Full Court increases minimum jail term for meth-dealing mum from six months to three-and-a-half years

A MOTHER convicted of dealing in amphetamines has had her minimum jail term increased sevenfold by the state’s highest court.

A MOTHER convicted of dealing in amphetamines has had her minimum jail term increased sevenfold by the state’s highest court.

Jolenne Alexandria Cleaver was convicted of two counts of trafficking in a controlled drug and possessing a prescription drug at her home on two separate occasions.

When police first went to Cleaver’s home in September 2014 they found tubs and bags containing a substance that included 16g of pure methamphetamine and $17,000 in cash.

Police also found 300 tablets of a prescription medication and drug paraphernalia, while Cleaver’s mobile phone revealed messages showing she was involved in dealing.

Cleaver, 38, was granted bail on those charges but was arrested again when police went back to her home in June 2015.

They found another $8000 in cash and 4.3g of pure methamphetamine and more drug utensils.

In November last year, District Court judge Rauf Soulio jailed Cleaver for three years and six months, but imposed an “unusually low” non-parole period of six months.

Judge Soulio took into account a serious assault upon Cleaver when she was 22, which led to her becoming addicted to amphetamines.

The judge acknowledged the non-parole period was lower than standard, but said he hoped it would allow the mother of two to get her life back on track.

“That is ... to enable you to engage in rehabilitation in the hope that that will lead to you returning to leading a productive life and contributing to the community,” Judge Soulio said in sentencing.

The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed against the sentence, arguing it was “manifestly inadequate”.

Prosecutors also argued Judge Soulio failed to have regard to an earlier conviction of possessing a controlled substance for sale in 2006, for which she received a suspended jail term.

Chief Justice Chris Kourakis and Justices Trish Kelly and Kevin Nicholson ruled that Cleaver’s prison term was so low that it “would shake the public confidence in the administration of justice”.

“The abuse of amphetamines is the cause of great personal and social harm,” Chief Justice Kourakis found.

“The sums of money involved were substantial and indicate trafficking above the level needed to merely support a habit.”

The Chief Justice found the original six-month minimum sentence period fell well short of standard sentencing for drug trafficking and that “a non-parole period of less than 50 per cent of the head sentence is an unusually lenient one”.

“It was not open in this case to fix such a short non-parole period because of; the amount of money involved, (Cleaver’s) failure to successfully rehabilitate while on parole (and) the commission of the second offence whilst on bail,” he found.

Cleaver’s original head sentence was doubled to seven years, and must now serve three and a half years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.