‘Obviously not for a runny nose’: Judge unleashes on woman caught with 601 pseudoephedrine pills
A Cairns Supreme Court Justice seemed to have lost his patience this week with a repeat drug offender he had sentenced several times before.
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A seemingly exasperated Supreme Court judge has handed out a stricter penalty than even the prosecutor was asking for in sentencing a repeat drug offender with a 12-page criminal history.
Shanel Lee Roesler, 46, pleaded guilty to eight charges — one count of possessing a drug in excess of two grams, one count of possessing a dangerous drug, one count of receiving tainted property, one charge of unlawfully possessing a relevant substance, one count of obstructing a police officer, one charge of possessing of receiving property suspected of being involved in the commission of a drug offence, one charge of unlawful possession of suspected stolen property and one charge of possessing tainted property.
Ms Roesler was charged after being stopped by police while riding her bicycle in the Cairns CBD in March 2023. She sped off, but the police caught up to her and when they did she sat on the ground crying. They found cannabis on her bum bag along with just over 10 grams of crystal meth.
Ms Roesler’s defence counsel, James Sheridan, and the police prosecutor suggested the woman receive an immediate parole release date.
Cairns Supreme Court Justice James Henry, however, was not going to be easily persuaded.
“Why should I be so lenient?” he asked. “Why should she get a generous sentence of serving her sentence in the community compared with someone who is showing genuine reform?”
As it turned out, Justice Henry had sentenced Ms Roesler before.
“You had a drug that does immeasurable harm to the community. I’ve described that to you before when I’ve sentenced you on other occasions so I won’t waste my breath repeating it to you now.
“We will not be sleepwalking into the same approach we would use for someone who doesn’t have 12 pages of criminal history, head sentence,” he said.
Of the 601 pseudoephedrine tablets later found at Ms Roesler’s house, Justice Henry said they were “obviously not for a runny nose”.
Justice Henry once warned the 40-year-old when he sentenced her in October 2015 to a partially suspended sentence and 12 months probation that she would go to jail if she re-offended.
She was back in front of him in 2017, where he sentenced her to 13 months prison after being found with 4.4g of MDMA powder.
On Tuesday morning in the Cairns Supreme Court she was convicted of all eight charges. Justice Henry sentenced her to two years imprisonment with a parole release date of March 14 2024 — as she had already spent 275 days in pre-sentence custody.
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Originally published as ‘Obviously not for a runny nose’: Judge unleashes on woman caught with 601 pseudoephedrine pills
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