North Queensland prisoners with a parole eligibility date in 2025
A carer who bribed underage girls into committing sex acts and a car thief who taunted his victims are among those offenders eligible for parole this year. See the full list.
Townsville
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A carer who bribed underage girls into committing sex acts is just one of the prisoners eligible for parole this year after being sentenced in a Townsville court.
See the list of offenders who could be walking free this year.
FEBRUARY
Bodhi James Barry Johnson: Serial car thief and arsonist
Parole eligibility date: February 13
A serial offender’s downfall came when he was caught on CCTV torching a stolen car — only to be arrested days later at Willows Shopping Centre wearing the same outfit.
Bodhi James Barry Johnson, 28, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a motor vehicle and arson in Townsville District Court.
The court heard that CCTV from a nearby store captured him parking a stolen car around 6.30am on April 9, 2023, before getting out, pouring fuel inside, and setting it on fire.
Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason said the footage also showed another car waiting nearby, which Johnson got into before leaving the scene.
She said the car he torched had been taken from a home in Hyde Park by “unknown offenders.”
Judge Deborah Richardson sentenced the man to three years jail with a parole eligibility date of February 13, 2025 as she declared 274 days of pre-sentence custody as time served.
Yohans Shol: Well-known drug trafficker back behind bars
Parole eligibility date: February 24
A convicted drug trafficker whose criminal history includes violent home invasions, vicious assaults and significant drug operations returned to court following drug supply and possession charges across Queensland.
Yohans “Yoyo” Shol appeared in Townsville District Court for his involvement in a major methamphetamine operation and for supplying cocaine to someone who found his phone.
Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason said the 30-year-old who once made headlines for organising and advertising out of control parties on Facebook, was not subject to a sentence order at the time of the offences committed in August 2022 but was on a bail undertaking which included a condition that he had to live outside Townsville.
Shol pleaded guilty to supplying and possessing drugs, possessing drug-related utensils, breaching bail and failing to give access to an electronic device.
He was sentenced to four years jail, with 109 days of pre-sentence custody being declared as time already served and given a parole eligibility date of February 24, 2025.
Javarne Noel Francis Baker: Cannabis trafficker supplies 20kg of drugs
Parole eligibility date: February 28
A father is behind bars after running what a judge labelled a “cannabis trafficking enterprise” to street level dealers due to being unemployed.
Javarne Noel Francis Baker appeared in Townsville District Court after a major police operation that entailed authorities intercepting the 29-year-old’s phone calls exposing the man’s major drug trafficking offences.
Legal officer Terence McCosker said between December 16 in 2021 and February 18, 2022 the man supplied 40 pounds which equated to 20 kilograms of marijuana to 10 repeated customers.
The court was told he made more than $120,000 total in turnover and a $42,000 profit.
Baker pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, possessing a thing in connection to trafficking drugs and possessing drugs.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail with a parole release date of February 28, 2025.
MARCH
Denise May Hancock: Drug offender spills meth at The Strand
Parole eligibility date: March 2
A woman and repeat drug offender spilt the contents of her clip seal bags on the ground as she was being arrested by police and assaulted a policeman in the process.
Denise May Hancock appeared in Townsville Supreme Court after being found with methamphetamine on multiple occasions.
Crown prosecutor Jack Toohey said the 50-year-old’s offending started on March 18 in 2022 when police intercepted her car along The Strand in Townsville, to which she was “uncooperative” with police directions.
Mr Toohey said the woman refused to hand over her bag and attempted to hide a clip seal of methamphetamine on herself and even tore at the bag in an attempt to destroy the evidence pushing away from police.
The crown said that during the dramatic scuffle the woman spilt the drugs that were in the bag on the ground which contained 3.76g of pure methamphetamine of 5.10g of substance which had to be collected by the officers.
Hancock pleaded guilty to serious assault of an officer, possessing drugs in excess of 2g and summary offences such as possessing drugs, possessing utensils in relation to drugs, possessing medicines or hazardous poisons, stealing and receiving tainted property.
