Named: Offenders in Toowoomba courts in 2023 charged with drug trafficking, drug supply
The past 12 months has seen a flurry of drug trafficking and drug supply offenders sentenced in Toowoomba courts. Here are some of the worst.
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The past 12 months has seen a flurry of drug trafficking sentenced in Toowoomba’s courts. Here are some of the worst offenders.
Michael Leslie Phillips
The life altering and destroying effects of drug addiction were never more evident than in the life of a 34-year-old man appearing in custody before Toowoomba Supreme Court in May.
Michael Leslie Phillips had it all – a loving wife and family and a good panel beating job – but he threw it all away when he started using ice and quickly became a “hopeless addict”, ultimately leaving him “homeless and drug addicted”, his barrister David Jones told the court.
Phillips, who had no previous criminal history, pleaded guilty to trafficking ice over a 32-day period in February and March 2021, as well as to two counts of supplying the drug and to one of possessing meth in a quantity exceeding the 2g schedule.
He was sentenced to three years in jail but with 107 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served he was released on parole as of June 18, 2023.
Nikita Lee Loyd and Tony Wayne Smith
A young couple caught up in Toowoomba’s drug trafficking trade had tried to get away from drugs only for his drug addicted mother to spike their drinks to keep them addicted, the city’s Supreme Court was told in March.
Nikita Lee Lloyd, 27, and Tony Wayne Smith, 28, were both meth users and had started trafficking the drug in and around Toowoomba from May 2, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said that after police raided their home on September 3, 2020, the couple ceased their trafficking business.
However, they fell on hard times and moved in with Smith’s mother, a long-time drug addicted woman, who, when they tried to get away from drug use, spiked their drinks to keep them addicted for her own benefit.
Smith’s mother was now in jail, the court was told.
Police raided their home on September 3, 2020 and found a cache of drugs and cash, along with evidence that they were selling again.
Both pleaded guilty to trafficking in meth over the two periods of four months and nine months.
Justice Peter Applegarth sentenced Lloyd to four and half years in jail but ordered she be eligible to apply for parole as of January 14, 2024, after having served 10 months in custody, while Smith was sentenced to four years in jail with parole eligibility from November 15, 2023, after having served eight months.
Tyson Julian Myles
A former MMA fighter who trafficked drugs including cocaine and ecstasy in Toowoomba over a 10-month period was sentenced to four years in jail – though he didn’t serve one day behind bars.
Tyson Julian Myles, 26, had no criminal history when he embarked on his trafficking business from late 2019 to October 2020, Toowoomba Supreme Court was told in February.
Police intercepts and searches of the then 23-year-old’s phone showed he only had four customers, because Myles had used the Snapchat app to avoid detection when dealing with drug users there could have been more customers.
Investigators searched his home twice and located 6.224g pure cocaine, 39g of MDA, 0.047g of MDMA (ecstasy), 30g of cannabis, $9000 cash and a box of 50 .22 calibre bullets.
Despite this attention of police, Myles was again found with nine clip seal bags containing 1g of cocaine each, 31 MDA tablets when spoken to outside a CBD nightclub on December 13, 2020, and when strip searched at the watch house, another bag containing 1.824g of pure cocaine and ecstasy tablets were found.
After pleading guilty to to trafficking, four counts of possessing dangerous drugs, two of possessing dangerous drugs above the 2g schedule and to possessing proceeds of drug sales, possessing a weapon and drug utensils and ammunition, Justice Peter Applegarth sentenced Myles to four years in jail but ordered the whole term be suspended for four years.
Myles was also placed on three years probation and ordered to do 120 hours community service.
Nathan Ross O’Connor
A 20-year-old Toowoomba man who confessed to trafficking cannabis as a teenager over a 12-month period had nothing to show for it by the time police put a stop to it.
Nathan Ross O’Connor’s cannabis operation was not a “particularly profitable” venture, Toowoomba District Court was told in October.
O’Connor was found with a total 782g of cannabis and drug utensils such as clip seal bags, digital scales, a grinder and water pipe during a police search of his home on April 14, 2022.
