Dean McCasker: Alleged drug trafficker refused bail

An unemployed man was allegedly nabbed by police in a car with drugs, cash and a “known criminal” with a gun at 2.30am. His lawyer says there’s “no evidence” he was trafficking.

Drug deal generic. Picture: iStock

A magistrate has rejected testimony from the wife of an alleged drug trafficker, believing her to be “minimising” her knowledge of the man’s drug use.

Dean McCasker, 34, appeared in the dock at Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday to apply for bail, facing 17 charges including drug trafficking and possession.

The court heard the Armstrong Creek man had already been refused bail on Thursday, and the charges involved a “variety of drugs”.

While the police remand summary was not read aloud during the hearing, the court heard McCasker and another man – allegedly a “known criminal” – were found by police in a car at 2.30am on Thursday.

During a search of the car, McCasker’s co-accused was allegedly found to be in possession of a gun.

On Friday, Mr McCasker’s wife, Jessica, took the stand and said she was still supportive of her husband, but she needed to “see some changes” including getting help for his mental health.

“We have a family to consider … he needs to change his life,” Mrs McCasker said.

The court heard Mr McCasker played an important role in parenting the couple’s two children, aged four-years, and six-months, respectively.

On cross-examination by Senior Constable Laura Wood, Mrs McCasker said she was not aware of the depth of her husband’s alleged drug use.

Magistrate Franz Holzer was sceptical; putting to Mrs McCasker: “Are you minimising your husband’s history of drug use?”

“Tell me the truth, don’t tell me the filtered version of it,” Mr Holzer said.

He added her knowledge was “surprisingly sparse”.

Following his wife’s evidence, Mr McCasker’s lawyer, Ashlee Bohan told the court the prosecution’s case was weak: there was “no evidence” to support a trafficking charge, and the charges included “possession and trafficking of substances that aren’t referenced in the summary”.

“Based on the photos, it doesn’t appear to be a large quantity (of drugs),” Ms Bohan said, and there was “nothing else to suggest trafficking”.

Mr Holzer noted the presence of resealable bags, “assorted currency”, and the fact the matter arose in a context where Mr McCasker was unemployed, and allegedly found in a car with drugs and a “drug-affected” man in the “wee small hours”.

Ms Bohan said Mr McCasker did have casual labouring work, which could explain the cash.

“The charges and summary don’t match up in my view,” she said.

She told the court McCasker had a stable home to return to, children to look after, the possibility of supported bail through the Court Integrated Services Program (CISP), and no record of failing to appear in court.

She said a jail sentence was not inevitable, and submitted a “non-association clause” – to keep him away from his co-accused – along with a curfew could lessen the risk.

Mr Holzer said he did not accept Mrs McCasker’s evidence and refused bail.

“I’m not going to expose the community to the risk of harm, when trafficking drugs is such a prevalent and, it seems, accepted practice,” Mr Holzer said.

Mr McCasker will reappear in court at a later date.

Originally published as Dean McCasker: Alleged drug trafficker refused bail