Drug trafficking daughter got mum to do deals, Rockhampton court hears

A former Qld jockey turned meth trafficker sourced drugs from the Hells Angels and Mongrels, talked stand over tactics and even called her own ageing mother in to help do her dirty work.

A former jockey who sourced meth from two outlaw motorcycle gangs was on parole for trafficking when she had her own mother handle more than $10,000 in drug supplies to a notorious addict.

Mother-of-three Jackelyn Anne Johnston, 32, is now a twice-convicted drug trafficker after her latest stint, during which she accrued $188,170 profit from selling 344.5 grams of meth in three-and-a-half months, the Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard.

Her cars – a BMW and Holden Caprice- have been seized by the state as proceeds of crime.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips said Jackelyn’s enterprise, between June 13 and September 8 in 2023 at a Gracemere home where she lived with her mother, Cheryl Anne Johnston, was a “relatively sophisticated, highly commercial operation”.

Justice Graeme Crow said Jackelyn sourced meth from outlaw motorcycle gangs – Hells Angels and Mongrels from Brisbane – at least twice.

She was recorded trying to source up to 250 grams of meth and $40,000 worth from the Hells Angels on August 3 – was successful.

The court heard when discussing the meth sourced from the motorcycle gang, Jackelyn said: “I don’t give a f – k if I go to jail. It’s not if, it’s when.”

He said when Jackelyn spoke with a drug contact on August 6, she informed him she had just purchased meth from Mongrels and also offered five litres of GHB, paying upfront.

Justice Crow said she told her mother later, after sourcing more drugs from the Mongrels, that she owed them $23,000.

He said a drug mule en route to deliver 250g of meth to Jackelyn was intercepted by police on August 17 and he later complained about Jackelyn’s $100,000 being intercepted by police.

Cheryl Anne Johnston, 62, (centre, covering her head with clothing) walking out of Rockhampton courthouse.

She went on to source $50,000 of meth on August 30 from an unknown supplier.

The former jockey who did her apprenticeship in Mackay was recorded saying she could not get the amount she wanted locally and needed to source from Brisbane.

Justice Crow said Jackelyn was also recorded threatening to carry out violence towards those who owed her money for drugs in conversations with her 62-year-old mother, saying that one customer was lucky they had paid her that day otherwise they would have “got a punch in the mouth” and she also spoke of killing another person.

Mr Phillips said Jackelyn had her mother handle meth supplies to Tony Leonard Rice who has also since pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.

The court heard Cheryl rented the Gracemere property where she lived with her wheelchair-bound 88-year-old mother, Jackelyn, Jackelyn’s then partner Zak Newsome and Jackelyn’s children (Neither Cheryl’s mother nor Jackelyn’s children were accused of any wrongdoing).

Justice Crow said Cheryl handled $11,000 of Jackelyn’s drug proceeds on July 13 and was recorded on July 31 telling Jackelyn about a woman who stole drugs from her and saying “if you don’t say something I f***ing will. I don’t want you going down. I don’t like her that much.”

He said Cheryl ended up contacting that person and also moved Jackelyn’s drugs – meth from the garage onto the couch at Jackelyn’s request – on August 24 and her proceeds on August 29.

He also said Cheryl offered Jackelyn advice on September 4 about how to conceal her meth, saying “put it in a bag, duct tape it all … put it in another bag and seal that c*** up”.

Cheryl also handled four drug supplies to Rice on Jackelyn’s behalf, the court heard.

The first was on July 18 with 42 grams of meth exchanged for $12,500.

Tony Leonard Rice outside Yeppoon courthouse.

Justice Crow said when Rice arrived at the residence, Cheryl greeted him and told him “you know where to go”.

He said Rice was captured on footage collecting items from the kitchen and garage, then exchanged more words with Cheryl before handing her money.

The next supply occurred four days later where Rice was supplied an unknown quantity of meth for $11,000.

