Nathan John Melody pleads guilty to possessing 5g pure meth

Caught riding a stolen bike at night without lights on, the 44 year old said he only had large amounts of meth on him to sell it and buy more meth.

Mackay dad Nathan John Melody pleaded guilty in Mackay District court to aggravated drug possession and other charges.

A long term ice addict with a criminal history spanning more than 20 years was busted with a large amount of high grade meth that he planned to sell to buy more drugs and support his crippling habit.
But the Mackay dad claims there is a plan in place stave off any relapse.

Four years ago in 2021 a 40 year old Nathan John Melody was in Mackay District Court for drug dealing and was told that by his age addicts either cleaned up, died or spent the rest of their lives in jail.

It was a sobering message that appeared to fall on deaf ears as the now 44 year old was on Tuesday in Mackay Supreme Court for even more serious drug offending after he was busted with a huge haul of “reasonably high grade methylamphetamines”.

He had been arrested on May 23, 2024 after he tried to flee when police spotted him riding a stolen bike without any lights on George St – a search of the small black bag he was carrying uncovered 5.013g of pure meth in 6.511g of substance.

Melody admitted to officers he had believed the bike was stolen when he borrowed it from a friend because it was “flash in appearance”.

He was also caught possessing a small amount of marijuana, codeine tablets, used drug utensils and a knife.

The court heard he admitted the drugs were for a commercial purpose – he planned to sell the meth to raise money to buy more drugs.

“Methylamphetamine is a scourge on our community … addicts will go to great lengths to get their hands on the drugs or buy the drug,” Justice David North said.

Melody pleaded guilty to a raft of offences including aggravated drug possession, possessing used drug items, suspected stolen property and a knife and had spent 11 months and one day in custody on remand. It was accepted he made frank admissions to police.

The court heard he had a drug history spanning more than two decades and “despite that he returned to involvement with dangerous drugs”, Crown Prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said.

Mackay dad Nathan John Melody pleaded guilty in Mackay District Court to aggravated drug possession and other charges.

However she agreed Melody had already spent enough time in jail and that an appropriate penalty was two years imprisonment in light of his offending.

Ms Lawrence submitted Melody was not considered a “drug dependant person” which would make him eligible for a lesser penalty.

Justice North agreed, stating Melody could be deemed someone addicted to the drug but there was nothing to suggest he could be legally deemed drug dependant.

Barrister Paul Rutledge, instructed by Barron and Allen Lawyers, said his client’s downfall was a “classic story” heard time and time again in court.

Melody began using marijuana at 13, moved to amphetamines at 16 “and then continued using” until he met a woman who he was in a relationship with for about 10 years until 2013.

“She got him off the drugs,” Mr Rutledge said, adding when that relationship broke down he spiralled back into drug use.

While in custody this latest time he has been working and living in the residential unit, which Mr Rutledge said were good signs.

“He recognises his problems getting off the gear,” Mr Rutledge said.

“He aims to do that. He wants to re-establish his life.”

The court heard Melody had a relapse plan in place that included cutting any ties with his drug associates.

Justice North commented that as a mature man it suggested Melody was set in his ways “and changing your ways will be difficult but not impossible” – he also acknowledged that Melody had genuinely embraced rehabilitation attempts at different times.

“But on each occasion the history shows that you ultimately slipped back to the use of drugs,” Justice North said, labelling Melody’s prospects of rehabilitation as “not bright”.

The court heard this was serious offending and commercial drug exploitation had to be denounced.

Justice North agreed to crown and defence submissions and jailed Melody for two years with immediate parole release. Convictions were recorded and 335 days on remand was declared time already served.

Originally published as Nathan John Melody pleads guilty to possessing 5g pure meth