Ice-addicted woman caught with bags of drugs and capsicum spray at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court
A magistrate says a foolish move by a drug user to take ice and capsicum spray into a Dandenong court complex was a “cry for help”.
South East
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An ice addict who tried to take bags of drugs into a court complex was crying out for help, a magistrate says.
The woman was pinged by security at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court with a trafficable quantity of drugs and capsicum spray.
They found a total of 7.89g of ice in two Ziploc bags, and the spray, which had been disguised as perfume.
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Gypsy Edgington pleaded guilty to drugs and weapons charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The 25-year-old was attending court on August 29 last year to get an intervention order taken out against a man she said had assaulted her and broken some of her property.
When she arrived at court security screening, she seemed anxious and told officers she had a knife with her.
She then put two bags of a white crystalline substance in the screening tray, which were noticed by staff, and she was arrested.
A search of her bag also found a bottle, but when officers checked it over, she told them not to spray it because it was “pepper spray”. No knife was found.
The total weight of the drugs, later testing positive as ice, was 7.89g – over double the trafficable level.
In court, defence lawyer Bernie Balmer said Edgington had longstanding drug issues that began when her father introduced her to cannabis at the age of 13, and by the age of 17 she was a regular ice user.
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He said she had that amount of ice with her because “it was cheaper” to buy in bulk, but it was for personal use, not for selling.
He said she needed the OC spray for protection as she had worked at an adult book shop.
Mr Balmer said she was now living with her grandmother in Trafalgar, and she had been clean for three months.
Magistrate Sharon McRae said she had concerns about ongoing ice use, indicating she would likely impose a community corrections order with drug treatment provisions.
“Bringing drugs into court premises seems like a cry for help to me,” she said.
Ms McRae adjourned sentencing until February 8 to allow the defence more time to provide mental health reports and clean drug screens.
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