Alleged Mongols bikie Tyrone Poole faces Southport court after police raid

An alleged Gold Coast bikie faced jail time after defying a police investigation into his suspected consorting with criminal associates. Read full details here.

An alleged Gold Coast bikie has narrowly avoided time behind bars after refusing to unlock his phone for police who raided his home.

Officers searched Tyrone Wilton Norman Poole’s Guanaba home on October 6 last year, amid suspicions he was habitually consorting with criminal associates.

Southport Magistrates Court was told police were able to probe Poole’s phone under a magistrate-signed search warrant.

Despite several requests and a warning that it was an offence to not provide access to the device as directed, Poole refused to do so, claiming the phone contained information protected under legal privilege.

Tyrone Wilton Norman Poole (right) leaves court with his lawyer Michael Gatenby, of Gatenby Criminal Lawyers.

He was arrested at the scene and taken to the Southport watch-house.

The court was told Poole was otherwise cooperative with police throughout their investigation.

Defence lawyer Michael Gatenby, of Gatenby Criminal Law, said Poole’s conduct did defy the court order but would have caused little other harm.

He said most of the people Poole was banned from associating with by his consorting order were family friends or schoolmates he grew up with on the Gold Coast.

“It is very difficult for him when he’s balancing the exercise between providing evidence that might implicate what he describes as school friends or simply remaining quiet about it,” Mr Gatenby said.

Poole pleaded guilty to one count of contravening an order about information necessary to access information stored electronically.

He was sentenced to six months’ jail, wholly suspended for 18 months.