R v Jones

[2018] NSWDC 439

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Jones [2018] NSWDC 439
Hearing dates:	7 December 2018
Date of orders:	07 December 2018
Decision date:	07 December 2018
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Berman SC DCJ
Decision:	Bailed under s11 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence – Supply prohibited drug – MDMA – Neglected childhood – Whether ICO continues to be “a sentence of considerable severity”.
Cases Cited:	Robertson v R [2017] NSWCCA 205,
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	The Crown Jade Jones
Representation:	Counsel: J Hale - Offender Solicitors: Director of Public Prosecutions
File Number(s):	2017/165806 & 2018/71653

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: It is the Crown submission in this case that the offences committed by Mr Jones demonstrated a significant involvement in drug dealing activities. I accept that submission. But it is the submission of Mr Hale, who appears for Mr Jones, that when all the circumstances of the case are looked at, the matter can be dealt with by means of an intensive corrections order, especially given that in this case that ICO could be imposed for a period of three years.

2. On 2 June 2017, police were in Warners Bay. They saw a man approaching a parked car. This car turned out to be driven by the offender, Jade Jones. Police watched as the man leant in through a passenger’s side window and then stand up, holding a brown paper bag. Police considered this to be suspicious activity. They, therefore, searched the car after asking Mr Jones what he was doing there. They discovered a silver lock box in the boot of the car and, when the police opened that box using a key given to them by Mr Jones, they discovered four mobile phones, multiple clear resealable bags and a clear resealable bag containing powder and pills. Later, when analysed, that last item proved to be 45.62 grams of MDMA.

3. Somewhat ironically, it turned out that the brown paper bag that police saw being handed over to the man who leant in through the passenger’s side window of Mr Jones’ vehicle did not actually contain any drugs. It was a bag of McDonald’s food.

4. The offender was charged with an offence of supplying a prohibited drug. He pleaded guilty to that offence, being committed for sentenced on 31 January 2018. He was thus on bail when police went to his premises on 1 March and executed a search warrant. The offender was not home, so police rang him on his mobile and asked if he wished to attend. He said he would, but he did not.

5. Police searched his premises and discovered a pill press, some chemicals, some metal dyes, and other chemical equipment. Eventually, indeed only a few days later, Mr Jones turned himself into the police station.

6. It is apparent that what Mr Jones was doing was manufacturing MDMA pills. He said that there were some pills of poor quality which he would grind down to a powder form and then,…