Wayne Terrence Pitman, 31, of Bree Road, pleaded guilty this week in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to 11 charges, including handling stolen goods and possessing the proceeds of crime, theft, possessing and using ice and possessing ammunition.

He was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment, with three months to serve before being eligible for parole.

Magistrate Jonathan Klestadt described Pitman as being deeply immersed in the Hamilton drug culture. 

He said many of the current offences had been committed after Pitman was sentenced in Geelong to a jail term for trafficking ice and while he was on a community corrections order.

The magistrate said that for a considerable time — years, not months — Pitman had been involved with a group of serious criminals in the Hamilton area.

Mr Klestadt said it was no surprise Pitman had descended further into the drug world since using cannabis at 15 years old and was now involved in methamphetamine, or ice.

“It’s not good for a child to have a father who is a druggie or a crook,” he told Pitman, who is the father of young children.

Mr Klestadt said he accepted that Pitman was now clean after spending 42 days in custody and  he estimated there was a 50/50 chance the defendant would stay that way when released from jail.

He said there had to be a clear incentive put in place for Pitman to stay out of trouble.

“Tempting as it is to put on the red hat and pretend I’m Father Christmas, this case involves nine charges of serious dishonesty. The 10 months’ parole period is the stick hanging over your head,” he told Pitman.

Police executed a search warrant at Pitman’s home on October 20, when they found one gram of ice, zip-lock bags containing drug residue, smoking pipes and a large number of tools in a garage, some of which were  identified as stolen.

Pitman also appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on September 27 where he received a six-month jail sentence for trafficking amphetamine and other offences.

He has appealed against the severity of that sentence, was denied bail and his appeals are expected to be heard in January.