Jeremy Alvarenga found with large amount of drugs after Melton car crash, Sunshine court hears

A Melton South uni student found with a lot of drugs in his car fell into the party boy lifestyle after working in the mines.

Jeremy Alvarenga (left) leaving Sunshine Magistrates' Court with his lawyer on Wednesday August 9. Picture: Nilsson Jones

A uni student caught with a significant amount of drugs was just a party boy who used a lot of cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy and not a dealer, a court has heard.

Jeremy Alvarenga pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possessing dangerous drugs and property, namely cash, suspected of being proceeds of crime in Sunshine Magistrates’ Court.

On April 11, the 25-year-old was driving on the Western Freeway at Aintree when he swerved to avoid collision with another vehicle before crashing into the middle barrier.

The crash took place about 6.30am and police arrived a short time later and found the Melton South man in the driver’s seat.

Prosecutors told the court witnesses at the time believed the driver was intoxicated.

Alvarenga pleaded guilty in Sunshine Magistrates' Court and was due to reappear following a CCO assessment the next day.

After conducting a breath test, police searched the vehicle and found various drugs including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy.

Police prosecutors said the drugs found were in significant quantities inside zip lock bags, bum bags and were of a trafficable amount on face value.

During a subsequent breath test, Alvarenga blew 0.056 BAC, in excess of the prescribed limit.

Defence lawyer Avi Furstenberg told the court his client had a “bright future”, had undertaken a number of university courses including civil engineering at RMIT and was currently studying exercise science at Victoria University.

Mr Furstenberg said his client entered a music promotional business with a friend that “failed spectacularly” and resulted in a large amount of debt.

He said Alvarenga then found work through a mutual friend in the mines where he earned a large amount of money and partied hard with older co-workers after long shifts of “hard yakka”.

Following this period, Mr Furstenberg said his client adopted a party lifestyle where he would use drugs almost daily.

Magistrate Jennifer Grubissa accepted submissions that while the drugs were of significant quantity, they were for personal use and there was no evidence of trafficking such as text messages or scales.

The matter was adjourned until Thursday for a CCO assessment.

His licence was suspended for the minimum six months.