Evidence lost with one snap

A CORIO man snapped his mobile phone in half the moment police entered to search for drugs, a court has heard.

Although Mathew Raymer denied he broke the device to hide evidence, Geelong Magistrates’ Court was told the damage prevented officers examining what was on it.

But after hearing the other evidence compiled against the 29-year-old, magistrate Peter Mellas told Raymer he was fortunate to avoid a charge of trafficking cannabis.

Instead, the man pleaded guilty to possessing a trafficable quantity of the drug and other possession-related charges, and was sentenced yesterday to a community corrections order with 100 hours unpaid community work.

“There’s more than enough evidence for (a) trafficking (charge), from my point of view,” Mr Mellas said. “It all points to one thing.”

The raid on Raymer’s home on March 30 also turned up 263g of cannabis, divided into one-ounce bags, $2520 cash, a tick list allegedly detailing drug transactions, prescription pills, digital scales, a torch-style taser, a push knife and a machete-style blade.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Siobhan Daly said Raymer told officers the cannabis was for personal use when they interviewed him.

He also said the taser was used by his partner for protection from potential muggers, the blade was for cutting down trees, and the knife was purchased at a Corio market.

Asked to explain why he broke the phone the moment police entered his unlocked front door, he told officers he’d acted in frustration following an argument, “not to destroy evidence”.