August 20, 2012
A publican’s son who turned to drug dealing after he fell out with his father was sentenced to 18 months’ jail when he appeared in Kingaroy Magistrates Court last week.
Luke Matthew Jackson pleaded guilty last Thursday (August 16) to possessing methylamphetamine and cannabis, unlawfully supplying methylamphetamine, possessing a restricted item (knuckledusters), possessing items for use in the commission of a crime (ie a mobile phone and electric scales), and possessing tainted property (Australian currency). A charge of damaging evidence was withdrawn.
Police Prosecutor Sgt Nick Nitschke said detectives from the Kingaroy CIB and the Brisbane Dog Squad raided a house in Gipps Street, Nanango, on March 21 this year.
After they forced entry, they had to restrain Jackson who was attempting to flush an unknown substance down the toilet. Police later located a brown crystalline substance from the S-bend and pipes.
A clipseal bag of green material was also found, as well as a Tupperware container under a sink that held $15,000 cash. Silver-coloured knuckledusters were in the kitchen.
Jackson was also carrying more than $4000 cash but offered no explanation to police as to why he had the money.
Sgt Nick Nitschke said Jackson told police he had no job, and didn’t use amphetamines or other drugs.
“He said alcohol was his drug of choice,” Sgt Nitschke said.
At the time, Jackson was on a court order after being convicted in December last year of a number of drug offences and sentenced to six months’ jail to be served as an Intensive Correction Order.
Kingaroy Probation and Parole Reporting Officer Lauren Mangan said Jackson still had 93 days of this order to serve. She noted that the new charges were almost identical to his original offences.
“It clearly didn’t act as a deterrent,” she said.
Barrister Catherine Cuthbert, for Jackson, said her client’s criminal history only dated to September 2011.
Until that time he had a good employment history and worked for his father, a publican, since he was a teenager.
“His father says that until the age of 25 he was a model child,” she said.
Jackson managed the hotel’s bottleshop and had also completed two years of an accounting degree at university.
However a family dispute arose between his brother and his father. He was forced to choose between them and he chose his older brother.
“As a result of this (his father) dismissed him from his work and he was then out on his own,” Ms Cuthbert said.
Jackson made an unfair dismissal claim against his father, in which he ultimately succeeded, but his family relations had deteriorated.
“Things have gone from bad to worse since then,” she said.
Ms Cuthbert said a reconciliation had since occurred within the family. Jackson’s father was in the public gallery and upon release would supply him with a place to stay and employment.
Magistrate John Parker told Jackson he could not leave court blaming his father or his brother for him ending up in jail.
He said he had come from a stable family background and had a good education.
“It was most unfortunate there was this breakdown in your family relationship but you could have gone about lawful activities from here. You chose to go down the wrong track. You’re the one who chose dealing in drugs,” Mr Parker said.
Jackson was sentenced to a total of 18 months’ jail, and ordered to serve the remaining 93 days of the Intensive Correction Order. As he had been in custody since March 22, a release date of December 23 was ordered.
