Mitchell Sturt: Abbotsford man caught leaving Andrew O’Keefe’s possessing range of drugs

A masseuse who was stopped by police in possession of a number of illegal drugs, including ice, cocaine and LSD, after leaving former TV presenter Andrew O’Keefe’s address has been sentenced.

Mitchell Rees Sturt was sentenced at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.

An Abbotsford masseuse has been told he doesn’t belong in court after he was caught by police leaving Andrew O’Keefe’s house with a cocktail of illicit drugs.

O’Keefe was not charged in relation to the incident.

Mitchell Rees Sturt, 52, appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, wearing a medical walking shoe after pleading guilty to five counts of drug possession.

Agreed facts revealed in the early hours of November 24, police saw a silver Mercedes Benz CLA 250 park on Belah Ave, Vaucluse.

At 1.40am, Sturt and a female exited a home on Old South Head Rd and walked towards Belah Ave before noticing a police car and running away.

They were later approached by officers who informed them they would be searched along with the car.

Mitchell Sturt playing cricket. Photo: Facebook

The 52-year-old told police officers the car’s contents were his, except for the items on the back seat, which is where police located a black bag.

Inside, police found a silver tin with six clear resealable bags, containing methylamphetamine, weighing 12.6g. Another silver tin was found with two clear resealable bags, one containing cocaine, and the other three paper LSD tabs with pink doughnuts printed on them.

Police found another clear resealable bag, containing a large crystalline shard. Two metal flasks and an orange container were also located, containing GHB along with cannabis liquid inside an e-cigarette.

A clear smoking pipe and a set of scales were also inside the bag.

Sturt was arrested and taken to Waverley police station where he refused to answer questions except stating the items did not belong to him.

On Friday, Sturt’s lawyer Sam Abbas said his client had received treatment for his toe, meaning he was unable to obtain all necessary subjective material for sentence. However, he was willing to proceed.

Mr Abbas conceded his client had possession of the illicit substances. He said “he had control over the bag” and was aware of its contents, however the 52-year-old only planned on possessing the drugs “for a limited period of time”.

Mitchell Sturt walking out of Downing Centre on Friday.

Mr Abbas said the offences before the court represented a “monumental blemish” on his client’s life before revealing Sturt is in the process of applying for a carer’s pension as he looks after his mother.

He told the court Sturt worked as a remedial therapist until Covid affected his business.

Deputy chief magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis said he was satisfied Sturt was unlikely to come back before the courts, saying “he does not belong in this jurisdiction”.

However, Magistrate Tsavdaridis highlighted the problem drugs have on the community and it was important offenders are “adequately punished”.

He accepted Sturt’s contact with the drugs was only “fleeting”.

Sturt was ultimately sentenced to an 18-month community correction order and fined a total of $1000.

“If you breach the conditions, and the breaches involve like offending … penalties [are] likely to escalate,” Magistrate Tsavdaridis said.