Mum fails in bail for son

Police say drugs found in stolen car

AN accused drug trafficker will spend more time in jail after his bid to live with his parents on bail was rejected by a Geelong magistrate yesterday.

Police say they found Mathew Hynes in a stolen hire car with methylamphetamine, amphetamine, liquid GHB, prescription drugs and an extendible baton last month.

A mobile phone found in the car contained messages of alleged trafficking, and were addressed to Mr Hynes by his nickname “Bam”, detective Senior Constable Scott Davies told Geelong Magistrates’ Court.

Another phone found in the car was yet to be examined, as police had not been given its PIN, the court heard.

Although he was in the driver’s seat of the Toyota Yaris when police arrested him on Yooringa Ave, Norlane, on July 18, Mr Hynes has not been charged with stealing the car.

Sen-Constable Davies said a woman who was also in the vehicle was the alleged car thief, and was the person police were seeking when the arrest was made.

The court was told the latest alleged offences happened after the man was charged with drug trafficking in April and bailed.

Sen-Constable Davies said 54g of a brown substance found near the man in the car had been spot tested, and was believed to be amphetamine, while the white crystal substance, believed to be meth, weighed 26g.

Marcel White, representing Mr Hynes, said the man had spent 40 days in jail — his first stint in custody — and wanted to move back in with his parents and work as a scaffolder with his father, if granted bail.

The man’s mother said her family had tried hard to get the applicant to address his drug problems, and added that if he were living at her home, she would contact police if he resumed taking substances.

“I’m now aware what to look out for,” she told the court yesterday.

Facing trafficking and drug possession charges, Mr Hynes needed to prove there were exceptional circumstances to justify his bid for bail.

But prosecutor Senior Constable Alex Good argued the promise of living with his parents, strong family support and a job did not meet that standard.

“We’re not anywhere near exceptional circumstances,” Sen-Constable Good said.

Magistrate Ann McGarvie agreed, refusing the man’s bail application, and ordering he return to court on September 18.