Dieter Dean Stephens pleads guilty to possessing meth, weapons, cash

A convicted drug offender was busted with a haul of weapons, meth and cash after a traffic incident with police. His latest exploits are revealed.

Dieter Dean Stephens pleaded guilty to 14 charges including possessing an aggravated quantity of meth and tainted cash, assault causing bodily harm, possessing stolen weapons including firearms, a chainsaw and diagnostic tools and refusing access to his phone. Picture: Contributed

A young Mackay man was busted with drugs, seven stolen firearms and $84,000 has to forfeit the cash as his crime spree is revealed.

When police picked up the 26 year old after a traffic incident on Shakespeare St about 11.30am on July 20, 2023 after Tactical Crime Squad officers had pulled up behind a white Holden Cruze.

Mackay Magistrates Court heard as a result convicted drug offender Dieter Dean Stephens was caught with seven firearms and 3.3g pure meth, which Magistrates Bronwyn Hartigan labelled the most serious of the raft of charges.

Stephens then prevented police from accessing his phone by refusing to give up his passcode, which Ms Hartigan said was the next most serious charge.

The court heard he had prior convictions for both offences.

The stolen firearms were linked to house break ins at South Mackay and Sarina over June and July 2023 – he was not charged over the burglaries.

Dieter Dean Stephens was caught with 3.3g pure meth, seven stolen weapons and $84,000 in cash. Picture: Contributed

“You had some money in your possession and it’s a lot, $84,832.80,” Ms Hartigan said.

“It can’t be said that it’s definitely from a criminal offence … it is a possession of tainted property.”

Details about an assault against a woman he was in a casual relation with were also revealed – she had wanted to lay next to him and asked him to move his phone when he lashed out, including putting her in a headlock and putting is arm around her neck with his hand over her mouth to stifle any screams.

Stephens pleaded guilty to 14 charges including possessing an aggravated quantity of meth and tainted cash, assault causing bodily harm, possessing stolen weapons including firearms, a chainsaw and diagnostic tools and refusing access to his phone.

The court heard some of the offending was committed while he was on parole and the remainder after his parole had been cancelled.

Stephens grew up in Tasmania but moved to Mackay when in Year 11 before leaving school and working as a trades assistant.

Defence solicitor Sean Gibbs, of Fisher Dore Lawyers, said his client moved back to Tasmania for a time “because he had unfortunately started using methylamphetamine” before moving back to Mackay in 2018 and again worked as a trades assistant.

Stephens, 26, pleaded guilty to 14 charges including possessing an aggravated quantity of meth and tainted cash, assault causing bodily harm, possessing stolen weapons including firearms, a chainsaw and diagnostic tools and refusing access to his phone. Picture: Contributed. Picture: Contributed

He got back into meth in 2019, which lead Stephens to his first stint in jail after facing the supreme court for serious drug offending.

Mr Gibbs said when he was initially released on parole “he was going well” before spiralling back into meth use, drug offending and more time in jail.

Stephens was released in December 2022, went back to working as a trades assistant and again “was doing well” but an assault charge resulted in his parole being cancelled and Mr Gibbs said lead to his client “essentially burying his head in the sand and return heavily to the drug scene”.

“He does have a significant issue with methylamphetamine,” Mr Gibbs said, adding Stephens planned to seek rehabilitation on the Sunshine Coast on his release.

The court heard Dieter was also on remand for another unrelated matter.

He was jailed for 18 months with immediate parole release because of time already served on remand.