Amie Jean Pate sentenced in court for trafficking a dangerous drug

A young Rockhampton mother was sentenced in court for dealing drugs to five people. She would ‘advertise’ when she had ‘stock’ available.

A young Rockhampton mother will spend Christmas in jail after she was sentenced in court for dealing at least 123.5g of marijuana to five people on 23 occasions.

Amie Jean Pate, 25, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on November 19 to one count each of trafficking a dangerous drug, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing property suspected of having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence, possessing tainted property, and possessing utensils or pipes that had been used.

Crown prosecutor Elise Sargent said the offending came to light when police conducted a search warrant at Pate’s house in Berserker on October 29, 2020.

Ms Sargent said police seized Pate’s phone and found she had operated a street level business in trafficking marijuana from August 6, 2020.

Amie Jean Pate, 25, appeared in Rockhampton District Court on November 19, 2021.

She said Pate sold in street level quantities and had five customers she supplied to on 23 occasions.

“One customer in particular, she sold up to 14 times from 1g to 10.5g,” she said.

She said Pate would also advertise when she had stock available.

During the search of Pate’s house, police found 27.4g of marijuana and $1780, as well as scales and a water pipe.

Pate told police the money was from her stepfather, who she claimed had given it to her the day before.

Ms Sargent said Pate’s co-offender, David Shaquille Lister, gave a different explanation to police.

She said Lister was sentenced to four months prison with immediate parole in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on May 28, 2021 for possessing dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia found at the house.

Lister was not charged with trafficking dangerous drugs.

Ms Sargent said the trafficking period started five months after Pate had completed a parole order for trafficking dangerous drugs.

“It was a short period of time before she went back to selling street level quantities of marijuana,” she said.

Defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said his client used marijuana and had sought treatment through a private psychologist and had engaged with Drug ARM.

Mr Ahlstrand said his client had been in an eight year “on and off” relationship with Lister and that they had a child together.

He said his client was committed to being a mother and rehabilitation upon her release.

Judge Craig Chowdhury told Pate that she needed to put her child’s interests above everything else.

Pate was sentenced to two and a half years prison, with parole release on April 18, 2022.

Originally published as Amie Jean Pate sentenced in court for trafficking a dangerous drug