‘No longer appropriate’: Magistrate’s warning to ex-MAFS star, navy serviceman over cocaine, heroin possession
A former TV star and navy serviceman with assault convictions has been warned by a court that fines could “no longer be appropriate” after his latest legal troubles.
A former MAFS star with convictions for assaulting a woman has walked free from court after admitting to possessing cocaine and heroin during a trailer search.
Craig Michael Keller entered guilty pleas at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday to failing to properly dispose of a hypodermic needle and two counts of possessing cocaine and heroin, after police discovered the stash in a trailer in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley four months ago.
Following a brief sentencing hearing, Magistrate Belinda Merrin handed Keller a $450 fine with convictions recorded.
“I accept with the diagnoses you have … there are still ongoing challenges (with drugs),” Ms Merrin said.
“I do hope you find a way through those, Mr Keller, because, very soon, fines are no longer going to be appropriate.”
Keller, 35, rose to prominence on season 3 of the reality show Married At First Sight in 2016.
In October last year, Keller received an 18-month jail term with immediate parole over the violent and “cowardly” assault of a woman.
Brisbane District Court was told Keller engaged in a pattern of “controlling and abusive behaviour” against the woman, which was marked by heated arguments and emotional abuse, for a month back in 2022.
He slapped her, threw a glass candle holder at her, kicked her in the stomach and smashed her phone.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said memories of the assaults would constantly invade her thoughts and disrupt her sleep.
On Monday, Brisbane Magistrates Court was told police were called to a “disturbance” in Fortitude Valley on June 15, eventually stopping a trailer being pulled by a vehicle.
Keller was in the vehicle and had “dilated pupils, rapid speech and sweating” – behaviours described as being “consistent with the consumption of a dangerous drug”.
Officers searched the vehicle and found clip seal bags containing cocaine and heroin, as well as an uncapped syringe.
The court was told Keller had a two-page criminal history which included his 2022 assault convictions.
At the time, he was on parole but the court was told no action was taken by authorities when the current offences were committed.
Keller’s solicitor Sharan Kang – from JS Legal – said her client held a diploma in engineering and was “not someone to sit around idle on his hands”.
She explained Keller served six years in the Royal Australian Navy as a stoker in the engineering team and was part of the security element of the “boarding party”.
“It’s in that position where he saw some gruesome activity while he was on deployment,” Ms Kang said.
“He saw live killings in front of him.”
As a result, Keller suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety and substance abuse, the court was told.
Ms Kang said her client was receiving a military pension and was currently a part-owner of a real estate investment fund owning “multiple properties”.
He had also been engaged with professional psychologists for the past eight years – his latest having seen him for 18 months.
