Goondiwindi born Toowoomba cleaner Bec Shelley fined for dealing drugs

A Toowoomba cleaner has pleaded guilty to dealing crystal meth, however the court was told the crime was not as serious as it seemed at face value.

Rebecca Ann Shelley leaving the Toowoomba courthouse on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, after pleading guilty to supplying a mate with crystal meth.

A recidivist Darling Downs drug offender has fronted a higher court for the first time, charged with supplying methamphetamine and cannabis.

Part-time cleaner, Rebecca Ann Shelley, fronted Toowoomba District Court on Wednesday, August 28, and pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying dangerous drugs.

The court was told the 42-year-old mother of four offered to share a small amount of meth with a friend, and on another occasion attempted to exchange the drug for a lift.

The court was told the Goondiwindi-born woman struggled with an opioid addiction and was not in contact with her younger children who lived across the NSW border with their respective fathers.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC said on face value the charges seemed much more serious than the low-level offending, which took place in Toowoomba in December 2021 and February 2022.

He noted Shelley struggled with some mental health difficulties and that it was her first time before the District Court, as her prior drug offending was before magistrates courts.

Given the small amount of drugs involved, and no prior convictions of supplying drugs, Judge Horneman-Wren fined Shelly $1000.

A conviction was not recorded.

Judge Horneman-Wren said if convictions were recorded, potential future employers could wrongly perceive Shelly as a drug peddler.

The court was told Shelley, who had a $5000 SPER debt, planned to move to Warwick to help care for a family member.