Regina v Jonathon Michelin [2008] NSWDC 204

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Regina v Jonathon Michelin [2008] NSWDC 204

JUDGMENT DATE: 8 February 2008

JURISDICTION: District Court of New South Wales

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ at 1

DECISION: No action taken on the breach of bond. Sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended on the condition of entering into a good behaviour bond.

CATCHWORDS: Criminal law - Sentence - Breach of suspended sentence - Deemed supply of a prohibited drug - Methylamphetamine - On conditional liberty at time of offence - Impact of revoking the bond - Offenders efforts towards rehabilitation - Full time custodial sentence would reverse rehabilitation

LEGISLATION CITED: s29 Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 ss 32, 98 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED: DPP (NSW) v Cooke (2007) 168 A Crim R 397 Regina v Clark NSWCCA, unreported, 15 March 1990

PARTIES: Regina Jonathon Michelin

FILE NUMBER(S): 07/41/0134

COUNSEL: Mr D. McCallum for the offender

SOLICITORS: Mr P. Stanley and Ms Walshe for the NSW DPP

SENTENCE 1. Jonathon Michelin has pleaded guilty to a serious charge. The charge is supplying a prohibited drug. The drug is methylamphetamine. That is an offence against the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. The offence occurred on 31 October 2006. In exhibit A is a document of agreed facts and I make findings about the offence in accordance with, amongst other things, those agreed facts.

2. Mr Michelin on 31 October 2006 travelled from Eden to Batemans Bay. He went with a man named Billy Thurston in Mr Mr Thurston's car. When they got to Batemans Bay they parked their car but, presumably unknown to them, were being observed by police. Another car arrived. Mr Michelin got out of the car that he was in and went and crouched down next to the passenger door of the other car. A short time later he walked back to the car that he was in. Police at that stage stopped both cars. The cars and their occupants were searched. Mr Michelin was found to have in his possession a small amount of cannabis, just over a gram, and what police describe as a small round object that was tightly wrapped in electric tape, both items were in his underpants. It turned out that the small round object comprised 13.35 grams of methylamphetamine. Mr Michelin told police that he had gone to Batemans Bay to buy the drugs and had paid $1,600 for it. It is estimated that the street value is some $7,000.