Tyson Anthony Barber: Mermaid Beach man jailed for yet another huge drugs haul
A Gold Coast man was on parole and subject to a suspended sentence when he was busted in possession of more than 20g of methamphetamine and an additional drug secreted in his undies, a court has heard.
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A hopelessly addicted Gold Coast polysubstance drug abuser is at the point where he is “either going to clean himself up, spend his life in jail, or kill himself,” a court has been told.
Mermaid Beach man Tyson Anthony Barber, 32, appeared in Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to two indictable offences and 16 summary charges.
Most seriously, he admitted to possessing methamphetamine in excess of 2g, and 23 buprenorphine strips (a prescription opioid drug used to wean addicts off opioid drugs like heroin).
He also pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of bail, as well as obstructing police, wilful damage, and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
The most serious offending occurred on December 3, 2023 at Pimpama.
Police attended his address to haul him back to jail on a return-to-prison warrant when they witnessed him drive away.
He subsequently ditched the car, and a foot chase ensued, which ended when officers were able to hit Barber with a taser.
Barber was found in possession of 23 buprenorphine strips, secreted between his butt cheeks, while a search of his vehicle uncovered more than 20g of pure methamphetamine.
He was subject to parole and a suspended sentence at the time of his arrest.
The court was told Barber had an appalling history, and had spent multiple periods in and out of jail since mid-2022.
Among various other sentences, on May 19, 2022, Justice David Boddice sentenced him for possessing 9.87g pure weight of cocaine within 22.7g of substance as well as six other dangerous drugs while subject to parole, while Judge Jodie Wooldridge KC sentenced him on April 24 last year for possessing 3.29kg of cannabis and a small quantity of heroin.
Barber has been continuously incarcerated since August 16 last year.
Defence counsel Scott Lynch told the court his client’s inability to kick his addiction had caused cascading problems for him.
“He’s had periods where there’s real prospects for him, but then there’s some trigger and he falls back into addiction,” Mr Lynch said.
Justice Peter Davis said Barber had been drug-addicted for “seemingly forever”.
“He’s at the stage now where he’s either going to clean himself up, spend his life in jail, or kill himself,” the judge said.
“If you control your drug addiction, you’ll be able to live a normal life. If you can’t, you won’t.”
He sentenced Barber to three years’ imprisonment, with parole-eligibility set at December 5 next year.
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Originally published as Tyson Anthony Barber: Mermaid Beach man jailed for yet another huge drugs haul
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