Drug dealer weed-ed out
A magistrate has sent a message to would-be drug dealers looking to sell marijuana in Nimbin by jailing a Maclean man
Grafton
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A MAGISTRATE has sought to deter others from travelling to Nimbin to sell marijuana by slapping a Maclean man with a jail term for prohibited drug supply.
Dennis Leslie Pearce, 27, was sentenced in Grafton Local Court on Monday after he entered pleas of guilty to a series of drug supply and drug possession charges dating back to April this year.
According to police facts presented to the court, on April 1 and 2 this year Pearce approached three people and offered to sell them marijuana, with the two transactions both caught on CCTV near the Nimbin Community Centre.
After the witnesses were stopped by police and the marijuana seized, police located Pearce near the community centre on April 2 wearing the same clothes as depicted in the CCTV footage and he was arrested and charged.
Just five days later, Pearce was stopped by police on the Pacific Highway near Tweed Heads South for a random breath test, and was subsequently arrested after police believed he provided false information regarding his identity.
He was searched by police, who found two resealable sandwich bags containing a combined 44.5g of marijuana.
A week later on April 14, police approaching Nimbin Community Centre spotted Pearce fleeing from the area, and he was arrested for breaching his bail conditions, which stated he was to stay away from the area. A search of Pearce found three cookies, believed to contain marijuana, and $585 of cash.
In court, his defence representative said his client had travelled to Nimbin to get away from the break-up from his long-term partner, and had been self-medicating with marijuana.
In sentencing, Magistrate Karen Stafford said the repeated offences in relation to possession of marijuana while on bail were an aggravating factor, and the sentence needed to be a deterrent to others against travelling to Nimbin for the sole purpose of drug supply.
Pearce was sentenced to 10 months in jail, with a non-parole period of five months.
Originally published as Drug dealer weed-ed out
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