Travis Anthony Dale jailed for possessing meth, loaded gun

A drug user busted with almost 17 grams of methamphetamines told police ‘nah, I’ll just cop (the punishment)’ rather than give them access to information stored on his phone. See what it cost him.

Travis Anthony Dale.

A drug user busted with almost 17 grams of methamphetamines told police “nah, I’ll just cop it” – the punishment – rather than give them access to information stored on his phone. It cost him an extra six months prison term.

Travis Anthony Dale, 25, fronted the Supreme Court in Rockhampton last week for possessing that large amount of meth, along with the contravention of police order about providing access to electronically stored information along with possessing a shortened firearm, tainted property and explosives.

Justice Graeme Crow said police found Dale in possession of 16.783 grams of substance of which 12.671 grams was pure meth during a search of a Frenchville residence on November 2, 2023.

Police also located $1500 cash and a small loaded .23 calibre rifle.

Justice Crow said during the search, police requested Dale provide them access to his phone which he replied: “nah, I’ll just cop the charge”.

Dale’s three-page criminal record includes being sentenced in Brisbane District Court in March 2020 for attempted robbery threatening violence while armed and in company and he was given a two-year and four-month prison term with parole on April 10, 2020.

He was then sentenced the next day in Richlands Magistrates Court to wilful damage, fraud, serious assault, four counts of burglary and commit indictable offence and given a six-month prison term cumulative on the district court sentence with parole release on August 11, 2020.

Dale was back in court about a year later after his release for three counts of receiving tainted property and unlawful use of a motor vehicle and was sentenced to one-month prison wholly suspended and operational for 18 months.

The court heard Dale grew up in Rockhampton and was last in contact with his father 11 years ago and his relationship with his sister is distant.

Justice Crow said material provided to him claimed Dale’s mother had been an alcoholic while he was growing up and his childhood was “very difficult” with “finances were desperate”.

Dale worked for two years as a labourer after high school before his behaviour “went off the rails” and he lost the employment.

Justice Crow said the material also stated Dale started using different drugs - meth, cocaine and marijuana – at the age of 15 and by the age of 17, when he dropped out of work, he was engaging with a negative peer group and criminal lifestyle.

He said Dale told his lawyers he is “tired of that lifestyle”.

Dale pleaded guilty to all five charges on November 29 and received 2.5 years prison for the meth possession plus six-months for the contravene direction about the phone access.

Justice Crow declared 393 days presentence custody as time already served on the three-year head sentence and ordered immediate parole release.

However, the court heard Dale has other charges outstanding in the magistrates jurisdiction so he was not released from custody.