Haymish Finlay to be sentenced next month for trafficking marijuana at Port Augusta

A man who once tried to escape custody by swimming into the Spencer Gulf is before the courts again after entangling himself in a commercial drug operation.

A drug dealer who once escaped custody by swimming into the Spencer Gulf is back on the wrong side of the law after he was caught dealing large amounts of marijuana.

Haymish Cavan Lindsay Finlay, 31, will learn next month whether jail awaits him again after he entangled himself in a commercial drug dealing operation.

The Adelaide District Court heard during sentencing submissions in June Finlay’s co-accused was present when police searched a Port Augusta house in September 2020 and found over 3kg of marijuana.

“The police go to the defendant’s house and locate the cannabis over the fence,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard police found over 2kg of marijuana there but accepted some was for personal use.

The marijuana was valued between $2500 to $3000.

The prosecutor said text messages revealed Finlay had been selling larger quantities of marijuana between April to June 2020.

The Port Augusta father pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial drug trafficking.

Hamish Finlay will be sentenced next month for commercial drug trafficking. Photo: Facebook

The prosecutor said while they accepted Finlay only took part in the first offence by helping wrap the marijuana, an immediate jail term was appropriate, due to the serious offending and his criminal history.

Finlay, who pleaded guilty to threatening harm, dissuading a witness and escaping custody, was jailed in 2016 for five years, with a three-year non-parole period.

In sentencing, Judge Gordon Barrett said Finlay’s offending began when he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, mother of his three-year-old, to have a relationship with his new girlfriend.

However, when Finlay concluded his former partner was seeing someone else, he “became aggressive, manipulative and threatening”.

“Over a period of days, you sent her vile threats by text, including threats to kill her,” he said.

The court heard two days after Finlay was arrested he escaped custody by persuading the sheriff’s officer to give him a cigarette at court.

“You then made out you were coughing … when one moved to help you, you escaped by jumping the fence and swimming out into the gulf,” Judge Barrett said,

“You were eventually captured … you say that you tried to run away because you feared that you might meet repercussions in prison for a debt you owed a fellow prisoner.”

Stacey Carter, for Finlay, pushed for a suspended or home detention sentence in the Adelaide District Court on Wednesday, saying he was turning his life around.

“He wants to be a father. He wants to be a positive role model in their life and wants to make a change towards that,” she said.

Ms Carter previously told the court when Finlay’s co-accused was arrested for the first offence, Finlay wasn’t initially considered a suspect.

“It was just that after they completed the DNA and fingerprint and hair analysis on the packages, the police became aware that the defendant’s hair was wrapped in part of the wrapping,” she said.

Ms Carter said Finlay was a “significant user” of marijuana at the time of the offending but ceased use about 16 months ago.

“Much of it was ultimately destined for sale, but a lot was for personal use,” she said.

Ms Carter told the court Finlay had a “horrific, horrific childhood” and planned to move to Port Lincoln for a fresh start and potential work on fishing trawlers.

Finlay will be sentenced next month.