South Burnett drug offenders of 2022 revealed
From meth-dealing mums to drug drivers, South Burnett courts have seen their fair share of drug offenders in 2022.
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From meth-dealing mums to drug drivers, the courts of the South Burnett are no stranger to drug-related offenders.
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Over the past 12 months, the region’s magistrates and judges have heard many cases of drug-related offending.
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These are the drug offenders who have answered to their charges in 2022:
Dorinda Louise Allsworth
Maryborough woman Dorinda Louise Allsworth, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying cannabis and one count of trafficking methamphetamine in the Maryborough Supreme Court on Tuesday November 29, 2022.
She frequently trafficked the drugs to Kingaroy, a business model the Judge described as less profitable than “delivering pizza”.
The Crown Prosecutor told the court Allsworth had a customer base of at least 25 people, with sales generally towards the lower end of street level dealing.
She was sentenced to three years in prison but was given immediate release on parole.
Harley John Bray
Mundubbera man Harley John Bray, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of supplying dangerous drugs in Maryborough District Court on November 17, 2022.
The court heard Bray had been busted for dealing meth as part of a police operation targeting meth trafficking across the Burnett.
According to court documents, police executed a search warrant in early November and seized Bray’s phone, discovering a message about a meth sale.
Bray was sentenced six months in prison, wholly suspended for 18 months and a conviction was recorded.
Bianca Head
Bianca Head, 38, pleaded guilty at Kingaroy District Court on Thursday, October 13, 2022, to eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs.
The court heard Head’s house was raided by police in August, 2022, where they found small quantities of methamphetamine hidden in a bra and incriminating text messages.
Judge Vicki Loury described Head’s drug addiction as a “tragedy” and she was released on parole.
Convictions were recorded.
Jennifer Ann Murchie
Kingaroy mother Jennifer Ann Murchie, 47, claimed she was dealing marijuana so her teenage son could obtain the drug for free.
The court was told Murchie’s son suffered from cancer as a baby and required chemotherapy before being diagnosed with autism.
He was treating his anxiety as a result with cannabis, the court heard.
Murchie pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in the Kingaroy District Court on April 28, 2022.
Murchie was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, immediately suspended for three years.
Convictions were recorded.
Raymond Leslie Shapland
Raymond Leslie Shapland, 37, was busted with a cocktail of drugs in his system after a serious accident left him bedridden for six months.
The Kingaroy Magistrates Court heard Shapland was found to have methamphetamine, ketamine and ondansetron in his system when the crash occurred.
Shapland was fined $1000 for driving under the influence of alcohol and disqualified from driving for 12 months and convictions were recorded.
Michael Peter Bradley
Wondai man Michael Peter Bradley narrowly avoided time behind bars after being busted with a large stash of cannabis.
Kingaroy District Court was told officers searched Bradley’s campervan in 2020, uncovering two buckets of marijuana weighing a total of 3.9kg, along with a small quantity of marijuana seeds and utensils.
He was busted with the drugs while serving a suspended sentence for a previous conviction.
As a result, Bradley’s two-year jail sentence was suspended for another six months.
The following cases did not have convictions recorded:
Norman Fisher
Maryborough man Norman Fisher, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing police, public nuisance, contravening a police requirement, and possessing a drug utensil in the Kingaroy Magistrates Court in May, 2022.
Fisher was trying to enter Kingaroy’s Commercial Hotel but was refused because he could not prove his vaccination status, the court was told.
After police were called to the scene when Fisher became verbally abusive, he told authorities he had used meth and was “being chased”.
Fisher was ordered to complete 40 hours’ community service.
Matthew Jozef Stonehouse
Animal conservation warrior Matthew Jozef Stonehouse, 35, was fined $1500 after a police raid discovered magic mushrooms, marijuana and multiple guns on his South Burnett property.
Stonehouse pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing category A, B and H weapons, producing and possessing dangerous drugs, possessing explosives, and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime.
He appeared in the Kingaroy Magistrates Court in July, 2022.
Alan Dean Barnard
South Burnett man Alan Dean Barnard told the Murgon Magistrates Court he needed his drug stash to run an “impromptu men’s shed” in his backyard.
He was found in possession of 15g marijuana along with a marijuana plant and assorted drug utensils, police told the court.
Barnard said he allowed recovering ice addicts a space in his yard for rehabilitation, allowing them to “smoke a few cones to get all the stress out.”
Barnard was fined $1100 and was disqualified from driving for one month.
Jody John Arthur Bishell
Jody John Arthur Bishell, 46, faced Kingaroy Magistrates Court after police found him behind the wheel with meth in his system twice in only a few months.
The court was told police found Bishell asleep in his car outside a pharmacy on July 24, 2021, with his car blocking traffic. Tests later revealed he had methamphetamine in his system.
He was then busted behind the wheel with meth in his system again in January 2022.
Bishell pleaded guilty to two counts of drug driving and was placed on probation for 12 months and disqualified from driving for nine months.
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