Ice dealer found throwing handfuls of cash out Darwin hotel window

AARON Magner had thrown more than a quarter of the $20,000 found in his possession out the window before police intervened

A homeless man police found rambling and throwing handfuls of cash out his Cavenagh St hotel window was also in possession of 200g of methamphetamine, a court has heard.

A HOMELESS man police found rambling and throwing handfuls of cash out his Cavenagh St hotel window was also in possession of 200g of methamphetamine, a court has heard.

Aaron Magner, 35, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to possessing a commercial quantity of the drug following the incident on May 28 last year.

In sentencing, Justice Peter Barr said police were called to Magner’s hotel room after reports of a disturbance where they discovered he had thrown almost $6000 in cash out his window.

“When they entered your room they found furniture upturned and various items including cash, dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia strewn around the room,” he said.

“One of the police officers asked what had happened to which you replied ‘I asked for help, there was no one there to help me — I had a blowout on the drugs and shit’.”

Justice Barr said Magner’s ramblings “probably made no sense” and the officers called an ambulance to conduct a mental health assessment.

He said a total of more than $20,000 in cash was recovered from the scene along with 201.54g of meth and 19.19g of cannabis.

While handing Magner a three year and nine month jail sentence, Justice Barr said he accepted a psychiatrist’s view that he was “thoroughly addled” by a combination of cannabis and ice at the time of the offending.

“Distributing cash out of a hotel window is indeed bizarre behaviour and supports (the psychiatrist’s) conclusion,” he said.

The court heard Magner’s hotel room was booked by another person and while the charge carried an automatic presumption that he intended to sell the drugs for profit, it was unclear how he planned to do so.

“There’s no evidence as to how you came into possession of such a significant quantity of methamphetamine and how much you paid for it,” Justice Barr said.

Magner’s sentence will be suspended after 15 months and he will return to his home town in Victoria after completing a residential rehabilitation program in Darwin upon his release.

The court heard his stint in prison would mark a return to the Holtze facility where he once worked as a concreter after moving to the NT from the Murray River border town of Echuca.