Offender’s freedom short-lived

A CONVICTED armed robber had lasted just 11 days on parole after being released from prison before he was returned to custody for re-offending, Toowoomba District Court has been told.

Calum Braydin Luckel had spent much of the past two and a half years in jail before he was released on parole on September 4 last year.

However, police who went to a Dalby residence on September 15 to arrest another man, had ultimately found the then 21-year-old holding a bag in which was found methylamphetamine, a taser, digital scales, a drug pipe and straw and $1460 cash which police suspected was proceeds of drugs.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the court the total amount of drug crystals was 12.871g of which 9.544g was pure methylamphetamine which was estimated to have a street value of about $6435.

Because he was on parole Luckel had been taken back into custody where he had remained for almost a year serving out a three-year sentence for his role in the armed robbery of the Drayton Pacific Fuels store in March 2015 for which he was the get away driver.

He had a full-time release date on that sentence of March 3, next year, Ms Kelso said.

Luckel, 22, pleaded guilty to possessing methylamphetamine in an amount above 2g, possessing a category R weapon and drug related items.

His barrister David Jones said his client instructed he had only had the bag containing drugs for a short time but admitted possession of the items.

His client intended working on a property upon release from custody, he said.

Justice Martin Burns sentenced Luckel to 30 months in jail but taking into account the time he’d already spent in custody ordered he be eligible to apply for release on parole as of March 3 next year.