Ecstasy dealer jilted for boss

Former soldier appeals conviction citing ‘exceptional circumstances’

A soldier who turned to drugs after he found out his partner was having an affair with his boss is seeking to overturn his conviction for dealing MDMA.

Lee Doyle appealed to the Court of Appeal against a conviction for possessing MDMA, or ecstasy, for supply after he was arrested in June 2020 with almost 20g of the class B drug.

The court heard how once Doyle found out about the affair he requested a transfer to a different platoon but was denied.

“He was effectively in the chain of command under a person who destroyed his life,” his lawyer, Dr Roderick Mulgan, said.

Doyle had already sought a discharge without conviction at the Palmerston North District Court, which was denied by Judge Bruce Northwood.

He has taken his case to the Court of Appeal which will decide in several weeks whether to quash his conviction.

Mulgan said Northwood’s decision had failed to take into account Doyle’s young age of 25 at the time of the offending and the exceptional circumstances.

“He was devastated that his partner was unfaithful, but she was being unfaithful with his commanding officer, someone he had to take orders from every day and call sir.”

“These are exceptional circumstances for anyone to put up with, and he turned to drug use to cope and did some lowlevel dealing to fund his own habit.

“These are exactly the kinds of circumstances that can drive people to drug use and are not representative of his overall character.”

Mulgan argued that the consequences of a conviction outweighed the crime Doyle had committed.

He said Doyle was stuck driving a truck after investing his entire life into a military career which he’d since been kicked out of.

His prospects for travelling, studying or getting any job other than basic labouring were slim.

“Any attempt to advance himself will be severely handicapped if this conviction stands.”

Crown lawyer Anna Davies told the court that to some extent the seriousness of Doyle’s offending was offset by the circumstances.

But the dealing itself was made more serious by the fact he was dealing to other military personnel.

“This is commercial drug dealing. He had $2000 in cash, scales and a tick list.

“This was not a one-off youthful indiscretion,” she said.

The Court has reserved its decision on Doyle’s conviction.