Jesse Kowplos: Formwork apprentice pleads guilty to drug offences
A former southeast Queensland cannabis addict who has since turned his life around would have faced only minor drug offences but for his “very candid” admissions which outed him as a supplier.
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An apprentice who was formerly addicted to cannabis dobbed himself in as a supplier to his friends when the cops came knocking, earning himself five extra charges but also, perhaps, some good karma.
Formwork apprentice Jesse Robert Kowplos, 22, formerly of Shailer Park but now living in Mount Gravatt, was charged with nine offences following a police search warrant on his property on February 17 this year.
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Police found Kowplos in possession of smoking utensils, a grinder, scales, scissors and about 3g of cannabis, the court heard.
That may have been it for Kowplos, but for the fact he cheerfully admitted to supplying five friends, denying he was a “street dealer” but simply someone who bought in bulk for convenience and helped his friends out.
Defence lawyer Bruce Affleck described Kowplos’ system as one of an “economy of scale” and noted he had since moved from the Shailer Park address into the Mount Gravatt one, where he lives with an ex-military man who is about a decade older than him.
He said his client was in his last year of his apprenticeship and worked six days a week, spending much of his time with his young daughter from a previous relationship.
Mr Affleck said Kowplos had been mostly successful in weaning himself off his long-term dependency, a fact Kowplos attested to vigorously.
“This has been the happiest year of my life since coming off it,” he told Magistrate Clare Kelly, who gave him credit for his “very candid” admissions, without which none of the supply charges would have been brought.
She placed him on probation for 12 months.
No convictions were recorded.