She was sentenced to 21 months jail with a parole release date scheduled for March 2, 2025.
Aaron Lee Martin: Drug offender fuels habit
Parole eligibility date: March 5
Aaron Lee Martin appeared in court and pleaded guilty to eight charges including: unlawful use of a motor vehicle, wilful damage, possessing dangerous drugs, and enter premises and commit indictable offence.
Magistrate Richard Lehmann expressed confusion over the man’s criminal behaviour.
“You have great family support, you have the qualifications to be a great member of society,” Mr Lehmann said.
“This doesn’t seem to be offending for profit, it really seems to be your drug habit and things you do under the influence of drugs.”
Martin was also charged with stealing a motorcycle, generator, two-way radio and registration plates from a shed.
Magistrate Lehmann sentenced Martin to nine months imprisonment, parole eligibility set for March 5, 2025.
MAY
Ronald Arnold Palmer: Car thief taunts victims
Parole eligibility date: May 7
A man who taunted his victims by beeping the horn of the car he had just stolen has admitted to the court he was not ready to be released into the community and wanted to continue to work on his drug rehabilitation from behind bars.
Ronald Arnold Palmer appeared in Townsville District Court for a string of violent and threatening offences which involved him firing off a gun and stealing a car.
Crown prosecutor Terence McCosker said on May 9 last year, two young men had been driving a Toyota Hilux along The Strand before breaking at a stop light.
Palmer pleaded guilty to robbery while armed, assault, threatening violence and using a motor vehicle without consent.
He was sentenced to five years’ jail, Judge Heaton declared the 181 days in pre-sentence custody as time served and set a parole eligibility date of May 7, 2025.
Christopher James Cantle: Meth trafficker offends on parole
Parole eligibility date: May 21
A man who started trafficking drugs as soon as he was released from jail on parole, put forward a bizarre excuse to police officers as to why he was at his supplier’s home when the police arrived to search the property.
Christopher James Cantle appeared in Townsville Supreme Court after police uncovered his string of trafficking.
Crown prosecutor Shannon Sutherland told the court the 33-year-old was released on parole after serving close to three years in jail on January 9 last year, and less than two months later started trafficking methamphetamine.
She said the man had 32 customers and engaged in over 125 supplies over a five and a half month period, where he would sell “half balls” and “balls” (3.5g) of methamphetamine, but did not always discuss prices.
Cantle pleaded guilty to 27 charges which included drug trafficking, supplying and possession.
He was sentenced to five years’ jail with a parole eligibility date of May 21, 2025. His Honour declared the 309 days spent in pre-sentence custody as time served.
Victor Osariemen Okunbor Jr: Carer forces underage girls into sex acts
Parole eligibility date: May 29
A man who used his position as a carer to lure two underage girls back to his home has been jailed after paying them money to engage in sexual acts.
Victor Osariemen Okunbor Jr appeared in Townsville District Court after he forced a 14 and 15 year-old girl who he met that day, to perform sickening sexual acts on him on January 8, 2023.
Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard told the court the support worker had met the girls as they were friends with his client who had asked for Okunbor Jr to give them a lift from their own residential care property.
The 33-year-old Townsville man asked one of the girls to come with him to get his phone charger from his home, to which his client asked if he could join and Okunbor Jr said no – instead allowing the other girl to come in the car, according to the crown.
“He drove both of them and asked their ages, and they told him 14 and 15,” Ms Sheppard said.
“He offered them money for a hand job, when they refused $50 he offered $100.”
Okunbor Jr pleaded guilty to indecent treatment of a child under 16.
He was sentenced to two and a half years jail, suspended after serving six months for an operational period of three years.
JULY
Micheal Scott Meddings: Parolee dumps drug bag at mechanics
Parole eligibility date: July 12
Shortly after being released from jail on parole, a man attempted to stash a bag with drugs and a large amount of money under a car at a local business during a dramatic arrest.
