R v Peter LEE [2008] NSWDC 332

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Peter LEE [2008] NSWDC 332

HEARING DATE(S): 2 October 2008 28 November 2008

JUDGMENT DATE: 28 November 2008

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: In each case sentenced to imprisonment consisting of a head sentence of 3 years with a non parole period of 18 months. Sentences to be served concurrently.

CATCHWORDS: Criminal law - Sentence - Supply prohibited drug

PARTIES: The Crown Peter Lee

FILE NUMBER(S): DC 2008/11/0130

SOLICITORS: NSW DPP Tony Newton Solicitor

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: The offender appears today for sentence after having pleaded guilty at an early stage to two offences of supplying a prohibited drug. The first relates to the drug more commonly known as ecstasy - 3,4 methylenedioxymethylamphetamine. The second drug is one not often seen in the criminal law, 4 bromo 2,5 dimethoxyphenylethylamine. The offender had almost the commercial quantity of that second drug because the commercial quantity of that second drug is twenty-five grams and the offender was in possession of 21.74, of it. He had much less than the commercial quantity of ecstasy, having only 18.26 grams of that drug in his possession for the purpose of such supply.

2 The offender's wrongdoing was detected when, at about 1.50am on Sunday 12 August 2007, uniformed police officers had their attention drawn to what appeared to be hostile activity between a number of men in the Haymarket area of the city. The police officers commenced to disperse the men. Because of the offender's actions, the police decided they would speak to him. They approached him and two other men, told them to sit down and keep their hands where they could see them. All three men did sit down but Constable Eckett observed the offender fiddling with his hands in his pockets. He was told to remove his hands but the offender, although pretending to comply, did not do so. Eventually the offender succeeded in doing what he was trying to do, which was to get rid of a large number of tablets which he had in his pockets. Constable Eckett saw the offender throw numerous pink and blue coloured tablets into the air. They landed on the ground near where the offender was seated. Constable Eckett said "What was that?" to which the offender replied "Nothing, you can't prove nothing". The offender was arrested, the tablets and three plastic bags were recovered from the ground. The offender was also searched and $145 was located in his right rear pants. The tablets were later analysed and, as I mentioned, there was 18.26 grams of ecstasy and 21.74 grams of 4 bromo 2,5 dimethoxyphenylethylamine. The ecstasy tablets had a purity of 34.5 per cent but the other tablets had a purity of only three per cent.