Jonathan Palmer: Ex-Rosebud footy player’s drug dealing spiral
A once-promising Peninsula player who hit the ice hard and ended up in jail says he wants to get back to the game he loves.
South East
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A pushie-riding drug pusher who was once a promising Peninsula footballer has been labelled a “junkie” even by his own family, a court has heard.
Jonathan Palmer was smoking upwards of 4g of ice a day when he was nabbed with a backpack containing cannabis, meth, digital scales and dealing gear.
The Rosebud 28-year-old was on bail at the time after he had been caught by cops hiding in a shed with stolen bank and Medicare cards and a nicked driving licence - and more ice.
Palmer pleaded guilty to drugs and theft-related charges at the online Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The court heard at around 10pm on January 21 this year a passing police patrol saw Palmer riding his bike in Rosebud.
Officers thought he looked a bit suss riding around at that time of night, so pulled him over for a chat.
He told them he “had a bit of weed”, but in reality he had bags of ice weighing 4.5g, 3g of cannabis, scales, an array of deal bags and $670 in cash in his backpack.
He had also been arrested six months before for drug offending.
On September 30 last year a police raid at a Dromana property uncovered Palmer in a shed in the rear yard.
With him he had 1g of ice, and stolen bank and other cards belonging to a man who had lost his wallet two weeks before.
He refused to give police the password to his phone but they cracked the code anyway and uncovered texts detailing drug deals.
Palmer’s defence lawyer said her client was a decent football player for Rosebud before he started taking drugs, mainly ice and cannabis.
She said he would go on 4g a day meth binges and then crash for a couple of days, and committed crimes to pay for his own supply.
She said he had been basically disowned by his own family, who called him “a junkie”, except for his grandparents who will let him live with them when he is released.
She said he would benefit from a community corrections order and was determined to get his life back on track, hopeful of once again playing footy at a good level.
Magistrate Timothy Gattuso said Palmer had been remanded in custody several times before and each time would come out and relapse straight back into drug use.
He will be sentenced on April 21.
