Gladstone man’s sad meth spiral puts him in jail at age 21

He started off smoking pot in high school to be “a cool kid” but it wasn’t long before a young Central Queensland apprentice diesel fitter fell into meth and his life spiralled out of control.

Kade Philip Porter was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court on December 6.

Kade Philip Porter is 21 - last week as he sat in jail, his head was in his hands and his reality was laid bare.

As he appeared in Gladstone Magistrates Court on December 6, on a big screen via a video link from custody, Porter’s parents sat in the public gallery to learn his fate.

Porter pleaded guilty to numerous charges including two counts of evading police, dangerous operation of a vehicle, four counts of driving while disqualified by a court, possessing dangerous drugs, stealing, and not giving police access to information stored on his mobile phone.

Porter’s backstory was outlined by his solicitor Stacey O’Gorman.

She said Porter started smoking pot in high school to be “a cool kid.”

His parents found out about his drug use and they changed his school - but it didn’t deter him.

Porter completed Year 10 but he did not get a “passing grade” because of, by his own admission, his bad attitude.

His parents operate a local business and they put him on as an apprentice diesel fitter.

Ms O’Gorman explained that Porter would go to parties and he was around peers and older people who had methamphetamine.

Porter tried cocaine and MDMA but he stayed away from meth for “quite a few years” and he would actually talk friends out of using it, Ms O’Gorman said.

But as Porter got older, and following the break-ups of personal relationships, Ms O’Gorman said he decided to try meth and then it became an issue.

Porter found himself facing the Gladstone court in June this year, then September, and then October for offences prior to his appearance last week for these latest offences.

Gladstone Courthouse.

Ms O’Gorman said Porter’s offending had “escalated quite quickly” and it coincided with him turning to meth use.

“He recognises he has an addictive personality - and this is something that he thought was a problem he could address on his own, but he now recognises he needs assistance,” Ms O’Gorman said.

In relation to these offences, the court heard that one of the evasions in October involved Porter, who was driving his father’s car, accelerating away from police in “a dangerous manner” by overtaking vehicles on the wrong side of the road.

“And he was doing more than the 100kmh speed limit in order to avoid police,” prosecutor Sergeant Merrilyn Hoskins said.

Sgt Hoskins said other drivers on the road were forced to take evasive action.

During another evasion in October, Porter was again driving his father’s vehicle when he sped away from police, the court heard.

It was told that police caught Porter with 2g of methamphetamine and he “feared the consequences” of complying with the police direction for access to his mobile phone.

The stealing charge related to Porter driving off with $110 worth of fuel from a service station.

Before handing down penalty, Magistrate Mary Buchanan noted that Porter had only started coming before the courts this year and his drug use seemed to have “accelerated out of control.”

She sentenced Porter to eight months’ jail, declared 36 days pre-sentence custody as time already served, and set his parole eligibility date at December 20, 2023.

Porter was also fined $2000 and disqualified from driving for six years and six months.

Convictions were recorded.