Micheal Scott Meddings appeared in Townsville Supreme Court on Thursday morning, having appeared in the same court three times prior. Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said on March 28 last year the now 32-year-old was in the passenger seat of a car that had been flagged by police.
Despite authorities not targeting Meddings at the time and deploying a tyre deflation device to stop the driver of the vehicle on Riverway Drive, he still ran from police after the car stopped, running into a nearby mechanic repair shop.
Meddings pleaded guilty to possessing property related to drug trafficking, possessing drugs, possessing anything for use in the commission of a crime and contravening an order about electronically-stored information.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail with a parole release date of July 12, 2025.
SEPTEMBER
Cameron John Soutar: Tradie jailed for MDMA, coke supplies
Parole eligibility date: September 25
A young tradie who became caught up in a drug operation that spanned for more than a years-long period is behind bars, despite his lawyers fighting for his freedom.
Cameron John Soutar appeared in Townsville Supreme Court with his dad’s support in the back of the courtroom.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said police searched a Townsville property on September 3 in 2022 where two men including 25-year-old Soutar were present and in his room authorities found $320 in cash, a small amount of cocaine and MDMA and a mobile that contained messages depicting the sale of drugs.
Across 13 and a half months Soutar was involved in trafficking of cocaine and MDMA and although he was referred to as the “subordinate” of the operation in comparison to his partner, he was transferred $65,800 labelled “unexplained income” by Mr Walklate.
Soutar pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, drug supplying, possessing drugs and possessing items related to drug trafficking.
He was sentenced to four years jail, suspended after serving 12 months for an operational period of four years. Convictions were recorded.
DECEMBER
Taylor James Barrett: Co-offender of tradie jailed for drug supplies
Parole eligibility date: December 8
More than two months after his co-offender and ‘subordinate’ was sentenced to jail for his part in a drug trafficking operation, the man ‘behind the wheel’ has been dealt with and handed down an almost identical sentence.
Taylor James Barrett appeared in Townsville Supreme Court on Friday afternoon supported by his family as they heard the details of his two-year long drug trafficking offences that occurred between December 2019 and September 2022.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate told the court the 27-year-old’s offending came to light two years ago when police searched his and Cameron John Soutar’s Greenwood Dr property.
In the kitchen police found 25.130g of pure MDMA which Barrett originally claimed was for personal use, another gram of pure MDMA elsewhere, a vile of testosterone, an MDMA testing kit, digital scales, a scoop made from a $20 note and $16,000 in cash, the court was told.
Barrett pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, supplying drugs, possessing drugs in excess of 2g and possessing a thing and property in relation to drug trafficking.
He was sentenced to four years jail, suspended after serving one year for an operational period of five years.
Eric Mairu: Offender stabs uni student in attempted carjacking
Parole eligibility date: December 11
A man living in Australia to study was confronted by a teen with a knife late at night in an attempted carjacking, leaving the student with severed tendons in his fingers, a court was told during the sentence of the offender.
Eric Mairu, who was 19 at the time and now aged 22, appeared in Townsville District Court having spent 531 days in custody for his shocking attack on an “innocent” member of the community.
Crown prosecutor Laura Moore told the court that on August 10 in 2023 a university student was parked at the front of Domino’s on Nathan Street on the phone to his family in India when the teen approached him with a large knife demanding he get out of the car.
Mairu launched at the man who grabbed the end of the knife and the two struggled back and forth with members of the public yelling out, and one bystander filming the ordeal, the court was told.
“The (student) was pushed against the car and lost his grip, (Mairu) retracted the knife causing a severe laceration across four of the man’s fingers,” Ms Moore said.
Mairu pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, attempted robbery while armed with violence, common assault and entering a property at night using violence while armed.
He was sentenced to six years jail and given a parole eligibility date of December 11, 2025, the 531 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served and a serious violent offender order was not made.
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Originally published as North Queensland prisoners with a parole eligibility date in 2025
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