After being pulled over by police for speeding and having a defected vehicle, police smelt cannabis emitting from Ms Regan’s client’s vehicle. This led police to form reasonable suspicion that our client had prohibited drugs in his vehicle or on his person.
Police searched his vehicle and him, resulting in numerous charges of deemed supply of mushrooms, possession of cannabis and possession of drug equipment. He was then subjected by police to an oral fluid sample, which resulted in a further charge of drug driving.
The quantity of mushrooms that our client was deemed to have supplied was over the large commercial quantity (297 grams of psilocybin). The cannabis fell within the small quantity (134 grams of cannabis leaf).
Hewas bail refused by both the police and the courts, due to the seriousness and significant quantity of prohibited drugs.
Once served with a brief of evidence, it revealed text message exchanges to people showing prior drug supply transactions. Ms Regan’s client also made full admissions to the police without seeking any legal advice. He told police that he had picked the mushrooms by hand from a paddock, and kept them in his vehicle for a few weeks prior to detection by police.
Ms Regan’s client remained in custody for months leading up to his sentence proceedings in the District Court. Ms Regan appeared in Moree District Court where strong submissions were made as to the time already spent in custody, and why Ms Regan’s client would more efficiently rehabilitate upon serving his penalty in the community.
The prosecution opposed this and argued that full time jail was the only appropriate penalty.
After much consideration, the Moree District Court Judge was persuaded that Ms Regan’s client had spent enough time in custody, and despite the large commercial quantity of drug involves, released him immediately from jail to enter into an Intensive Corrections Order for 13 months
