Matthew Lawrence Grimstone in court for dangerous drugs

A 29-year-old Gympie man tried to barricade police from entering his unit and then attempted to ditch a bag of drugs in front of them during a dramatic raid on the Southside. Full story here:

Matthew Lawrence Grimstone faced Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 2 following the police raid which was carried out on his Southside, Gympie home in mid-January.

A 29-year-old labourer tried to barricade police from entering his home and then attempted to ditch a bag of drugs in front of them during a dramatic raid.

Matthew Lawrence Grimstone faced Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 2, following the police raid which was carried out on his Southside, Gympie home in mid-January 2024.

Sentencing remarks published online by the state’s Supreme Court say Grimstone was in the backyard when police arrived and, upon seeing them, he ran back into the apartment and shut the back door.

Police had to force entry to the apartment, and Grimstone was seen trying to throw away a clip seal bag before he was arrested in the bedroom.

The bag was found to contain methylamphetamine, the documents stated.

Matthew Lawrence Grimstone faced Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 2, following the police raid which was carried out on his Southside, Gympie home in mid-January.

Two more clip seal bags containing the drug, and weighing a total of 24.5g (18.5g of which was pure methylamphetamine) were found in the apartment, along with 45g of marijuana, 12 pregablin (a prescription medication) tablets, a flick-knife, a glass pipe, two digital scales, three used syringes, and 240ml of liquid in which a compound commonly substituted for GHB was detected.

Police also found a Gympie Regional Council trailer in the driveway with its VIN removed.

The documents stated Grimstone told officers it was his trailer and claimed he had not noticed the missing VIN, but police checks revealed it was in fact stolen from the council in 2023.

A chainsaw and leaf blower, also reported stolen separately in 2023, were found in the carport and Grimstone later refused to give officers the PIN to his mobile phone.

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Matthew Lawrence Grimstone pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs in excess of 2g, possessing marijuana, contravening an order to unlock his phone, three counts of possessing tainted property, unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a restricted substance, obstructing police, possessing schedule 4 or 8 medicines, possessing drug utensils, and possessing an item used in the commission of a crime, and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Justice Sean Cooper said the amount of meth in Grimstone’s possession and its storage in clip-seal bags and his refusal to give access to his phone showed the drugs were for more than personal use.

Justice Cooper said Grimstone’s four page criminal history showed he had “not been deterred” by previous sentences, but noted he had taken steps to rehabilitate and this latest spree had happened after a relapse.

He also acknowledged a former employer had agreed to rehire the 29-year-old and let him live at his home to help him rehabilitate upon his release.

Grimstone, who pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs in excess of 2g, possessing marijuana, contravening an order to unlock his phone, three counts of possessing tainted property, unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of a restricted substance, obstructing police, possessing schedule 4 or 8 medicines, possessing drug utensils, and possessing an item used in the commission of a crime, was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

He was given immediate release on parole owing to 259 days already spent in pre-sentence custody.

Originally published as Matthew Lawrence Grimstone in court for dangerous drugs