Former Canberra Raiders player Jason Paul Bulgarelli found slumped over car wheel by police
A former NRL player was caught with a cocktail of drugs, after he was found asleep at the wheel.
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A former NRL player was caught with a cocktail of drugs, after he was found asleep at the wheel.
At 5am on June 15 last year, police found Jason Paul Bulgarelli, 44, passed out in the driver’s seat of his car with the keys in the ignition on the intersection of Michael St and Cole St in Ayr.
The Townsville Supreme Court heard Bulgarelli was found in possession of 8.816g of MDMA, with 2.402g found loose in a clip seal bag with a scoop.
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Sixty-three packed MDMA capsules were found with just over 0.1g of substance in them.
Police also found 1.655g of methamphetamine, the court heard.
Prosecuting for the Crown, Tom Hancock estimated the gross sales of the packed capsules would have been $1600.
He alleged the drugs found by police were for a commercial purpose “primarily based on the way the drugs were packaged”.
“The packaging of the 20 capsules into pairs … and the scoop in the loose MDMA to pack further capsules if necessary,” he said. “Of the (methamphetamine) amount, 0.419g had been packaged into five separate clip seal bags, which varied in weight.”
The court heard Bulgarelli was also found to be in possession of a small amount of cannabis, a glass pipe, cotton buds and a sponge.
Bulgarelli pleaded guilty to six charges, including drug possession. Defence barrister Harvey Walters said his client had played for the Canberra Raiders in the early 2000s and had been dealing with a relationship breakdown at the time of the offence.
“My client … has struggled with drugs for a long period of time on and off and during periods of stress returns to that drug use,” he said.
“He had recently been provided with paperwork in relation to his divorce … they had a big impact upon him emotionally and he started bingeing on drugs for a period of time.”
Mr Walters said the drugs were only for personal use.
Justice David Jackson said he believed there was a commercial element to the drugs.
“The evidence is not the strongest … but it is sufficient in my view for the finding of possession with a commercial purpose,” he said.
Bulgarelli was sentenced to two years’ jail suspended for a period of two years.
He was placed on a 12-month probation order, which will see him supervised in the community and required to complete counselling as directed by Corrective Services officers. Bulgarelli was also banned from holding a driver’s licence for two years.
Originally published as Former Canberra Raiders player Jason Paul Bulgarelli found slumped over car wheel by police