Cairns crime: Clinton Leon Storer’s crime spree to pay drug debts ends in prison sentence

An ice addict whose life spiralled downwards stole nine guns and declined to tell a Cairns court where six of them ended up.

AN ice addict whose life spiralled downwards stole nine guns and declined to tell a Cairns court where six of them ended up.

Clinton Leon Storer, 29, in custody at Lotus Glen, pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court on Friday to a raft of charges including two charges of enter dwelling and commit indictable offence, two counts of stealing, two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, evasion, dangerous operation of a vehicle, possessing dangerous drugs and possessing utensils or pipes.

The court heard in a crime spree last October and November, Mr Storer, a former Cairns representative football and basketball player, broke into premises at Yorkeys Knob and stole an entire safe with about $85,000 worth of antique jewellery and precious stones, and used boltcutters to steal nine guns.

A former Cairns sports star turned ice addict plead guilty to a number of offences in the Cairns District Court.

Three of the guns were found with drug dealers, but six were still out there and Judge Paul Smith asked Mr Storer’s defence barrister James Sheridan if his client would reveal where they went.

“Is he prepared to tell police where the rifles are, it is to his benefit to say who he gave the rifles to, these are dangerous weapons in the community,” Judge Smith said.

The court adjourned so Mr Sheridan could confer with Mr Storer, who is in custody at Lotus Glen – and the answer was no.

Prosecutor Timothy Watkins said three guns were found with people at Mulgrave, Parramatta Park and Manoora and all had drug convictions.

“The rest are still on the streets,” he said.

“One reason he wouldn’t want to tell us about the dangerous weapons is there are dangerous drug dealers in Cairns,” Mr Watkins said.

He said a woman had told him about the guns at the house and Mr Storer entered with purpose and design to steal them.

Mr Storer was on bail for possessing 1.7g of methamphetamine when he went on the crime spree.

Mr Sheridan said Mr Storer had completed two apprenticeships and worked in boat building but had anxiety following the breakdown of a relationship with a woman with whom he has four children and started using one to three points of meth daily.

Mr Storer was on bail for possessing 1.7g of methamphetamine.

“I can’t imagine using ice is very good for anxiety,” Judge Smith remarked.

Mr Sheridan said his client had shown exemplary good behaviour in 201 days at Lotus Glen and was in a low security unit where prisoners cooked for themselves.

“His time in custody has been very positive, he’s gone cold turkey, he’s a better person now because of this.”

“He assumed drug debts and it was only made worse, his drug use accelerated, he stopped working and that exacerbated the debt situation,” Mr Sheridan said.

The court heard a point, or 0.1g of meth, sells for between $50 to $150.

He said his client had cooperated with police, enhancing the prosecution’s case.

But Mr Watkins said there was CCTV footage of Mr Storer carrying items from a house into a stolen Hilux, had tracklines in his hair and a distinctive head tattoo and would have been identified.

He broke into two houses at Kuranda and stole items including jewellery and watches worth $16,800, stole a Ford Festiva from Parramatta Park and used it commit burglary offences, stealing number plates from a Redlynch car,

He stole a Hilux parked outside a sports club and used it for burglary offences and was arrested with a small amount of meth and utensils.

“Unlike many people I see you have a lot of family support,” Judge Smith said.

“You are not a decent person when using drugs so key is to stay off the ice when you get out.”

He imposed a range of prison sentences, the longest being three and a half years, with parole eligibility on December 6, 2022, and disqualified Mr Storer from driving for two years.

Originally published as Cairns crime: Clinton Leon Storer’s crime spree to pay drug debts ends in prison sentence