Cairns Magistrate tells father of three, Daniel Michael McColm, 35, to stay off drugs

A roofing plumber and father of three pleaded guilty in Cairns Magistrates Court this week to a string of criminal charges committed while he was trafficking meth.

A plumber who turned to methamphetamines has been sentenced for a string of offences.

A plumber who turned to meth after he fell from a roof in a serious accident at work has been sentenced for a string of offences he committed while he was also trafficking drugs.

Daniel Michael McColm, 35, of Edmonton, pleaded guilty in Cairns Magistrates Court this week to possessing cannabis and drug utensils, wilful damage, breaching bail, and three counts of receiving tainted property – offences he committed in 2022 and 2023, when he was also using and trafficking methamphetamines, the court was told.

Defence lawyer Nick Westcott told the court McColm had been in prison awaiting sentence on the drug charges when he also became a victim of grievous bodily harm at the hands of a cellmate; McColm’s broken jaw was wired shut for six weeks after the incident.

Mr Westcott said McColm completed a number of courses in prison including qualifications to work at heights and in confined spaces, as well as parenting programs, alcohol and drugs rehabilitation courses, and participation in a healthy habits group.

Daniel Michael McColm, 35, was sentenced to six months, suspended for 18 months on a strong set of charges.

Cairns Magistrate James Morton said the finalisation of McColm’s charges would give him a chance to turn his life around, be the father he should be, and use some of the qualifications he had gained in prison.

“Go and clean your act up and get off the drugs … clean up your life for your kids, and I hope I never see you again,” he said.

McColm said he shared the magistrate’s wish not to see him again.

“No offence taken,” Mr Morton said.

Police prosecutor Claudia Verwey said McColm’s tainted property charges related to him being in possession of a boat, trailer and motor in March 2022, which he conceded he bought from someone he knew to be ‘dodgy’. The wilful damage charge related to an incident of domestic violence in which he broke a door.

Daniel Michael McColm, 35, urged to ‘clean up his act’

Mr Morton imposed a head sentence of six months prison on the charges, wholly suspended for 18 months, which would run concurrently with McColm’s sentences on drug offences from the Supreme Court.

The court was told McColm was sentenced in the higher courts to three years and six months imprisonment. He had pleaded guilty to five charges including two charges of trafficking, one count of supplying a dangerous drug and one count each of possession of cannabis and methamphetamine.

This sentence of imprisonment was suspended after the 459 days McColm had already served, and McColm was placed on a two-year probation order in the higher court.

Originally published as Cairns Magistrate tells father of three, Daniel Michael McColm, 35, to stay off drugs