Meth habit came to a sorry end
A 26-year-old methamphetamine addict was found unconscious in his car with $11,297 cash strewn about inside the vehicle.
The story of Jamie Charles Boyce’s addiction was set out in court.
It began as an effort to get more work done, and ended when a woman out walking found him unconscious in the car and called for help.
Christchurch District Court Judge Jane Farish said at his sentencing: “This young man has a serious drug problem. He is lucky he is alive.”
Defence counsel Steve Hembrow said Boyce was a pleasant young man who had been self-employed doing up cars and spray-painting them.
He was working long hours and still running out of time.
“Someone said, ‘Why don’t you try this stuff?’, and he started. He stopped socialising, stopping drinking alcohol. His life revolved around P (pure methamphetamine). He was working incredibly long hours to fund the habit.”
He had stopped using it since his trial and now sought a sentence that would enable him to stay with his parents at Fernside, where home detention was not available for technical reasons.
He had admitted charges of possessing 4.3g of the class A drug for supply, possession of a small amount of cannabis, and a charge of receiving a stolen laptop computer. The Crown dropped charges of dealing in methamphetamine during his trial when they realised they could not prove the allegations, and Boyce then admitted the other charges.
Judge Farish said his record indicated involvement with drugs, probably cannabis, going back to 2007. If he was using multiple drugs, it indicated serious intervention would be needed.
She noted he had been living while on bail with supportive parents who imposed a “tough love” regime at their home. Anti-social peers were not welcome at their house.
She imposed 18 months of intensive supervision, during which she will judicially monitor his progress.
He will have to undergo a Community Alcohol and Drug Assessment and take treatment or counselling as directed. That may include a residential rehabilitation programme.
He will also have to do 350 hours of community work, but at an agency placement that will keep him away from the normal work gangs with people who may be using drugs.
As for the money found in the car, $6484 will be kept to cover his unpaid fines, $2000 will be forfeited to the Crown, and the rest will be returned to Boyce’s mother who had provided money to buy the car where he was found.
Category: News
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: