Mercedes Rose Connelly jailed for drug trafficking

A Toowoomba Court heard a man got his girlfriend hook on meth after he spike her drink. The boyfriend is long gone but the drug addicition remains.

YEARS ago, Mercedes Rose Connelly’s boyfriend spiked her pre-workout drink with methamphetamine to encouraged her to spend more time in the gym, a court has heard.

While it may have worked, the spiking had the unintended consequence of getting Connelly hooked on meth and set her on a path to jail.

Connelly, 30, appeared in Toowoomba Supreme Court yesterday to plead guilty to one count of drug trafficking.

Crown Prosecutor Matt Le Grand told the court Connelly dealt in street-level quantities of methamphetamine from November 29, 2019 to her arrest in February 8, 2020.

“Ms Connelly sold on 35 occasions, primarily to end users,” he said.

“The bulk of the evidence came from an intercept warrant for (Connelly’s) supplier.”

The court heard Connelly’s addiction had transformed her from a law-abiding citizen in 2016 to one with a six-page criminal history by 2020.

Her most recent foray into trafficking occurred while she was subject to a six-month suspended jail sentence for a similar dealing offence.

Mr Le Grand said the courts had treated Connelly with leniency, but she returned their clemency with more offending.

“(She) was motivated by profit but was also a methamphetamine user,” he said.

“(Connelly) sold on credit and also obtained drugs for on-sale, on credit.”

Acting for the defence, Barrister David Jones acknowledged that Connelly had failed to take advantage of the help offered to her by the courts.

“A person is never truly cured of addiction,” he said.

“She will take it her grave.”

Mr Jones told the court his client was in two bad relationships with men who were heavily involved in the drug world and pushed her to consume methamphetamine.

“It was something she didn’t ask for, but it started a chain reaction in relation to her life.”

In sentencing, Justice Thomas Bradley said Connelly would need professional help to overcome her addiction.

“Part of your story is a really unfortunate experiences of relationships with people who are not good for you,” he said.

Justice Bradley ordered a four-year jail term for the fresh trafficking charge and activated Connelly’s earlier suspended sentence.

Noting 278 days in pre-sentence custody, he sent Connelly’s parole eligibility date at April 7, 2021.