Magistrate David Day questioned why two defendants with non-local residential addresses, both charged with cannabis possession in separate incidents in Mudgee, would bring the drug into town.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Luke Richard Tester of McLachlan Street, Orange, was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month Community Corrections Order.
According to the police facts submitted to the court, officers were travelling along the Castlereagh Highway at Menah on the afternoon of May 12, 2020, when they noticed a vehicle swerving all over the road.
Police stopped the vehicle in order to conduct breath and drug testing on the driver, Tester, however both produced negative results.
Despite this officers noted that the 32-year-old appeared to be under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol, due to his speech and eyes, but he told them he was tired as he'd just driven from Orange.
As the interaction continued, Tester became agitated and asked police if they could "forget everything and let me go".
READ ALSO:
- Main street wheelie in front of police also led to drink driving charge
- 'Simply isn't enough support': CWA ramps up campaign to help domestic violence victims
- Indecent incidents up while property damage and assault down for Mid-Western Region, BOCSAR data
- Disqualified driver convicted of moving vehicle in Mudgee's Byron Place
This made police suspicious, so they conducted a search. Officers found one gram of cannabis inside a re-sealable bag in Tester's wallet.
In Mudgee Local Court on Wednesday, upon reading that the defendant resides in Orange, Magistrate Day asked him "why would you bring cannabis to Mudgee?"
"There's enough here," he continued.
Magistrate Day reiterated the remark later that day when convicting a Sydney woman in her absence, when she failed to appear to face a charge of possessing the drug.
Rebekah Sarah Bron of Greengate Road, Airds, was also fined $220.
In the police facts tendered for sentence, the 21-year-old was present when officers executed a search warrant on a Mudgee house at 12.20pm on June 2, 2020.
Among the items seized was one gram of cannabis, found in a ceramic bowl, that Bron admitted she owned.
