Charles Anthony Thomas pleads guilty to drug charges

A 43-year-old Southside man caught dealing methamphetamine by police has had his sentencing delayed amid questions over how long he should stay in jail.

A Southside man caught dealing methamphetamine by police has had his sentencing delayed amid questions over how long he should stay behind bars.

Charles Anthony Thomas, 43, was picked up by police as part of a wider operation targeting the supply of illegal drugs.

Thomas was charged over two deals he made in March, selling 0.238g on March 22 and 0.49g on March 23.

He pleaded guilty to each count, along with one count of possessing marijuana.

Defence barrister Nathan Turner told Gympie District Court his client had been forced to leave his last long-term job in 2015 amid health concerns.

He was subsequently diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and for the past six years had been largely unable to re-enter the workforce, the court heard.

Charles Anthony Thomas is escorted back to jail after his sentencing for the crimes was delayed owing to its complexity.

Of the small jobs Thomas had landed, Mr Turner said, he had been forced to leave because of stress or fatigue.

Mr Turner also pointed out that, while the drugs he sold were “high quality”, he had not sold them in large quantities, being forced on both occasions to source them from someone else and failing to deliver the 1g asked for.

“It’s not a case where (Thomas) was sitting at home … with a substantial quantity of drug he could supply at short notice,” Mr Turner said.

Thomas’s sentencing for the crimes was put on hold owing to complex questions surrounding how long he should spend behind bars.

He had already been in custody for four months, had been on a suspended sentence at the time of these crimes, and recently had been kept in isolation after being assaulted in prison and forced to spend the night in hospital.

More than 40 minutes of submissions from the prosecution and defence over how to structure his sentence was extended further by Judge Nathan Jarro, who adjourned the sentencing so he had time to sort it out.

Thomas was remanded in custody.