Christopher Herbert: Coomera concreter guilty of large meth haul, possessing shortened rifle

A Coomera man who has been languishing on remand for four months has entered early guilty pleas to five serious charges, paving the way for a bail application. Here’s what happened in court.

Coomera concreter Christopher John Herbert. Picture: Facebook

A Gold Coast concreter who has been remanded in custody for four months has entered early guilty pleas to serious drug and weapon charges, paving the way for a bail application.

Coomera man Christopher John Herbert, 46, appeared via videolink in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday, June 27.

He entered guilty pleas to five charges, all of which were committed at Coomera on February 26.

He admitted to possessing methamphetamine in excess of 2g, a category H firearm – a shortened rifle – in public, cocaine, drug utensils, and live ammunition.

Herbert, who owns his own construction outfit, Herbycrete and Masonry, has been remanded in pre-sentence custody since his arrest.

The defendant was originally listed for sentence on Friday, but the court heard there had been some confusion as to whether police wanted the matter dealt with summarily in the magistrates court, or wanted to proceed on indictment, meaning the matter needed to go to the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Defence solicitor Kylie Ward expressed some frustration, as she said she had been led to believe police were content to progress the charges through the lower court.

“My client wanted to plead guilty from the outset, we were seeking consent for the earliest sentence date,” she said.

Ms Ward told the court that notwithstanding her client’s concerning criminal history, she did not expect his offending to attract a head sentence of greater than three years’ imprisonment.

The charges were ultimately committed to the supreme court on a date to be fixed.

Magistrate Jane Bentley told Ms Ward that the changes to the case’s status constituted a “change in circumstance,” such that the path was cleared for Herbert to make a new bail application, should he choose to do so.

Originally published as Christopher Herbert: Coomera concreter guilty of large meth haul, possessing shortened rifle