Jye Blackney in court again for traffic, drug charges, after recent custody release

A 20-year-old Port Macquarie man has appeared in court again this week, charged with traffic and drug offences, after recently being released from jail.

A magistrate has warned a 20-year-old Port Macquarie man that he could end up back behind bars if he continues doing drugs.

Jye Blackney appeared before Magistrate Georgina Darcy at Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday for three charges, including two counts of possess prohibited drug and one count of driving despite never holding a license (first offence).

Jye Blackney, a 20-year-old Port Macquarie man, has been warned he could return to custody if he continues to use drugs.

The magistrate was familiar with the young offender, telling the court that Blackney’s record wasn’t great.

However, Ms Darcy did note that he appeared much better this week than he did in previous court appearances, and that she could see some improvement since his recent release from custody.

Blackney pleaded guilty to all three charges, which related to an incident on the afternoon of March 14.

About 2.40pm that Monday, local police were patrolling Horton St when they observed a yellow Holden ute with familiar NSW plates, parked in a bay.

Police were well aware of recent drug intelligence related to the vehicle and its owner, Bonnie-Rae Barnes, according to the agreed facts - she is set to appear in Port Macquarie Local Court later this month.

As officers drove past, they noticed someone sitting in the driver’s seat, who appeared to be crouching down in an attempt to avoid police detection.

A short time later, police saw the vehicle driving south on Horton St and pulled it over.

According to the agreed facts Blackney, who is also well known to police, was driving and Barnes was in the passenger seat.

Police asked the driver why he was crouching in the car earlier, to which Blackney told them he wasn’t.

The driver was asked to produce his license, but told police he didn’t have it on him.

Police conducted numerous checks on Blackney, but failed to find any record of him holding a NSW driver’s licence despite his claim that he passed his L’s test just days prior.

Police told the pair they’d be conducting a search, due to the intel they had on the two occupants and vehicle, as well as the earlier observations of Blackney trying to avoid police detection.

Blackney immediately confessed to having cannabis in a bum bag, which was sitting next to him.

In the bag, police found a small plastic bag with the drugs in it, as well as an additional plastic bag containing methylamphetamine.

Blackney told police he’d forgotten that was in there, before admitting that both drugs were his.

He was arrested and taken to Port Macquarie Police Station, where he was given the afternoon to present evidence of his passed L’s test, but failed to do so.

No further checks on internal police or RMS databases were able to prove Blackney ever held a licence in NSW or any other state.

His lawyer, Chloe Harrison, argued the drug quantities were only small – with the agreed police facts indicating a weight of 0.63g for the cannabis and plastic bag containing it, and 0.1g for the meth and its bag.

Ms Harrison’s submission also noted her client’s adult criminal history began two years ago, but did contain some “serious offences”.

This was not Blackney’s first visit to Port Macquarie courthouse.

Since 2020, Blackney has appeared before the court for a number of matters, including his most recent sentence which saw him enter a supervised Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) until August this year.

Ms Harrison told the court Blackney is not currently employed, but plans on getting his license and abstaining from drugs in the future.

The magistrate noted the defence’s submissions, but warned Blackney how troubling it was to see him caught offending while already on an ICO.

“If you don’t stop using illicit drugs, it’s likely you’ll have to go back into custody,” Ms Darcy said.

“At least this offence isn’t related to violence (like many of Blackney’s prior matters).”

Ms Darcy noted Blackney’s limited ability to pay a fine for his wrongdoing, given his unemployment, but told him “if you’re able to purchase drugs, you can afford to pay off the fines that result when you’re caught with them”.

The magistrate convicted and fined Blackney for all three offences, with a $100 fine for each of the drug charges, and a $300 fine for the driving matter.