Thomas John Coonan sentenced in Bundaberg Magistrates Court

A young man who fell in with a bad crowd before becoming addicted to meth and a life of crime has been told he now holds the keys to his own jail cell.

A Bundaberg courtroom has heard the distressing details of how a 24-year-old man fell in with a bad crowd, leading him to a drug addiction and life of crime.

On Thursday, Bundaberg Magistrates Court heard how former private school student Thomas John Coonan took to crime to fund a drug habit that started with marijuana and progressed to daily doses of meth.

It was a habit so hard to break that it led him to offend while on community service, parole and probation.

Lawyer Ryan Dwyer told the court his client showed some insight into his offending and had an average childhood before falling in with a bad crowd.

“He was introduced to ice at a party, he became hooked on it pretty quickly,” he said.

It was then heard that Coonan had started off with “relatively minor offending” that grew into a pattern “consistent with someone who has a drug problem” as he sought to commit fraud and steal in order to get money for drugs.

Mr Dwyer said his client had showed a willingness to seek rehabilitation after jail.

Police prosecutor Dean Burgess told the court Coonan had been a repeat offender.

“There is just so many offences,” Sergeant Burgess said.

Bundaberg Court House.

The court heard that Coonan’s latest offending had happened between late 2021 and early 2022.

It was heard that at one stage, Coonan used a stolen credit card to carry out multiple Paywave transactions.

He was also found in possession of a single bullet.

Due to the complex nature of Coonan’s multiple past offences and fresh charges and the fact he was to be re-sentenced over some previous offending due to breaches, some time was spent deliberating on the correct punishments.

Coonan, who appeared in court from custody via videolink, pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing after a previous conviction, one count of failing to take reasonable care and precautions in respect of a syringe or needle, two counts of possessing utensils or pipes that had been used, five counts of possessing dangerous drugs, one count of authority required to possess explosives, one count of failing to dispose of a needle or syringe, one count of possessing property suspected of having been used in conjunction with the commission of a drug offence and one count of contravening an order of the court.

Magistrate John McInnes told the court that Coonan’s offences, on their own, were not “particularly serious”.

“What‘s serious about them is really the context in which they were committed rather than the offences themselves,” he said.

Mr McInnes said it was evident Coonan had a drug problem and accepted he may have an underlying mental health condition.

He warned Coonan that he was getting to an age where he wouldn’t “get a discount” just for being young and noted that while the defendant had expressed interest in seeking help, he had not grasped the opportunities given.

“What I’m going to do today is essentially hand you the keys to your own jail cell,” Mr McInnes told him.

Coonan received a head sentence of nine months’ prison, suspended for 12 months.

For possessing the bullet, he was convicted but not further punished.

Coonan was eligible for parole on Thursday.

Originally published as Thomas John Coonan sentenced in Bundaberg Magistrates Court