Kahni Cross-Brown: Thieving teen was on $500 ice a day, court hears

A Tasmanian teen was twice linked to stolen cars by leaving personal items inside after they’d been dumped, once leaving behind her phone with a video of her shooting a pistol on it.

A Tasmanian teenager who was gobbling up $500 methamphetamine a day at one point instructed her lawyer she “prefers to be in jail” as she “gets more support” inside, a court has heard.

Smithon woman Kahni Louise Jane Brown-Cross, 19, previously pleaded guilty in Launceston Magistrates Court to more than 18 offences, most seriously burglary, possessing a firearm, two charges of motor vehicle stealing.

She also pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching bail, two charges of possessing ice pipes, possessing ice and GHB (i.e. liquid fantasy), and demolishing a $1000 farm gate when she tried to drive a stolen vehicle through it.

The court heard Brown-Cross’ offending occurred between May 2021, barely a month after she was handed two suspended sentence of eight weeks and a 12-month Community Correction Order (CCO) for evading police, selling ice and cannabis, and stealing, and her remand in pre-sentence custody on November 5 last year, where she has remained, a total of nearly 15 weeks.

On May 6 last year, police searched a residence at Newnham, where they discovered, inside Brown-Cross’ handbag, two clippies of ice, a pipe, a small glass jar of GHB, and a syringe loaded with GHB.

Breaking News Breaking News Smithton woman Kahni Louise Jane Brown-Cross, 19. Picture: Facebook

Six days later at Newnham, another search revealed her in possession of more ice and a pipe.

On June 18, a stolen vehicle involved the day prior in an offence of evading police – Brown-Cross was not the driver – was seized and linked to the defendant by the fact of her leaving an ATM withdrawal receipt inside (fingerprints were also discovered).

In October last year, Brown-Cross entered a vehicle parked at a farm at Longford, where she discovered the keys to another vehicle, a black Ford Territory, and drove it away with a co-accused, smashing through the $1000 farm gate in the process.

The vehicle was driven back to Burnie, then to Ridgley, then back to Launceston, where it was discovered trashed on Illawarra Rd, between Carrick and Longford, on October 27.

Inside, Tasmania Police discovered Brown-Cross’ mobile phone, which contained a video, captured on October 10, of her shooting a pistol into bushland.

Police eventually located her at a Newstead address on November 5 last year, where she admitted to “actively avoiding police apprehension”.

Under the conditions of her April 2021 CCO, she was supposed to be living at Smithton with her then partner – she did not inform Community Corrections when she took herself back to Launceston in early October.

Defence solicitor Jessica Stewart told the court her client had a “difficult childhood” marred by her parents’ separation and repeated efforts to run away from home.

“She went to Queechy High School until Year 9 but was bullied and turned to illicit substances,” Ms Stewart said.

“She’s been using cannabis since 13 and meth since 15.”

Ms Stewart revealed her client was smoking $500 of ice a day at the height of her three-year addiction to the drug – the court did not hear details of how Cross-Brown financially supported her habit.

Ms Stewart said Brown-Cross instructed her she “prefers to be in jail” as she can access more support than she can in the community, a confession which was “quite sad”, in Ms Stewart’s words.

The court heard Brown-Cross would be able to live with her mother, who was supporting her in court, upon her release, as her mother was now in stable accommodation – a feature not present in her April 2021 sentence, which was why Brown-Cross had to live with her then-partner at Smithton.

“He was a negative influence,” Ms Stewart said.

The sentence was stood down to enable Community Corrections to reassess Brown-Cross.