Ross Kevin Aitken faces Mackay court for drug supply, GHB possession
A tradie who worked on the Mackay Ring Road was at a popular pub when security found his bag of GHB, leading to police finding more incriminating details on his phone.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A tradie who moved to Mackay to work as a Ring Road project foreman faced the courthouse this week after being caught with drugs and a phone full of drug deal details.
Security guards at The Grove pub in Andergrove found GHB on Ross Kevin Aitken on February 18, 2023 and called the police, who soon found evidence of ten messages agreeing to supply different drugs on his phone.
Aitken’s barrister Scott McLennan told Mackay District Court that his client, originally from New South Wales, had moved to the region to work as a foreman on the Mackay Ring Road project in 2019.
But after a hernia suffered at work and several painful attempts to heal through surgery, Mr McLennan said Aitken had “battled with drug use since”.
The court heard Aitken had a guaranteed job at Top Notch Civil Constructions, with Mr McLennan positing it was “in the community’s interest that my client be released on parole today”.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said Aitken had served a total of 124 days pre-sentence custody, about four months, and a judgment of 18 months would force Aitken to serve two more months to reach a third of his sentence and receive parole.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to seven counts of supplying schedule 1 drugs, three counts of supplying schedule 2 drugs, possessing GHB, and possessing a phone used to commit drug offences.
Judge Terry Gardiner said Aitken no longer had the benefit of youth, but saw no “utility in sending you back for two months” when he had a job offer.
Aitken was given a head sentence of 15 months imprisonment, with immediate release due to 124 days pre-sentence custody declared time served.
Convictions were recorded.
More Coverage
Originally published as Ross Kevin Aitken faces Mackay court for drug supply, GHB possession
Outback town now a ‘playground for criminals,’ leaders warn
KAP leader Robbie Katter has blasted the state government, claiming it has lost control of Mount Isa’s spiralling crime crisis after residents recently endured a ‘hellish’ crime wave.
Young man hospitalised after late night crash
A young man has been hospitalised after a crash in the Mackay region overnight.
Young dad flees police station, destroys CCTV footage in dramatic arrest
A dad who was caught illegally riding an e-scooter outside the police station fled the scene and, when eventually caught, used food to ruin a security camera in the watch-house.
Manhunt in cane fields for two suspected car arsonists
Police are scouring a Mackay cane field for firebugs after a car was torched on a cane train track. It comes after another car was set alight outside a nearby hotel.
Heartbroken meth miner faces court for bizarre crime spree
A Moranbah miner linked a bevy of criminal charges to his divorce with a magistrate reprimanding him that he wasn’t “the first guy whose wife left him,” a court heard.
Beer, biscuits, DNA: Why Milwaukee-thieving JW isn’t sharpest tool
A jailed Jehovah Witness, who stole expensive power tools during a spree and left a trail of evidence at break-in scenes, still hasn’t mastered crim life despite his “old” age and long rap sheet.