R v POWELL [2010] NSWDC 73

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v POWELL [2010] NSWDC 73 This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.

HEARING DATE(S): 30 April 2010 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 30 April 2010

JURISDICTION: District Court Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: The offender is ordered to perform 300 hours community service.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - Knowingly take part in the supply of prohibited drug

PARTIES: The Crown Donna Kathleen Powell

FILE NUMBER(S): DC2009/00157467

SOLICITORS: Director of Public Prosecutions Aboriginal Legal Service

SENTENCE

1 HIS HONOUR: Donna Kathleen Powell appears for sentence today having pleaded guilty at an early opportunity to knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug, the prohibited drug being heroin. It is a somewhat unusual offence because it is fairly clear that Ms Powell became involved in this offence only after a much more serious offender locked her keys out of the car and thus needed transport.

2 The offence arose when police began a controlled operation into the activities of a Marie Collier and a Suzanne Middlemiss. Ms Middlemiss and Ms Collier were drug suppliers. An undercover officer arranged to buy some drugs from them. It was Ms Collier's job to deliver the drugs to the undercover officer and receive money in payment. However she, as I mentioned, locked her keys out of the car and needed an alternative form of transport. She therefore contacted Ms Powell, an acquaintance of hers. Ms Powell picked her up in the location where she locked the keys in the car, drove her to the location where Ms Middlemiss was to meet the undercover officer and then accompanied Ms Middlemiss and the undercover officer to the latter's car, where she sat in the rear seat whilst the transaction took place. Ms Middlemiss handed over a significant quantity of drugs, 27.8 grams of heroin, and received $9,400 in return.