Detention for drug-dealing mum

A Te Anau solo mother who turned to dealing cannabis to make money after getting into financial trouble was sentenced to home detention when she appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.

A police raid on Pamela Jayne Harris' home in September last year netted 392g of cannabis.

Judge Phil Moran estimated that when it was rolled into 1g tinnies, the 32-year-old housekeeper stood to earn a net profit of $4200.

Police also found cash totalling $3519.50.

Judge Moran said Harris was obviously a small-scale dealer, given the quantity of cannabis found at her house.

There was no argument that jail was a starting point for drug dealing and, if he was inclined to take up that option, Harris would be sentenced to a term of 20 months, Judge Moran said.

While noting Harris had a conviction for cultivating cannabis, Judge Moran believed the principles of sentencing could be met by home detention.

He could not ignore the fact Harris had 11-year-old and 1-year-old children who needed their mother at home, not in jail, he said.

On the five charges of offering cannabis for sale and two of possession of cannabis for supply, in August and September last year, Harris was sentenced to 10 months' home detention. There was an order for the forfeiture of the cash found at her house.

Jailed
Riki Matunga McCormack, 28, was sentenced to four months' jail on four charges of breaching the conditions of his release, unlawfully in an Invercargill yard, on October 11, and stealing a wallet, in Queenstown, all between June 12 to December 12, 2008, and possession of cannabis and a pipe for smoking cannabis, on October 9, 2009.

Perverting justice
Jamie Michael Swinburne, 18, unemployed, was sentenced to six months' home detention for attempting to pervert the course of justice and assaulting a prison inmate, while on remand in custody, late last year.

Judge Moran said Swinburne's main problem was that he thought the law did not apply to him.

In outlining the offending, Judge Moran said Swinburne had been remanded in custody for breaching home detention. While in jail he wrote to an associate ordering him to convince the women he believed had dobbed him in for drinking while on home detention not to give evidence against him.

Assault
Alexander David Jarman, 21, unemployed, who was Swinburne's co-offender in the prison assault, was sentenced to one month's jail, to be served concurrent with his present jail sentence, which does not end until April.

Harley David McKenzie, 19, a meatworker, of Tuatapere, admitted assaulting a man outside an Arrowtown bar on September 5.

He punched a man who was trying to intervene in an elderly man being hassled. Judge Moran warned McKenzie that hewas heading to jail if he con-tinued such offending. McKenzie was fined $350 and ordered to pay $500 for emotional harm caused.

Assaulted female
John Alexander Turnbull, 30, a meatworker, was sentenced to intensive supervision for 12 months for assaulting his partner between January 19 and January 20. Judge Moran said Turnbull's criminal history got in the way of a community-based sentenced and many of the assaults were on the same victim.

Nevertheless he was "going to take a chance" on Turnbull.

He realised he was taking a risk but the defendant should know he would be sent to jail for a long time if he assaulted his partner again, Judge Moran said.

Turnbull was ordered to do a stopping violence programme, undertake a pyschological assessment and do any treatment or counselling as recommended.

Drink-driving
Peter Gavin Thomas, 36, a baker, of Clifton, was sentenced to four months' community detention for driving with a breath alcohol level of 878mcg and dangerous driving, on September 15.

While on bail for those offences he was caught drink-driving again. Thomas returned a breath alc-ohol level of 592mcg, on October26.

Judge Moran said Thomas acknowledged he was a binge drinker. However, he could not understand that Thomas did not believe he had a problem with alcohol, the judge said.

Thomas was also sentenced to12 months' supervision and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

- © Fairfax NZ News