Josh Luke Netterville Pinnell is facing trial for allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice

In a highly unusual case, a man has been put on trial for allegedly making a false statutory declaration to claim ownership for drugs found on a police raid at his mate’s house.

A MAN has denied lying to help out a mate after the home of a couple he smoked drugs with was raided by police.

In a signed statutory declaration, Josh Pinnell stated it was his methamphetamine remnants and drug paraphernalia that were left in the main bedroom of a friend’s house at Gatton.

Ipswich District Court this week heard there was one big problem with Pinnell’s version of events however.

A jury has been told Pinnell could not have left the items behind on the morning of the raid, because he was being held in custody at the time.

Josh Luke Netterville Pinnell, 36, from Gatton, faced a two-day trial having pleaded not guilty to a Crown prosecution charge alleging he attempted, by swearing a statutory declaration, to pervert the course of justice on February 24, 2019.

The prosecution case was that he did this in order for drug charges against his friend Chad King to be dropped, or to reduce King’s criminal liability.

The jury began its deliberation on Friday afternoon and will resume Monday morning.

Defence barrister Sarah Cartledge said Pinnell’s evidence was that he would go to King’s two level unit and smoke drugs in the bedroom.

Ms Cartledge said it was accepted that between December 18 and December 20, 2018, Pinnell was held in custody at the Ipswich watch-house.

It was conceded that while there had been an error in the date, there was no malice or intent in the declaration.

Josh Luke Netterville Pinnell is on trial for allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice. He claims there was a misunderstanding over the date of a police raid.

Pinnell took the witness stand and gave evidence that he simply made a mistake about the date on which he left his drug gear in the main bedroom of the home belonging to Chad King and Sarah Thorpe.

During cross-examination Pinnell said all he intended by the declaration was to “just take ownership” of the drugs and gear because it was not right that his friend should take the blame for stuff he was responsible for.

Pinnell said he had been a drug user at the time and when he acquired drugs he would socialise with Chad and Sarah, chatting and smoking methamphetamine or marijuana in their bedroom.

“I would smoke methamphetamine with a pipe or at times inject it,” he said.

When Crown prosecutor Amy Stannard showed him photos of the drug items including chopped cannabis in a brown bowl police found in the couple’s bedroom, Pinnell identified them as being his.

Other items were located on a bedside table and in a cupboard.

Pinnell’s signed handwritten statutory declaration said he took responsibility for the drugs and items found and in part states: ‘I take full responsibility for these items. I want to take on four charges put against Chad King, possession of dangerous drugs amphetamine, possession of dangerous drug cannabis, possession of utensils, possession of one marijuana seed’.

Pinnell claimed that the one marijuana seed found in the bedroom was his, saying he remembered showing it to Chad and Sarah after smoking very good marijuana.

Ms Stannard said the JP’s evidence was that Pinnell had been asked if he was certain about the date in his declaration and that he replied ‘yeah’.

She said King had later pleaded guilty to the charges.

The jury panel of eight women and four men will return to court Monday morning to resume deliberations.