Ringwood Magistrates’ Court: Cockatoo man Jack Fitzgerald pleads guilty to drug charges

Police got more than they bargained for after searching a Cockatoo man spotted “acting weird” at Bayswater Coles and “nervous” outside Pakenham McDonald’s.

A Cockatoo man has faced court after being busted with meth at Pakenham McDonald’s and Bayswater Coles. Stock image.

A Cockatoo man has been busted with drugs, a bullet, a box cutter and stolen cards in three separate incidents across the outer suburbs, including at Bayswater Coles and Pakenham McDonald’s.

Jack Fitzgerald, 30, pleaded guilty to a number of charges at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, including possessing a drug of dependence and handling stolen goods while on bail.

He appeared via video link from custody, where he has spent 42 days behind bars.

He will return to court next week to be sentenced.

The court heard he had been found with methylamphetamine and a box cutter at Bayswater Coles last November; was again was found with methylamphetamine outside Pakenham McDonald’s on June 2 this year, and was later found with a bullet when being questioned by police; and was also found in possession of stolen cards and packets of medication which he did not have a prescription for when he was pulled over in Rowville in July.

The court heard police were called to Bayswater Coles at 8.22am on November 17, 2022, after an alleged theft involving two men.

Police arrived at 8.40am and spoke to Coles staff who said they didn’t think a theft had occurred but pointed out Fitzgerald who was in the self-serve checkout at the time.

Staff said he had been in the store for a while “acting weird” and a number of items had fallen out of his backpack which he returned to staff.

Police approached Fitzgerald and spoke to him about behaviour

He said he hadn’t stolen anything but due to his nervous behaviour he was then asked if he had any drugs on him to which he responded he didn’t.

“There’s some around the corner and I’m waiting to go and get some,” he told police.

Police asked Fitzgerald if he would mind if they searched his belongings and he became erratic and skittish and pulled several items out of his bag, including several loose tablets saying they were pain killers.

Jack Fitzgerald appeared via video link at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court.

He also pulled out a number of items from his pants pocket, including two Xanax pills inside a red Game Boy container.

He was placed under arrest and police also found a box cutter inside a jacket he was wearing and a zip lock bag with a small amount of methylamphetamine weighing 0.3g, which he told police was for his personal use.

He made admissions about the Xanax and box cutter but denied they belonged to him and said he was just given the tablets.

Fitzgerald was bailed from Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on May 2 this year to reappear on June 8.

But he was spotted parked in the driver’s seat of a Subaru outside McDonald’s in Pakenham with three other men in the car on June 2 at 8.30pm.

Police approached the car to speak to the occupants and Fitzgerald appeared nervous.

He was told he would be searched and police found a zip lock bag containing .85 grams of a crystallised substance, believed to be methylamphetamine.

He was arrested and taken to Pakenham police station, where he also produced a .22 calibre bullet.

He made full admissions of being in possession of the drugs and bullet and in relation to the ammunition told police: ‘I’m a goddamn idiot’.”

The court heard Fitzgerald appeared evasive and nervous when police located him in a Nissan X-Trail at the intersection of Airedale Way and Affleck Way Rowville at 4am on July 26 this year.

He told police his name and that he was on bail with conditions to reside at an address in Cockatoo between 10pm and 5am.

Police searched Fitzgerald’s wallet and found a number of licences, a Medicare card and Qantas bank card belonging to different victims, as well as five packets of Suboxone, which he did not have a prescription for.

He was arrested and taken to Knox police station where he said he knew the cards didn’t belong to him and were stolen by a close associate of his.

Knox police complex.

Fitzgerald’s defence lawyer told the court he had grown up in Cockatoo, was living with his father and brother prior to being taken into custody, and had a very supportive family.

She said he had suffered from mental health issues and began using drugs at a young age.

Despite this, he managed to stay employed until Covid hit and took a toll on his mental health.

She said he was remorseful for his actions and would like the chance to engage with treatment and rehabilitation.

She said he had already spent a significant amount of time in custody which was sufficient punishment for his actions.

Magistrate Natalie Heynes ordered that Fitzgerald be assessed for a corrections order before he is sentenced on September 12.