Drug dealer threats to shoot up, burn shelter

A TEENAGE drug dealer who made threats to burn down and shoot up a Townsville youth shelter was seeking vengeance for a $2000 drug debt.

Daryl Mark Wenn, 19, breached a probation order at the time he made the threatening phone calls.

The Townsville District Court heard in December last year, Wenn called a Townsville youth shelter twice and made a number of threats over the phone.

Crown prosecutor

Joshua

Francis told the court Wenn made threats on December 18 to burn the shelter down and said “he had a gun and would do a drive-by”.

Then on December 19, Wenn again made threats, saying he would “do a drive-by and shoot the place up”.

Wenn admitted to police he made the threats as someone who was residing at the shelter owed him $2000 for drugs and was refusing to pay the money back.

The court heard that the debt dated back to June last year when Wenn supplied 8.75g of methamphetamines.

Wenn pleaded guilty to 12 charges including two counts of use carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and one count of supply dangerous drug.

Defence barrister Kelly Stone told the court his client was introduced to ice at the age of 16 and was injecting 10 points a day at the time of the offending.

“When he made the calls to the complainant, he was at a party and was pretty f’ed up on drugs,” he said.

Judge Gregory

Lynham told Wenn that the crimes he had committed were significant.

“The concerning feature of your offending is it cannot be described as a low-level street deal given both the quantities involved and the amount of money,” he said.

“You are certainly dipping your toe into the murky world of drug dealing at a reasonably high level.”

Judge Lynham declared the 151 days spent in pre-sentence custody and sentenced Wenn to 15 months’ jail with immediate parole.

After Judge Lynham passed his sentence, Wenn jumped out of his seat in the video link prison cell and fist pumped the air.

Convictions were recorded.

YOU ARE CERTAINLY DIPPING YOUR TOE INTO THE MURKY WORLD OF DRUG DEALING AT A REASONABLY HIGH LEVEL