Zachary Drew Neil Stallan in court for breaching sentence

A drug dealer whose father tried to drown him when he was a baby has faced court for breaching his sentence.

Zachary Drew Neil Stallan, 24, pleaded guilty to breaching his sentence when he faced Maryborough Supreme Court.

A drug dealer who breached his suspended jail sentence by committing more offences was almost drowned by his father as a baby, a court has heard.

Zachary Drew Neil Stallan, 24, pleaded guilty to breaching his sentence when he faced Maryborough Supreme Court on Wednesday.

He was originally sentenced in August, 2020, for trafficking and supplying drugs.

During the sentencing, the court heard Stallan was in the business of trafficking drugs, including marijuana, meth, oxycodone and diazepam.

He mainly dealt marijuana and had provided 253 grams for about $6000 over 17 months.

He had supplied drugs to more than 30 customers, the court was told.

During his sentencing in 2020, the court heard Stallan would threaten people who failed to pay when he supplied drugs “on credit”, increased prices during the Commonwealth Games and offered specials over the Christmas period.

The court was also told of Stallan’s deprived background during the sentencing.

The Hervey Bay man’s exposure to a hard life began when his father attempted to drown him shortly after he was born, the court was told.

His mother, who was 17 when she gave birth, stopped his father from finishing what he had started, the court heard.

Stallan’s parents had separated and his mother later become involved with another man, with whom she would have eight more children.

His stepfather was a “severe alcoholic” and was violent towards he and his mother, the court heard.

Stallan had breached his sentence by committing two new offences.

He had pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court to stealing a mobile phone and possessing dangerous drugs.

The court heard 120 grams of cannabis was discovered at a property where Stallan was staying.

While another person at the home was sentenced for possessing the marijuana, Stallan also pleaded guilty to the charge on the grounds of occupier’s liability, the court heard.

In the incident involving the theft of the phone, Stallan had found the phone, which had been accidentally left at a taxi rank at a shopping centre, and had taken it.

CCTV footage later revealed the offending when the woman started searching for her lost phone.

Justice Graeme Crow said he felt it would be unjust to activate the whole of the suspended sentence.

Stallan, who suffered from PTSD and schizophrenia, had completed 12 drug counselling sessions since he had faced court on the trafficking charges and his behaviour while on probation had been described as “excellent”.

Instead Justice Crow activated 12 months of the sentence and released Stallan immediately on parole.

He warned Stallan that he must not commit new offences or he would be imprisoned for at least five months.