However, it was the messages on his mobile phone that police were more than a little interested in, the court was told.
They showed he had been selling cannabis for about a year.
O’Connor pleaded guilty to trafficking cannabis, four counts of supplying the drug, possessing cannabis above the 500g schedule, possessing drug utensils and possessing an inoperable air-rifle (Category A weapon) found during the police search of his house.
He was placed on an 18-month, wholly suspended jail sentence.
Leah Maree Brett
Leah Maree Brett’s return to selling dangerous drugs landed her a jail sentence with immediate parole earlier this year.
Toowoomba Supreme Court was told the 47-year-old disability support worker first trafficked methylamphetamine and cannabis over a three-month period from September 1, 2020 then took a break before resuming her offending from August 5, 2021, to February 5, 2022.
The court was told Brett used the dealing to support her own addiction.
She was sentenced to three years in jail with immediate parole.
Dayanna June Janke
A 44-year-old Toowoomba woman caught dealing meth blamed grief from the death of her mother for turning her back to ice.
Though Dayanna June Janke had been jailed for three years for drug trafficking in 2017, her offending had dropped off considerably until 2021 when she struggled to cope with the death of her mother, her barrister Doug Wilson told Toowoomba District Court.
In August Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie told the court that Janke’s offending came to light after police searched her home on March 7 and seized two mobile phones.
When analysed, police found five messages pertaining to Janke having supplied or offered to supply meth to other people between November 2022 and March 2023, she said.
A search of Janke’s home uncovered capsules which contained cocaine, cash, medicines for which she had no prescription and 175g of substance which tested positive for traces of meth.
Janke pleaded guilty to five counts of supplying a dangerous drug and to possessing two mobile phones for the supply of meth, and to possessing dangerous drugs, and was sentenced to 21 months in jail with immediate parole.
Dyllen James White
An Oakey tradesman caught trafficking street level amounts of cannabis to fund his own drug use was sentenced at the Toowoomba District Court on November 28.
The court was told full-time plasterer Dyllen James White had no criminal history and began selling the illegal drug to fund his own cannabis habit.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said over a nine month period in 2021-2022, the now 27-year-old carried out 48 deals with 24 customers.
The court was told White usually bought two ounces of cannabis a week to offload and earnt as little as $150 a week from the venture.
White also sold 3.5g of MDMA for $450.
White pleaded guilty to supplying and trafficking drugs and was sentenced to a two year jail term, with immediate parole.
Damon Jye Miller
In May, Toowoomba man Damon Jye Miller was sentenced to a three-year jail term, after he pleaded guilty to trafficking and possessing meth.
The Toowoomba Supreme Court was told on one occasion, the 26-year-old picked up ice from his dealer, however as payment he distributed the drugs to the man’s customers.
On another occasion, he supplied between 0.1g and 3.5g to 11 of his own customers between February 15, 2021, and March 5, 2021.
When officers raided Miller’s dealer’s home at Harlaxton, he was present, and officers realised the extent of his involvement when police went through their phones.
The primary drug dealer was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail to serve at least 15 months.
Miller was sentenced to three years in prison after having 140 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served.
His parole release date was initially set for October 20, 2023.
Luke James Collins
In May, Luke James Collins was sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking and supplying meth.
At the time, he was on parole for trafficking the same drug.
Toowoomba Supreme Court was told when the 28-year-old’s Glenvale home was raided by police, officers located 10.31g of pure meth divvied up into bags and 3g of cannabis.
The court heard in 2020, Collins trafficked meth to lower-end dealers and on one occasion supplied 85g of the drug to one man.
After serving 20 months behind bars, Collins will be eligible for parole on January 10, 2025.
Harley Raymond Philp
In May, Dalby man Harley Raymond Philp was sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking drugs and possessing meth and LSD.
Toowoomba District Court was told the 27-year-old diesel fitter sold various drugs at Dalby, Toowoomba, and Warwick, the primary drug being
methamphetamine.
Philp spent 64 days in pre-sentence custody which was declared as time served, and his parole release date was set for March 8, 2024.
