NAME AND SHAME: Warwick’s drug dealers

From trafficking to dealing to minors, here are some of Warwick’s worst drug offenders.

LIT UP: A number of drug dealers appear before the Warwick courts each week. File Photo

FROM major trafficking to dealing to minors, Warwick has no shortage of residents supplying dangerous drugs to members of the community.

Here are some of Warwick’s drug dealers who have come through the courts within the past six months.

1) Rose City drug trafficker avoids jail

Warwick man Travis Lloyd Laurie escaped a stint in jail by claiming he had “self-rehabilitated” since his arrest.

The Toowoomba Supreme Court heard the 23-year-old trafficked meth and marijuana over an 11-day period in January 2017, and was caught with another drug stash only weeks later.

Defence barrister David Jones told the court his client had “changed his life” since the incident.

Laurie was sentenced to four years’ jail, wholly suspended for four years, and was placed on the maximum three years’ probation.

2) Meth-dealing mum evades jail sentence

A Warwick mother of three who pleaded guilty to almost 20 drug offences claimed she only turned to dealing as a means to support her own ice addiction.

Sandra Lee Howard dealt meth on 10 separate occasions within 12 days, and was involved in another four dealings of the same Schedule 1 drug in the same period.

The Warwick District Court heard the drugs had a total street value of $1925.

The 40-year-old was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with immediate release on parole.

3) Lovers split profits of crime

This Warwick couple committed a string of drug trafficking and theft offences to financially support their own meth addictions.

Ricky-Dean Thompson, 27, and Ainsley Lee, 24, were both introduced to drugs in their early teens, a pattern which escalated to regularly supplying up to 24 Warwick residents with meth for 11 weeks.

The Toowoomba Supreme Court heard the pair would supply up to one gram of meth or a quarter-ounce of marijuana at a time, and kept track of their takings through debt records.

Both offenders were sentenced to three years’ jail with immediate parole, after their time in pre-sentence custody was considered.

4) Drug trafficker offers minors drugs for sex

A 23-year-old who preyed on underage girls, offering them drugs and money in exchange for sexual favours, was slapped with a hefty eight-year jail sentence.

Josepha Scopelliti-Seaton was trafficking drugs throughout the region for close to 12 months, and was out of jail for only five days when he was again caught by police officers.

Scopelliti-Seaton also twice supplied marijuana to an 11-year-old boy.

He was sentenced to eight years’ jail, though will be eligible for parole from November 1.

5) Mum gives drugs to teenage boys

A Warwick mother invited two boys, aged 13 and 14, into her home, and supplied them with marijuana despite knowing they were already drunk.

The Toowoomba Supreme Court heard the 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was at home with her daughters aged two and six when the teenagers arrived.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying dangerous drugs to a minor, among other charges.

The 26-year-old was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with immediate parole.

6) Teen dealer blames underage girlfriend for crimes

A Warwick teen claimed he was pushed into using and dealing marijuana by his 16-year-old girlfriend, after pleading guilty to 35 drug charges.

The 18-year-old and his girlfriend supplied the drug more than 30 times in three months, with his phone records revealing most of the offending.

Defence lawyer Geoff Hobson told the Warwick Magistrates Court the teen was “anti-drugs” before meeting the 16-year-old girl, and chose to deal drugs as a “stupid” way of keeping their relationship.

He was placed on 18 months’ probation and his conviction was not recorded.

7) Drug-dealing dad cops jail time

This truck driver and father of five was slapped with a jail sentence after dealing “both personal and commercial” amounts of marijuana on a number of occasions throughout 2018 and 2019.

Shane Francis Dachs turned to drug dealing as a means of supporting his own addiction to meth and marijuana, stemming from the breakdown of his relationship and family unit.

The Warwick District Court heard the 49-year-old was also reliant on meth to prevent fatigue while working long hours as a truck driver.

Dachs was sentenced to three years’ jail with eligibility for parole after a year.

Originally published as