Dealer caught at playground

A DRUG dealer caught sleeping in his car near a Grovedale playground was fined yesterday and ordered to do community work.

Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard police found Luke Womersley resting in his car twice last year, both times with drug materials on him.

The first arrest happened at Grovedale Recreation Reserve about 9am on June 22.

When officers approached Womersley’s car they found him “slumped over the steering wheel … tired and confused”.

“He stated he had been out all night and was just having a rest,” the court was told.

A search of the car uncovered a quantity of almost 4g of methamphetamine, 6g of cannabis, seven yellow ecstasy tablets, $750 cash and a book apparently used to document drug deals.

The next time police found him in his car was at Geelong’s Eastern Park on November 25.

A glass ice pipe was seen sticking out of the airconditioning vent inside the vehicle, and a further 1.8g of ice was found.

Magistrate Simon Guthrie said the first offences were made worse by their proximity to the playground.

Womersley, 24, pleaded guilty to drug charges, including counts of trafficking cannabis, possessing meth and ecstasy and dealing property suspected to be the proceeds of crime, and was sentenced yesterday.

From Grovedale, the man was an apprentice but no longer works as he focuses on his rehabilitation from drug addiction.

Mr Guthrie said this meant he would have enough time to do 150 hours unpaid community work as part of a community corrections order. He also fined Womersley $1000.

“This is an opportunity for you to get your life back on track,” the magistrate said.