LIST: Some of Ipswich’s wildest meth-fuelled offending revealed
Their offences are varied, but these crims all share a dangerous habit for one of the most devastating drugs on the market today. Here’s what they did while on meth. SEE THE LIST
Police & Courts
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In 2023, the Ipswich region is continuing to fight an uphill battle against one of the most addictive drugs on the market: methamphetamine.
The region is not alone, however. Across the whole of Australia, meth consumption was generally found to increase after COVID-19 lockdowns.
Despite significant investments from the State Government to tackle the issue, Queensland’s ice usage has reportedly spiked by 46.5 per cent in the last two years.
Last December, Detective Inspector Bradley Phelps from the state’s Drug and Serious Crime Group told the Courier Mail that meth “doesn’t discriminate” and had infiltrated every area of the state.
He explained the high cost of meth in Australia compared to other countries made it a lucrative market for organised crime syndicates – and once someone is hooked, it is very difficult to cut the drug out of their life.
“The addictive qualities of that drug are very, very high and once people commence using it it’s a very short span of time before they become addicted to the drug and that obviously leads to it overtaking their life,” he said.
Last year, the Queensland Government announced plans for a new alcohol in drug service in Ipswich to improve the region’s access to rehabilitation services.
According to Queensland Crime Statistics, drug offending has actually decreased in Ipswich over the past few years.
The number of drug offences reported across Ipswich in 2022 was the lowest the district has seen since 2014.
But the Ipswich Courthouse continues to see drug offenders walk through its doors each day – many for offences involving meth.
In recent years, Ipswich Court has seen defendants cite meth usage as a contributing factor to a vast array of offences – from drug dealing and dangerous driving, to rape, assault and even possession of child exploitation material.
See some of the wildest meth-fuelled crimes Ipswich has seen in recent years:
BENJAMIN AULD
A mix of mental health struggles, grief, and meth usage culminated in a terrifying meltdown and murder suicide threat for this Kensington Grove man.
Benjamin Ronald Auld faced Ipswich District Court on June 16, 2022, aged 42 at the time.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault, along with one count each of threats, wilful damage, and threatening violence.
The court heard police detected meth in Auld’s system after he threatened a woman in 2021 for not letting him drive her car.
His behaviour escalated into a terrifying meltdown, in which he assaulted her, damaged property, and told her that if the police came, it would result in a murder suicide.
The court heard Auld suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and had suffered significant personal losses shortly prior to the offending.
He had relapsed into drug use as a result and also stopped taking his medication.
Auld spent six months and 27 days in presentence custody, during which court heard he started taking medication again and significantly recovered.
That period in custody was declared time served, and he was convicted but not further punished at sentence.
DEAN ELBERG
An Ipswich man was busted with a meth lab in his garage, that a court heard he had built to fuel his own addiction.
Police raided his home on March 29, 2021, and uncovered 2.598g of ready-for-use meth, as well as a sample vial found containing 86.6g of substance with three per cent purity.
They also found small quantities of cannabis and diazepam, along with equipment and chemicals typically used for meth production.
51-year-old Dean Jason Elberg pleaded guilty in June, 2022, to producing and possessing drugs, failure to dispose of a syringe or needle, and the unlawful possession of something used in the commission of a crime.
The court heard Elberg had been in the grips of meth addiction for much of his life, and there was no suggestion he was selling what he produced.
Justice Helen Bowskill told him: “The court acknowledges that you have clearly experienced a great deal of hardship, and also that it is a very difficult thing to overcome, an addiction like this”.
Elberg was sentenced to three years jail, with immediate parole and six months presentence custody declared time-served.
PHILIPA FINN
An Ipswich woman’s “harrowing” meth-fuelled crime spree ended when a Leichhardt man spotted her tapping on his house’s windows with a machete.
22-year-old Philipa Ellen Anne Finn pleaded guilty to 27 crimes in Ipswich Magistrate’s Court in October, 2021, including break and enter, armed with intent to break and enter, common assault, drug driving on a provisional licence, drink driving, and three counts of trespass.
Senior constable Bernard Elmore told the court at the time that the most serious offending occurred on January 13, 2021.
A man had spotted a masked figure in black carrying a machete, knife and duffel bags while he was sitting on the porch late at night.
He went inside, locked the doors, and called police – then watched as Finn tried to break into his home, tapping on his windows with a machete.
The court heard Finn had a drug problem, and had been involved in two crashes while she was driving high on meth.
She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, wholly suspended, with nine months in pre-sentence custody declared time-served.
HENDERSON & KANOWSKI
An Ipswich couple were both on meth when they were T-boned during a wild police chase.
Rachael Kali Henderson and Joseph Michael Kanowski, who a court heard have two children together, were wanted at the time of the crash after they assaulted a woman in the back of her car.
The court heard police had spotted them running a red light a week after the assault and gave chase.
Kanowski wove in and out of traffic, ran another red light, and was eventually T-boned when he drove onto the wrong side of the road.
The court heard the pair both suffered from difficult upbringings, mental health difficulties, and substance abuse.
Henderson pleaded guilty to assault in company and drug possession, while Kanowski pleaded guilty to assault in company, evading police, unlicensed driving, drug driving, breaching bail, and dangerous operation of a vehicle.
Henderson received a 15-month jail term with immediate parole, and Kanowski received a two-and-a-half year jail term with immediate parole and a two-year licence disqualification.
For both defendants, over 230 days in presentence custody was declared time-served.
MICHAEL HICKS
A Toowoomba man drove with meth in his system into oncoming motorway traffic, crashed into a $196,000 car, and landed both himself and his partner in hospital.
Michael Colin Hicks, 30, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court last September to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, evasion, driving without a licence, and obstructing a police officer.
