Ex-Titan escapes jail for cocaine
FORMER Gold Coast Titans player Joe Vickery is “truly contrite” for possessing cocaine, a court has been told.
The visibly emotional exNRL player was yesterday ordered by the Southport District Court to undertake community service and was slapped with a fine after pleading guilty earlier this year to several cocaine possession charges dating back to 2014.
The former NRL player will do 120 hours of community service and was given a $1000 fine by Judge Katherine McGuinness.
Vickery avoided having a conviction recorded after his defence barrister, Scott Lynch, argued the man was heavily involved in business with F45 Training gyms and may have to travel overseas in the future.
The court was told Vickery bought 9.5g of the drug from kingpin John Touma over a period of three months in 2014.
Crown prosecutor Ben Jackson described the “high watermark” of Vickery’s offending as an instance when he bought 3.5g to be shared among himself and friends.
The judge took into consideration Vickery’s lack of criminal history and his early guilty plea when sentencing the man on the charges that carry a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
“He’s very fortunate this does appear to be out of character for him,” McGuinness said.
Lawyer for Vickery, Campbell MacCallum, of Moloney MacCallum Lawyers, said the past two years had been “tough” for Vickery, who is due to be married in several weeks.
“It has been an embarrassment for his friends and family and he has been distressed the whole time over it,” he said.
The 27-year-old was one of several current and former Titans arrested as part of the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into a cocaine trafficking.
Vickery and former teammates Jamie Dowling and Dave Taylor have pleaded guilty to their charges.
Karmichael Hunt and exrugby league player Jason Smith have also been sentenced.
Dowling will face a sentencing hearing on Monday.
Former Australia and Queensland State of Origin representative Taylor is due in court in November. Judge