Lyneeka Ann Wilson
Convicted methamphetamine trafficker Lyneeka Wilson was eligible to apply for parole on September 23 after serving two years of a nine-year jail term.
In September 2021, the 40-year-old mum of two pleaded guilty to a number of drug offences, including trafficking ice, following a police raid at her Inglewood home.
The Toowoomba District Court was told, on one occasion the drug user illegally earnt more than $410,000 in the span of five months.
Jeffrey Allan Claxton
In May, Jeffrey Allan Claxton was sentenced to a two-and-a-half year jail term after he pleaded guilty to trafficking and possessing cannabis.
The 34-year-old Toowoomba man also pleaded guilty to possessing LSD, explosives, fireworks, and drug utensils.
The Toowoomba Supreme Court was told Claxton trafficked cannabis and made 57 drug deals to 19 customers over a two-week period.
Crown prosecutor Emily Coley said when officers raided Claxton’s home they uncovered 1.993kg of cannabis and 100 LSD tablets alongside $3530 cash.
Ms Coley said a month later officers raided Claxton’s home again and found 539g of cannabis and $5080 cash.
Claxton was released on parole immediately after 239 days of pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.
Richard Stanley Ryan and Jade Michelle-Leigh
A couple who amassed more than $350,000 by trafficking drugs through Western Downs towns over 16 months were both handed jail terms.
Richard Stanley Ryan, 34, and Jade Michelle-Leigh Pervis, 25, made separate appearances before the Toowoomba Supreme Court in May to plead guilty to trafficking cannabis and meth and associated charges.
Ryan to seven and a half years in jail but, declaring 502 days as time served under the sentence, ordered he be eligible to apply for release on parole as of December 15, 2023.
Pervis was sentenced to five years in jail, suspended after having served the 433 days she had already spent in custody, to be released onto three years probation.
Ryan was sentenced to seven and half years in jail while Pervis was sentenced to five years in jail, suspended after having served the 433 days she had already spent in custody, to be released onto three years probation.
Jamie Michael Adcock
A 26-year-old Toowoomba man who trafficked drugs for more than three years was jailed for more than four years.
Jamie Michael Adcock was aged between 21 and 25 when he trafficked mainly cannabis, but also at times methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy), at street level to people in Toowoomba, the city’s Supreme Court was told in March.
The court heard Adcock had a customer base of 88 with some regular buyers, and he had supplied or offered to supply drugs on at least 224 occasions and at least on 142 of those occasions he had actually supplied the drug.
After pleading guilty to trafficking and possessing dangerous drugs, Justice Peter Applegarth sentenced Adcock to four years and three months in jail, to commence on completion of the five months’ jail he had to serve on his previous sentence, but ordered he be eligible to apply for parole from March 5, 2024.
Tambrey Lee Morris
A 31-year-old mother of five’s commitment to self rehabilitation to get away from drug use has saved her from being returned to jail.
Tambrey Lee Morris appeared before Toowoomba Supreme Court in July to plead guilty to trafficking drugs in Toowoomba between January 25, 2022, and July 13, 2022.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told the court Morris primarily dealt in meth and cannabis but she had also trafficked other illicit substances to a customer base of at least 42 people, 31 of whom were regular buyers.
Morris had sold meth in amounts from 0.1g to a “half ball” of 1.75g and cannabis from 1g to 28g and at times she had also used a “drug runner”, she said.
Taking into account the 141 days of pre-sentence custody, Judge Susan Brown sentenced Morris to three years in jail but ordered she be released immediately on parole.
Hayden Lewis Thomas Smith-Lavel
A 26-year-old Toowoomba man who pleaded guilty to trafficking and supplying meth over a one month period has been handed a three-year jail term.
However, Hayden Lewis Thomas Smith-Lavel was released on immediate parole which will hang over his head for the next three years.
The then 23-year-old had trafficked meth to at least nine customers over a one month period in May and June 2020, Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told Toowoomba Supreme Court in February.
The trafficking was at street level or low amounts and he had supplied customers with the drug at his home for cash or credit but he also accepted items as payment, she said.
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