Drug dealer goes to jail
Court rejects bid to change plea
A MAN who pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs and then tried to change his plea to not guilty has been sentenced to four years in jail.
Police searched John William Allen’s house on August 18 and found scales, clip- seal bags and a piece of paper that listed quantities and prices of methylamphetamine.
The prices ranged from $ 500 for 0.5g to $ 3500 for 7g.
In Townsville Supreme Court yesterday Chief Justice Catherine Holmes said Allen admitted to police he owned an iPhone found at the house.
Messages on the phone showed that Allen had trafficked from November 2014 to August 2015. He had made 70 sales to about 20 customers.
“At the beginning of the trafficking period your sales were sporadic but they became more consistent, so at the end it was every few days,” Chief Justice Holmes said.
The messages showed Allen had debts to his suppliers and was owed money by customers.
“It was street- level dealing, there is no evidence that you accrued any particular wealth,” she said.
Allen pleaded guilty to trafficking in March and then dismissed his lawyer.
On Thursday, when he was due to be sentenced, he applied to change his plea.
“The basis on which you sought to vacate your plea was that the phone was not really yours. I rejected that evidence and made the finding ( that it was),” Chief Justice Holmes said.
Allen, 53, who represented himself in court, said he was raised in New Zealand and started working in mining when he moved to Australia.
He said he did not use methylamphetamine but occasionally smoked marijuana.
Allen said he had recently started a failed mechanic business.
“I had a pretty good name until I met up with this group of people. How I met these people was through mechanical work, they were calling up at night for breakdowns on their trucks etc,” he said.
Allen, who was supported by his partner in court, said he had a possible aneurysm and was having regular seizures.
Chief Justice Holmes said Allen appeared to have a good work history and a minor criminal history.
“You seemed to have started up this mechanical business, which has not gone well, and I’d infer that’s got something to do with your getting into dealing in methylamphetamine,” she said.
Allen was sentenced to four years’ jail and will be eligible for parole on March 7, 2019. PALM Island students have shared their experiences of transitioning to boarding school in a book launched at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival.
Raikiesha Castors, Stella- May Charles, Dylan Wotton and Elia Charles- Tanner were part of a group of indigenous students from Toowoomba that authored Two Ways Strong.
Concordia Lutheran College indigenous co- ordinator Leah Bowes said the 40- page fictional book told the story of a girl who leaves her home in Palm Island for boarding school.
“It is a difficult transition for students from Palm Island to move to private boarding school; they have to adjust to totally different school routines and for those who come to Toowoomba,Toowoomba our wintersint are a bit of f a shock,”h k ” she said.
“They are also having to adjust to a very different environment 24 hours a day for 10week terms, so it can be exhausting.
“I feel for their families back home as well; it must be difficult for them to have to send their children so far away so they can attend secondary school.”
The students met with former governorgeneral Dame Quentin Bryce at the book launch in Brisbane last week.
“I think they were secretly extremely excited about having their names in print. The book launch was a very moving experience for all of us who attended,” Ms Bowes said.
LUCY SMITH