Lisarow: Cannabis crop couple Joshua Carl, Leila Samatauskaite sentenced

A man was not driven by “anxiety” when he converted his Lisarow home into an indoor hydroponic cannabis set up but “greed”, a court has heard. It came after his much younger Estonian wife was also sentenced for her involvement.

A cubbyhouse and prefabricated shed builder was not overcome by crippling anxiety when he converted his Lisarow home into a sophisticated indoor hydroponic cannabis greenhouse — but old fashioned greed, a court has heard.

Joshua Carl, 43, was sentenced to three years and six months jail on Friday, with a non-parole period of two years and one month, after pleading guilty to the enhanced indoor cultivation of cannabis.

His Estonian-born wife Leila Samatauskaite, 32, cried out when the sentence was delivered and sobbed as Corrective Services officers led her husband from the dock and into custody for the fist time since his arrest on June 17 last year.

The court heard Samatauskaite had herself pleaded guilty to being an owner/occupier of a house and knowingly allowing it to be used as a drug premises.

Leila Samatauskaite, 32, and Joshua Carl, 43, were charged with growing cannabis at the Lisarow home. Picture: NSW Police

She was sentenced in Gosford Local Court in May to a 12-month community corrections order after a magistrate found her offending fell into the “mid range” of objective seriousness given she had previous convictions for possessing drugs and driving with an illicit drug present in her system.

In addition to pleading guilty to setting up a sophisticated cannabis nursery in a shed at their Lisarow home for 36 plants and converting a double garage into a series of “grow rooms” for a further 198 seedlings, Carl also pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

It came after police raided their home on The Ridgeway on June 17 last year and discovered the illegal horticultural enterprise along with an extendable baton beside Carl’s bedside and $5400 in cash.

Carl faced Gosford District Court on Friday where his barrister said his client had been diagnosed with anxiety aged 32 and had struggled with his mental health, eventually going off prescribed medication because he didn’t like its effects in the bedroom after meeting his much younger bride.

His barrister told the court Carl’s offending was an “aberration” and while he conceded there was “no causal nexus” between his mental health and his offending, told the court clearly it was significant.

Happier times, the court heard they had been married for about three years before they were done growing cannabis. Picture: Facebook/supplied

An agreed set of facts states when police raided the couple’s five-bedroom home complete with pool, tennis court, large electronic gates and CCTV security cameras throughout, they found a locked, insulated room within a shed.

Inside the shed they found cannabis plants growing under heat lamps, a water filtration system and sophisticated network of carbon air filters.

Inside the double garage were three purpose built “grow rooms” for almost 200 seedlings along with a “centurion mini-trimmer electropolished tumbler” which was designed to “separate cannabis bud from the stem”.

A bit cheeky: Leila Samatauskaite was already sentenced for her involvement. Picture: Facebook

Judge Alister Abadee said Carl’s glowing character references from a variety of people, including a personal trainer, a solicitor and a funeral director all exclaimed how “shocked” they were to learn he was cultivating cannabis.

He said their observations demonstrated Carl was able to manage his anxiety through exercise and could function as a productive member of society.

Judge Abadee said while Carl tried to justify his actions because Covid had decimated his business and he needed to supply his own cannabis addiction, the reality was he was motivated more significantly by “greed”.

“The offender did not give evidence which I find somewhat troubling,” Judge Abadee said.

Carl will be eligible for parole on November 6, 2024.