of the bedrooms.

Beau Symons was jailed for possessing drugs for sale in a school zone. Photo: Facebook

They also found scales, resealable bags, MDMA, marijuana, a taser and a gel blaster rifle.

The court previously heard the methamphetamine was worth up to $3750 if sold by the gram.

The father-of-two pleaded guilty to possessing drugs for sale in a school zone and possessing a firearm without a licence.

Raffaele Piccolo, for Symons, told the court during sentencing submissions the gel blaster was brought to his client’s house by a friend a couple of days before his arrest and it was left behind.

The court heard Symons had been a drug user on occasion but his use escalated after his father passed away in 2021.

“These events were extremely traumatic for you and marked the beginning of a downward spiral,” Judge Emily Telfer said.

“You were not making a profit by selling drugs beyond what was necessary to sustain your own habit.

“There is no evidence of the location of large amounts of cash or that you were living a luxurious lifestyle.”

The court heard Symons planned to move to Victoria to work in traffic management once released from custody.

Judge Telfer said while there was no suggestion Symons was selling to students, the legislation was designed to protect children attending school from being exposed to drug dealing and the associated risks.

Symons was sentenced to three years and six months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and eight months.

“You do not yet have an entrenched drug habit and it is important that you access rehabilitation programs on your release to support you to leave methamphetamine behind,” Judge Telfer said.

The sentence was backdated to March 5.