Tony Leonard Rice jailed for trafficking meth in Rockhampton

A man who once made a bombshell confession during a fatal hit and run inquest has re-emerged in court as a drug trafficker after he was busted moving meth on the Bruce Hwy.

An addict who made a bombshell confession during a fatal hit-and-run inquest has now been jailed for drug trafficking after being busted with 136 grams of methamphetamines on the Bruce Highway.

Former meatworks labourer Tony Leonard Rice, 41, had 96.2899 of pure methamphetamines in 136.581 grams of substance when he was stopped by police while driving at the intersection of Richardson and Yaamba Roads, Park Avenue (which is part of the Bruce Highway), the Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard this month.

Justice Graeme Crow said Rice also had $5000 cash on him when he was stopped on the night of May 24, 2022, told police it was from the sale of cars and the set of scales was for weighing gemstones.

“That would appear to be fiction,” Justice Crow said.

The court heard Rice also denied the bag in the car was his, but it was plain that it belonged to him.

The father-of-four also told police he might have handled marijuana but had been given it by someone earlier and was not sure how it got in the bag which, Justice Crow said, “sounds quite ridiculous”.

The search also uncovered mobile phones, clip-seal bags and scales.

After this intercept, Rice became a “person of interest” during Queensland Police’s Operation Victor Cope which revealed his trafficking operation between June 5, 2023 and September 5, 2023.

Tony Leonard Rice outside Yeppoon courthouse for the Jim Murphy inquest, March 20, 2023.

Rice had helped his supplier, former jockey Jackelyn Anne Johnston, in her trafficking business.

Justice Crow said the Gracemere home where Johnston was under surveillance between July 10, 2023 and September 7, 2023, and Rice was captured attending 27 times and some of those times, sourcing meth – commonly 28-56 grams.

Johnston had her mother, Cheryl, handle four of those supplies to Rice.

The first was on July 18 with 42 grams of meth exchanged for $12,500.

Justice Crow said when Rice arrived at the residence, Cheryl greeted him and told him “you know where to go”.

He said Rice was captured on footage collecting items from the kitchen and garage, then exchanged more words with Cheryl before handing her money.

The next supply occurred four days later where Rice was supplied an unknown quantity of meth for $11,000.

Justice Crow said Cheryl instructed Rice to place the money on the kitchen bench.

The third supply was 42 grams of meth for $10,500 on August 5 with Rice attending this time with another female and as he left, he told Cheryl he left the money on “the hutch”.

The fourth supply took place the next day and was 56 grams of meth for $11,000.

Jackelyn also tried to source a sawn off firearm, asking Rice on July 23 to go to Dingo with her to collect a 12-gauge shot gun which was going to cost her $44,000.

Justice Crow said Rice assisted Jackelyn Johnston and another person pack “luggage” containing $101,750 of tainted money to take to Brisbane.

He said the other person was apprehended in Brisbane with the luggage with the tainted money concealed in a cushion.

Police intercepted Rice’s calls and he was captured agreeing and/or arranging to supply less than a gram of meth about 300 times for less than $1000, and about 20 sales of 1.75g to 3.5 grams between $650 and $1200.

Justice Crow said there was a seven gram sale for $2300 on July 5 and another seven grams for $2400 on July 8.

The former Gladstone State High School student also sold marijuana – one sale for $900.

Covert cameras installed around Rice’s residence on George Street between June 21 and September 4 captured more than 3500 events – people coming and going – logged by police (about 46 per day).

Justice Crow said police also intercepted people leaving Rice’s address after they purchased meth off him.

Police searched Rice’s residence on July 11, 2023 and found he had CCTV installed with monitors in his bedroom, along with a point of methadone and other drug paraphernalia located.

Justice Crow said Rice was overheard in a phone call joking “about providing a community service to Rockhampton by supplying meth”.

He said Rice had drug payments sent to his mother’s bank account (she is not accused of any wrongdoing), and he supplied them on credit.

Justice Crow said part of the profits Rice made from his trafficking enterprise funding his own drug habit.

Rice was intercepted on September 4, 2023, on Gladstone Road after visiting a Gracemere address, possessing a bag of meth in his underwear – 55.792 grams of substance with 42.7636 grams of pure meth – along with $465 tainted money and a mobile phone.

The court heard Rice’s nine-page criminal history included convictions for common assaults and assault occasioning bodily harm offences.

His first drug offence was in 2008, followed by convictions for more assaults, occasioning bodily harm offences, entering premises, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle while adversely intoxicated, discharging firearm, serious assault of police, attempting to pervert the course of justice, more drug possession offences and other drug associated offences.

During an inquest into the fatal hit-and-run crash outside the Brunswick Hotel in 2019 which killed adored Rockhampton man James “Jimmy” Sidney Murphy, Rice was called as a witness.

Rice had been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death over the crash, but the charge was dropped by the Director of Public Prosecution in January 2023.

Hit and run victim Jim Murphy, 76.

Rice, after being granted immunity by Coroner David O’Connell during the inquest, then made the bombshell admission to driving the vehicle which struck Jimmy on Archer St about 8.20pm on August 17, 2019.

He admitted to driving without headlights and said Jimmy had failed to see the vehicle Rice was driving after being blinded by the headlights of another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.

Rice pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs, two of possessing more than two grams of a schedule one drug, four of supplying dangerous drugs and one of possessing a thing used in trafficking drugs.

He was handed a head sentence of 10 years prison – 5.5 years prison for the first large drug possession and 4.5 years for the trafficking offences – with 761 days presentence custody declared as time already served.

“The damage you have inflicted on the community is massive,” Justice Crow said.

Parole eligibility was set for after July 1, 2026.

The day before Rice’s sentence, Jackelyn Johnston pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs, two of possessing more than two grams of a schedule one drug and one of possessing a category R weapon.

She was sentenced to nine years’ prison with 144 days presentence custody taken into account but not declared and parole eligibility from December 6, 2027.

Jackelyn had been sentenced to six years prison in 2020 for trafficking and was returned to custody for that sentence when arrested for this offending.

Cheryl Johnston pleaded guilty to one count of permitting use of her place for trafficking and four counts of drug supplies.

She was sentenced to a four-year prison term, wholly suspended with a four-year operational period.

Originally published as Tony Leonard Rice jailed for trafficking meth in Rockhampton