Damon Rushton: Cops called to unattended child, drugs discovered

A Tasmanian man’s decision to leave his young daughter at home while he popped up the road to try and scrounge some cash from a mate led to police discovering his home set-up.

Newnham man Damon Edward Rushton, 34. Picture: Facebook

A Tasmanian dad had the cops called on him when he left his four-year-old daughter home alone while he ducked off to a mates to borrow money, leading officers to discover his closet cannabis set-up.

Newnham man Damon Edward Rushton, 34, pleaded guilty in Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday to charges of cultivating a controlled plant and driving while disqualified.

The cannabis charge occurred on March 17 last year at his Newnham residence.

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The court was told police were called to Rushton’s address in response to a report a young child had been left unattended.

When police arrived, they discovered the young girl asleep on the living room couch. A search of the residence uncovered a mature cannabis plant, starting to flower and about 1m tall, in a bedroom closet under a heat lamp.

Rushton was eventually located a “few blocks away”. He told officers he was growing cannabis so he didn’t have to purchase it himself. Rushton failed to engage with drug diversion, hence his court date.

“Police came because there was a child home alone and they found your plant. That probably wasn’t a good idea,” Magistrate Sharon Cure commented.

Rushton agreed it was “definitely the wrong thing to do” and told the court he had gone to “try and borrow some money off a mate”.

Rushton was disqualified from driving for three months, fined $300 and ordered to pay court costs of $91.40.

Originally published as Damon Rushton: Cops called to unattended child, drugs discovered