Justice Crow said Cheryl instructed Rice to place the money on the kitchen bench.

The third supply was 42 grams of meth for $10,500 on August 5 with Rice attending this time with another female and he left, he told Cheryl he left the money on “the hutch”.

The fourth supply took place the next day and was 56 grams of meth for $11,000.

Jackelyn also tried to source a sawn off firearm, asking Rice on July 23 to go to Dingo with her to collect a 12-gauge shot gun which was going to cost her $44,000.

Police searched their Gracemere residence on September 7 and located a suitcase in the garage.

The suitcase contained 44.328g of meth in 59.234g of substance (Jackelyn’s); 10.041g of pure MDMA in 30.052g of substance (Newsome’s) and 54 strips of suboxone plus digital scales and $4,530 cash.

They also found replica firearm shells, a taser and a knuckleduster.

Footage released by police for Operation Victor Cope.

Police also found evidence in Newsome’s car which led them to a storage unit in Norman Gardens and inside the storage unit police located the 1.248kg of meth, of which 0.926kg was pure meth, in a wine box.

Newsome, a former motocross rider, pleaded guilty to possessing drugs and tainted property in November last year and was sentenced to nine years in jail.

The court heard Jackelyn was also overheard saying to a woman: “I need the money. That’s why I haven’t given it up yet” and that cash, a Holden Caprice and a BMW were among the items for which the Crown sought and was granted a forfeiture order.

“When sourcing $50,000 worth of methamphetamine, (Jackelyn) spoke about a wish to make $30,000 profit,” Justice Crow said, telling court Jackelyn was recorded saying “the more money I make, the more money I spend.

“All my money is going into that black car (the Holden Caprice),” she said.

“I would like to put $30,000 into that car.”

Mr Phillips said while Jackelyn was a drug user, she didn’t traffic meth to feed her habit as evidenced by her recorded conversation and the $30,000 she sunk into one of the two cars she purchased during the trafficking period.

“She wanted to ‘make bank’ is the bottom line,” he said.

Mr Phillips said Cheryl gave her daughter a “great degree of assistance” in her drug trafficking enterprise, despite none of the profits going into her own pockets.

He also said while Cheryl, who had no criminal record, may be concerned about what her facing the prospect of serving actual time in custody meant for her wheelchair bound aged mother and Jackelyn’s children, “that didn’t stop her from doing this”.

“She was not remorseful at all when police came knocking,” Mr Phillips said.

Justice Crow described Cheryl as “evil” and said any proper decent person would kick their children out for drug dealing and tell them ‘Get away from my grandchildren’.

He said Cheryl was evil for exposing her grandchildren to this level of drug trafficking, let alone having them live in the same house where it occurred, but she also participated in supplies.

“You’ve done so much damage,” Justice Crow said.

The court heard one of Cheryl’s sons, Darryl, was also a jockey when he fell from a horse and became a paraplegic at 24-years-old.

Cheryl Anne Johnston, 62, in the middle, leaves Rockhampton Supreme Court.

The father of Jackelyn’s two eldest children, who was also a drug user, died by suicide in October 2016.

The children’s uncle Wayne died in a motorcycle accident three years ago.

Jackelyn’s third child was born in February 2022, and the father of that child was also a drug user on charges which remained before the courts.

Jackelyn pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs, two of possessing more than two grams of a schedule one drug and one of possessing a category R weapon.

She was sentenced to nine years prison with 144 days presentence custody taken into account but not declared and parole eligibility set from December 6, 2027.

Jackelyn had previously been sentenced to six years prison in 2020 for trafficking and was returned to custody for that sentence when arrested for the latest offending.

Cheryl pleaded guilty to one count of permitting use of her place for trafficking and four counts of drug supplies.

She was sentenced to a four-year prison term, wholly suspended with a four-year operational period.

Rice appeared in court the next day, pleading guilty to his own trafficking and other drug charges and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.