Legal highs wreck home detention sentence
A 22-year-old’s synthetic cannabis use has put him in prison, even after he was granted home detention for aggravated robbery.
Jack Edward Simpson only lasted three weeks on home detention at his mother’s house.
He told Christchurch District Court Judge Jane Farish today: “I had no intention of breaching my home detention sentence, until I had synthetic cannabis which made me claustrophobic. I can only blame myself for that.”
He cut off his ankle bracelet and left the home on February 26 but was quickly located without committing any further offences.
He has been remanded in custody ever since, and has pleaded guilty to the charge of breaching home detention.
He had been sentenced by Judge Jane Farish on February 4 on charges of theft, unlawful possession of a knife, aggravated robbery, and a breach of the electronically monitored bail he had been granted earlier.
There had been difficulties finding a suitable home detention address. Judge Farish said she had found “many positive things” about Simpson at the sentencing and had decided to put him on home detention for seven months.
That was in place of a 20-month jail term, but after he absconded it was back to the 20-month sentence today, with two months added for taking off.
Judge Farish said it was unrealistic to send him back onto home detention at that address. “For whatever reason, you are simply not able to cope with the confinement of home detention,” she said.
Psychoactive substances – either cannabis or synthetic cannabis – did not “sit well” with Simpson and his thinking, and made him do silly things. He had only recently entered the criminal justice system but already had a list of serious offences.
While in custody, he has had a drug and alcohol assessment which does not recommend a residential treatment programme but does suggest other treatment and “abstinence from non-prescribed psycho-active substances”.
Judge Farish imposed the 22-month jail term with a further six months of special release conditions when he must take treatment and counselling as directed.
Category: News
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