Joey Cole had 33 bags of cocaine for personal use, fined and convicted

A young man found with 33 bags of cocaine at his home in Grovedale, has been convicted and fined in the Geelong Magistrates Court

Joey Cole. Picture: Facebook

A young man found with 33 bags of cocaine at his home in Grovedale, has been convicted and fined in the Geelong Magistrates Court

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Andrew Clapham told the court on August 16, each bag of cocaine contained a gram of the illicit substance.

Joey Cole, 21, of Grovedale, pleaded guilty to charges including possession of cocaine, possession of cannabis, possessing a weapon and driving on his L plates without a supervisor.

He was convicted and fined $4,000 in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Monday, August 21.

Cole’s lawyer, Caetlyn Wells-Simon, told the court a “substantial fine” was an appropriate course of action, as a community corrections order was “impractical” due to the fact Cole had further court matters pending in the near future.

A bail application was also withdrawn.

Ms Wells-Simon, said her client developed a “significant cocaine addiction” that had started when he was hit in the head with a hammer in 2020.

The court was told police searched Cole’s address in Grovedale on March 15 and found the bags containing cocaine as well as a bag containing cannabis.

Police also found a taser on the coffee table.

Constable Clapham said Cole had been served with a firearms prohibition order in September 2020.

When he was interviewed by police he told them the drugs were for his own use and the taser belonged to him.

Ms Wells-Simon said her client’s “significant drug addiction” arose when Cole was dealt a blow to the head with a hammer in August 2020.

“He ended up in the Alfred hospital in a coma … and he now has steel plates in his head,” she said.

The court was told Cole was driving without his L plates on his car in August last year and was also unsupervised.

When police asked him why he was driving, Cole said: “I’m a f----ing idiot, man”.

Originally published as Joey Cole had 33 bags of cocaine for personal use, fined and convicted