Drug dealer Tyson Stoker back in jail for traffic offences

His dabbling spiralled “completely out of hand” after a family tragedy, the court heard, but now he is back behind bars for a different set of offences.

An ice user who sold drugs to feed his addiction has found himself back behind bars - but this time it was for a different type of offence.

Tyson Stoker appeared in Coffs Harbour Local Court via audio visual link on Tuesday from Clarence Correctional Center.

He had been remanded in custody for the previous 23 days - a period his lawyer Tony Cox described as “very hard custody” due to lockdowns.

Stoker, whose hair was closely shaved, sat rubbing his face and resting his head in his hands as the matter was outlined.

Mr Cox told the court Stoker had a troubled upbringing and had been attempting to turn his life around when he was released on parole at the end of 2020 after being jailed for selling more than 50g of ice.

Tyson Dean Stoker in a Facebook photo from 2019. He has been sent back to prison for traffic offences and driving with drugs in his system.

He also told the court his client’s “dabbling” in meth got completely out of hand after finding the body of his former partner after she took her life.

During his recent court appearance, magistrate Julia Virgo said the traffic offending went “hand in hand with his addiction” as he continued to “disobey the directions of police” and drove without a licence on four separate occasions within a “very short amount of time”.

Stoker was detected driving without a licence on four separate occasions earlier this year, despite being refused a licence, the court heard.

On one occasion police recognised him behind the wheel of a car leaving a carpark at Moonee.

The 27-year-old was also facing several charges of driving with an illicit drug in his system.

For the multiple ‘drive while licence application refused’ offences he will serve concurrent custodial jail terms which will see him behind bars for the next four months. He will be eligible for parole on December 8.

Stoker will also be the subject of an Intensive Corrections Order which will continue until August 8, 2023. As part of the order he will be supervised by a community corrections officer and must abstain from drugs.

He also received several fines totalling $1850 and his licence was suspended for 12 months from August 9.

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