A YOUNG mother-of-five caught discussing importing pounds of cannabis with her jailed partner has been placed on a corrections order.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Abbey Bernadette McKenzie, 26, of Kenna Street, Hamilton, pleaded guilty to 11 charges in the koori division of the Warrnambool Magistrates Court.
She was convicted, fined $800 and placed on another 12-month corrections order.
Magistrate Cynthia Toose told McKenzie it was her last chance, adding the defendant had the enormous incentive of being reunited with her children.
She said it was clear McKenzie had a difficult life in the past few years due to relationship issues but she had been dealing misery by trafficking drugs.
"It's your very last chance,” the magistrate said, adding the sentence was a “oncer” and any further offending would likely end in jail.
Police raided McKenzie’s home on November 9 last year and found a stolen laptop.
A month later they went back to the address and found a backpack containing zip lock bags with crystal residue, five lots of prescription medication and 532 grams of cannabis in two vacuum sealed parcels. There was also a vacuum sealing machine and scales.
On a mobile phone there were text messages with her partner who is in prison relating to the trafficking of cannabis in pounds from interstate.
McKenzie denied knowledge of the cannabis, saying if she knew it was there she would have smoked it.
On April 4 police located McKenzie riding a BMX bike without a helmet. She appeared under the influence of drugs and was found with a small amount of ice, 10 deal bags and syringes.
In July last year McKenzie failed a driver drug test but refused to accompany police to the station because she had care of her children.
Defence counsel Damien Pitts said his client had five children as well as a substantial drug problem and had spent the past three weeks in police custody.
