Judge: Amamoor dad ‘example of how meth destroys lives’

The 35-year-old’s criminal record was spotless until he turned to drugs as way of coping after his father’s suicide in 2015.

Amamoor’s Andrew William Donney will remain behind bars until at least the end of May 2021 after pleading guilty to a more than a dozen drug-related charges.

A 35-year-old Amamoor father and former businessman has been called a "living example" of how meth destroys lives while being sentenced to jail for a raft of drug charges.

Andrew William Donney appeared by video in Gympie District Court to plead guilty to more than a dozen charges including supplying and possessing methamphetamine, possessing explosives without authority and unlawful possession of a weapon.

His appearance was supported in the courtroom by his family, who sat and listened as Judge Jennifer Rosengren detailed his downward spiral into drug abuse after his father took his own life in 2015.

Judge Rosengren said Donney had turned to drugs "as a way of getting through (the) day" but as a result he had lost his longtime relationship with his father's successful business and been locked behind bars, away from his family.

Donney’s family listened in Gympie District Court as the details of the 35-year-old’s downward spiral were recapped by the judge.

"You are being a living example of how this drug can destroy lives," she said.

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She pointed to the "unusual" fact Donney had never committed a crime until he was 33 years old.

He was in court answering to crimes including: an attempt to supply his co-accused 0.2g of methamphetamine (the deal never happened because the co-accused and her the buyer were arrested by police) on January 19, 2020; and, two months later, being caught with a box of shotgun shells hidden in the gearstick of a car as well as a set of knuckledusters, and $4020 which his co-accused claimed was winnings from a poker machine, while Donney told police it was from the sale of cattle.

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The court heard he was unable to supply any paperwork to back the claim up.

Donney was sentenced to six months in jail; he will be eligible for parole at the end of May.

Originally published as Judge: Amamoor dad ‘example of how meth destroys lives’