Casey Johnston, Benjamin Middling sentenced for stolen meth car

A Gold Coast cleaner and her drug beau have been sentenced for a crime spree crowned by an act of staggering stupidity, a court has heard.

A Gold Coast cleaner and her drug beau have been sentenced for driving a stolen car full of methamphetamine to a police station for the man’s bail reporting.

Helensvale woman Casey Ann Johnston, 31, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court last week to 10 offences.

Most seriously, they included possessing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Those offences occurred on September 6, 2019.

The court heard Johnston was a passenger in a car driven by her beau, Nerang man Benjamin Mark Middling, 43, who was required to report for bail to the local police station.

Police followed Middling out after realising the car parked out the front had been reported stolen three days prior.

Helensvale woman Casey Ann Johnston, 31. Picture: Facebook

A search of the car uncovered 2.9g of crystal substance, 2.2 grams of which was pure meth.

Johnston and Middling were both arrested and remanded in pre-sentence custody.

Johnston was released on bail on April 3 last year after serving 211 days.

In addition to that offending, she also committed a variety of offences including fraud, receiving tainted property and possessing drugs and drug utensils.

All Johnston’s offending was committed while on parole.

The court heard she had a terrible criminal history littered with unlawful uses of motor vehicles and had received custodial sentences previously.

Defence counsel Lars Falcongreen told the court the meth was primarily owned by Middling but that Johnston had access to it for her own personal use.

He said Johnston had been self-employed as a cleaner since her release on April 3 last year and lived with her parents and two children.

Johnston was sentenced to 211 days’ imprisonment, representing the time she already served, and placed her on two years’ probation.

Middling was sentenced on August 16 to three years’ imprisonment suspended after the 311 days he spent remanded in pre-sentence custody and placed him on probation.