Wade Adam Death: Stockyard Creek man faces Grafton Local Court after weapons, drugs found on his rural property

A North Coast man busted with a bizarre array of weapons, hundreds of cannabis plants and “hillbilly heroin” was told by a magistrate his excuses “had all the veracity of a political promise”. Read what happened.

Death was found with drugs, illegal weapons. File picture.

A Clarence Valley man busted with a bizarre array of weapons, hundreds of cannabis plants and a stash of “hillbilly heroin” was told by a magistrate his excuses “had all the veracity of a political promise”

“Not much, in other words”, according to vocal North Coast Magistrate Roger Prowse.

Stockyard Creek man Wade Death’s almost decade-long stint of freedom from criminal convictions came to an abrupt end on Monday.

Death, 46, who owns an earth moving business with his elderly father, will now spend up to 18 months behind bars after his rural property was raided.

Death was sentenced to jail for his offences. Generic image.

The 46-year-old faced Grafton Local Court on Monday after pleading guilty to four counts of possessing a prohibited drug, four counts of possessing a prohibited weapon, cultivating cannabis plants and possessing ammunition without a licence.

Court documents state police executed a search warrant at Death’s property on January 19, 2023.

Police spotted “a large number of Jack Daniels bottles on the ground” as well as more than 100 cannabis plants at the back of the property.

Plants were growing in large pots, stood over two metres tall in containers “full of chemicals” and had a watering system, the documents state.

After pulling the plants, officers spotted Death standing near “wrecked vehicles” and told him they “followed the trails” to the property.

Inside Death’s home, police found 14.7 grams of cannabis seeds, 515.9g of cannabis, 71g of cannabis resin and 189 OxyContin tablets.

Officers also seized a crossbow, slingshot, knuckle dusters, an extendible baton and ammunition.

Police seized a crossbow at Death’s property. File image.

The court heard Death had volunteered for the Salvation Army.

He was referred to as a “community-minded man” with “a heart of gold” in character references tendered to court.

While Death has a lengthy criminal record, but spent years without reoffending before the latest run-ins with the law.

Defence lawyer Stephen Smart told the court his client “stocked up” on OxyContin (a powerful opioid painkiller) to treat lasting injuries.

He said Death used the extendible baton because he had wild dogs at his property and that the sling shot was for fishing.

Magistrate Prowse called OxyContin “hillbilly heroin”. Generic image.

However, Magistrate Roger Prowse said he took Death’s explanations “not with a grain of salt but a pound of salt” because of his history and the amount of drugs possessed.

“(Your) explanation had all the veracity of a political promise – not much in other words,” he said.

Mr Prowse referred to OxyContin as “hillbilly heroin because it is a direct substitute” for heroin.

He deemed the “meat tenderising” knuckle dusters extremely dangerous and said he did not believe Death’s “desperate attempt” to link the baton to wild dogs.

He exclaimed “that explanation is just lacking that essential element of truth”.

Mr Prowse said jail-time was the only option as Death’s record showed he had previously treated community-based sentences as an “occupational hazard”.

Death was convicted and sentenced to 22 months in prison with an 18-month non-parole period.

Originally published as Wade Adam Death: Stockyard Creek man faces Grafton Local Court after weapons, drugs found on his rural property