Tamera Bonanno: Mum caught with ketamine, valium
A magistrate pleaded with a 22-year-old mother to turn her life around for the good of her child as she convicted her for possessing ketamine and hundreds of valium pills.
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A young mum from Sydney’s east has been given a pep talk in court after being caught in possession of ketamine and hundreds of valium pills.
Tamera Bonanno was convicted of the crimes but escaped further punishment at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.
The Matraville woman had pleaded guilty to counts of drug possession and possessing a prescribed restricted substance, after she was nabbed by police in Botany on July 6, 2019.
Court documents state she was found with 0.43g of ketamine and 200 tablets of diazepam – more commonly known as valium – when arrested about 9.10pm that night.
That breached her court order imposed for stealing a $1195-pram from Moore Park Supa Centre in November 2018, when she pulled off its tags and waited for staff to turn their backs before pushing it out of a Baby Bunting.
Bonanno, who lives with her mother and three-year-old child, was present in court on Thursday wearing a grey Calvin Klein jumper.
Lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court she had experienced a “traumatic” past and was taking steps to overcome her demons.
Magistrate Erin Kennedy spoke directly to the 22-year-old, saying she struck her “as a woman who knows how she wants to live” but had become “lost” on several occasions.
The young woman had experienced “terrible things” in her youth, Magistrate Kennedy said, but needed to move on for the good of her child.
“Don’t let them define you,” she said. “Yes you have been a victim but you won’t be a victim forever.”
Magistrate Kennedy chose not to take action on the breach and decided recording a conviction only was suitable for the possession charges.
Bonanno thanked the magistrate for her kind words before leaving the court.