The court heard police spotted him driving while disqualified in November, 2021, and gave chase as Hicks drove onto the Logan Motorway.
Hicks drove onto the wrong side of the motorway, causing multiple vehicles to swerve, before he crashed into a Dodge Ram.
The other driver had no injuries, but Hicks suffered a brain injury and collapsed lung.
His partner, and passenger at the time, suffered what court heard were “extensive life-threatening injuries”: fractures to her spine, pelvis, leg and feet, along with a lacerated kidney, injured spleen, and blood clots in her veins and arteries.
Despite her injuries, she still attended Hicks’ sentencing to support him and declare her ongoing love for him, commenting “I’m going to marry that man”.
Hicks was sentenced to five years imprisonment, with parole eligibility set for April 13, 2023.
His licence was disqualified for three years, and his 310 days of presentence custody were declared time-served.
ROSEMAREE-LEE IVES
An Ipswich mother turned to drug dealing after her meth addiction started to alienate her from her six children.
Rosemaree-Lee Ives was caught selling a range of drugs including methamphetamine, oxycodone, cannabis, and buprenorphine after police raided her home twice and uncovered incriminated messages.
She pleaded guilty in March last year to 25 counts of supplying dangerous drugs and one count of possessing a thing used in the commission of a crime.
The court heard the mother of six smoked and injected one and a half points of meth daily at the height of her drug addiction, but had been clean for more than a year at the time of sentencing.
Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren said supplying meth was an abhorrent crime, and that Ives was a prime example of its harm – given the negative impact her offending had on her relationships with her children.
Ives was sentenced to an 18-month jail term with immediate parole.
BRADLEY MCQUILLAN
A truckie fell asleep at the wheel while on meth and swerved onto the wrong side of the road, causing highway chaos.
Bradley David McQuillan, 38, pleaded guilty last October to driving without due care and attention, possession of utensils or pipes that had been used, and driving while a relevant drug was present in his saliva.
The court heard McQuillan was driving a light truck on the Brisbane Valley Highway in July, 2022, when he fell asleep and swerved into oncoming traffic.
One car crashed in an attempt to avoid McQuillan’s truck, which continued forward and pushed another car backwards off the road.
The court heard McQuillan had been driving for around nine hours before the crash and had nodded off from the fatigue.
His saliva also tested positive for meth, and a glass pipe was found inside the truck.
For the possession of utensils charge, McQuillan was fined $200 and no convictions were recorded.
Convictions were recorded for the remaining offences, for which he was further fined $1000 and disqualified from obtaining or holding a licence for four months.
ANDREW MOTTLEE
After police found a mechanic in possession of 33 child exploitation material images, he told them he “must have accidentally” downloaded them while high on meth.
Andrew Henry Mottlee, 31, pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material and possessing an anabolic steroid drug in Ipswich last year.
The court heard police had stumbled upon Mottlee’s CEM stash unintentionally when raiding his house after a complaint.
Mottlee had told police the material must have been downloaded when he was downloading adult pornography while high on meth.
Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren said there were no demonstrated risks posed by Mottlee to children under 16, and ultimately decided it was unnecessary for him to serve an actual term of imprisonment.
Mottlee was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended immediately for nine months.
SARAH MYYRA
A Toowoomba tattoo artist was sentenced last year for “colliding with cars” on the highway at peak hour, while adversely affected by meth.
Sarah Catherine Myyra, 31, pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court on July 18, to 13 charges including dangerous operation of a vehicle while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, obstructing a police officer, and possessing dangerous drugs.
Magistrate Rob Turra said Myyra had a “complete disregard for the safety of others” when she drove at speed along the Warrego Highway in North Ipswich and was “actually colliding with cars”.
The court heard Myyra had run out of her mood stabilisation medication at the time and had attempted to self-medicate using methamphetamine.
Senior Constable Bridie O’Shea told the court Myyra had “repeatedly committed offences in a manner that poses significant risk to the community”.
The court heard that Myyra had multiple prior dangerous operation convictions, including one while adversely intoxicated.
Myyra received a head sentence of 18 months imprisonment, suspended immediately for 12 months.
Her 187 days in presentence custody were declared time-served, and she was disqualified from obtaining or holding a licence for two years.
SHARON THOMS
An Ipswich mum was sentenced to four months actual jail time after she was busted dealing drugs to fund her expensive meth addiction.
Sharon Maree Thoms, 55, pleaded guilty to nine charges of supplying dangerous drugs in Ipswich District Court last year.
The court heard Thoms had struggled with sobriety on and off throughout her life.
At the time of this offending, she had been buying between 1.75 and 3.5g of methamphetamine a day to fund her daily addiction of 0.5g a day.
The court heard Thoms had 54 prior drug convictions and a 12 page criminal history.
She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, with parole in June 2022.
JAMES WALKER
Last but certainly not least in terms of severity, is James Peter Walker, who was high on meth when he raped a woman and held her captive in his bus.
Walker pleaded guilty last June to one count each of rape, assault occasioning bodily harm, and deprivation of liberty.
The court heard Walker had taken a woman back to his home (a bus) while they were both high on meth.
Walker became agitated when he couldn’t find his phone and told the woman he’d kill her if she didn’t find it.
The court heard Walker raped her, took her belongings, and locked her inside the bus for approximately an hour and a half – in which he made further threats and forced her to tidy the place.
The woman was eventually able to escape and find help when Walker let her outside to look for his phone.
The court heard Walker’s criminal history included violence and drug offending, and that he himself had been a victim of a violent beating in 2017 that had permanently changed his personality and resulted in memory loss.
Walker received a head sentence of two years imprisonment, to be suspended after four months for three years.
His 72 days of presentence custody were declared time served.
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