STATE OF TASMANIA v DAVID BRIAN WILSON 11 OCTOBER 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PORTER AJ
Mr Wilson, the defendant, has pleaded guilty to an indictment containing one count of trafficking in a controlled substance, namely cannabis, between on or about 14 May 2018 and 14 May 2019. I am also dealing with his pleas of guilty to a charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime, two charges of possessing a controlled plant, one of possessing a thing used for the administration of a controlled drug, one charge of using a controlled drug, one of possessing a prohibited firearm, and one of possessing ammunition when not the holder of the appropriate licence. All of these charges arose out of a police search of the defendant’s home that took place on 14 May 2019. During the search police found a number of small quantities of cannabis. Some of it was in snap lock bags, with weights between .9 grams and 24.1 grams. Additionally, police found 32 lots of cannabis in silver foil, all of which were in a safe. The weights ranged between .7 grams to 1.4 grams. A number of smoking devices and sets of scales were found, along with $1,285 in cash inside a wallet under a cushion on the couch in the lounge room. Police also found a taser and five .303 calibre rounds of ammunition. The total amount of cannabis seized was 99.2 grams. When interviewed, the defendant admitted having sold cannabis for about a year, with sales of about 30 grams a week. He said he had between 10 and 15 customers; he does not know who they are. They would message him or turn up at his house when they wanted to make a purchase. He admitted selling cannabis for the money, saying he made about $300 to $400 per week. He purchased the cannabis from whatever sources were available, mostly buying an ounce at a time; the maximum quantity he would buy would be two ounces. As to the taser, he told police that he bought it from a mate about five or six months previously. He paid $100 for it, and it was for security. He admitted it was “stupidity”. He says it was not working and he did not have charger for it. The ammunition was his grandfather’s, and he had it for sentimental value. He told police that he did not own any firearms, and did not have a licence and did not have any access to a firearm in which the ammunition could be used. Based on the defendant’s admissions, it is the Crown case that in the period of selling covered by the indictment, the defendant made something in the order of $15,600 to $20,800 from cannabis sales. The Crown accepts that the defendant intended to use some of the cannabis found during the search, and accepts that he was not involved in a sophisticated operation.
The defendant is now very nearly 32 years old. He has no recorded history of drug offending, but on 9 July 2015, on a charge of assault, he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment suspended on conditions for three years. There is no application to activate this sentence, but it is of some significance that the start of the relevant period of offending is perilously close to the expiration of the suspended period. As to the background of the drug offending, I am told that when the defendant was 17, he was wrongly accused of a sexual crime. This caused him to become anxious, depressed and withdrawn. This led to significant cannabis use. He has made a number of attempts to rid himself of the habit, but these have been unsuccessful in the long term. It seems that shortly before the offending commenced, he moved to a neighbourhood in which a person was engaged in a high level of drug trafficking. Some potential purchasers found their way to his door, and he took advantage of the situation. At this stage he was using cannabis himself and he made the sales to help fund his habit. Since being charged, he has moved. He is now nearer to his parents, and that seems to have had some stabilising effect. He is now away from the area in which he operated and has rejected requests from previous purchasers. In effect, I am told that he has made a “clean break”. It was put that he made full and frank admissions, and that those admissions formed the basis of the indictment, the original charge only relating to the quantities of cannabis found during the search. It was put that the taser was more a curio than anything and did not work in the period he had it. The ammunition came from his grandfather who retained it after WWII. In terms of the future, he hopes to get employment. He is doing courses through Newstart. He has rented accommodation, and has no car and very few assets. He has very limited income. I take into account the pleas of guilty and the matters that have been put on the defendant’s behalf. I accept that this was a low level operation done mostly to fund cannabis use.
Mr Wilson, Parliament has made cannabis a controlled substance. There are good reasons for that. It has a range of adverse effects on physical and mental health. Trafficking in controlled substances is a serious matter. It almost invariably results in imprisonment, but with first offenders who are engaged in commercial activities at a low level, often the term of imprisonment is suspended on conditions, and other orders made. I do not think the firearms offences are particularly serious but your possession was unlawful. There is always the possibility of the items falling into the wrong hands. On the indictment and in relation to all offences you are convicted and sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment the execution of which is suspended on condition you commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of two years. I also make a community corrections order for 12 months. Conditions of the order are that you perform 50 hours of community service and that you submit to medical, psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment as directed by a probation officer. You will have to report to a probation officer at 114 Bathurst Street, Hobart by 5pm on 15 October 2019.
I order the forfeiture of the $1,285 seized by police, and items 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 14, 15, 22 and 23 on the Property Seizure Record at pages 12 to 14 of the Crown papers filed 9 September 2019. After due consideration, I decline to make an order that you pay a pecuniary penalty of $15,600. I am quite satisfied that there are no reasonable prospects of you paying this amount.