ASouth East man has been sentenced to more than four years imprisonment in the Mount Gambier District Court before Auxiliary Judge Gordon Barrett for a string of charges.
John Andrew Barnes, 42, pleaded guilty in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court to eight offences, some of which breached a suspended sentence bond imposed in the Mount Gambier District Court and others of which breached a simple bond imposed in the Magistrates Court.
Mr Barnes was convicted of aggravated dangerous driving to escape police pursuit, serious criminal trespass, theft, breach of bond, driving with methylamphetamine in his blood and two counts each of driving whilst disqualified and breaching bail.
Auxiliary Judge Barrett said by at least the beginning of 2021 Mr Barnes had become addicted to methylamphetamine.
“On 5 February, 2021, you were arrested for trafficking in the drug and two counts of possessing it,” he said.
“Ultimately you received a suspended sentence bond in this court for that offending, and you have breached that bond.
“You were convicted in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on 25 November, 2021 for, among other things, driving disqualified on 15 April, 2021 and three counts of driving with methylamphetamine in your fluid or blood.
“For the driving under disqualification, you were placed on a simple bond to be of good behaviour for six months.
“You have admitted in this court breaching that simple bond by offending on two occasions.”
The court heard the first breach of the good behaviour bond occurred four months later on March 1, 2022 when Mr Barnes drove disqualified and with methylamphetamine in his blood.
Auxiliary Judge Barrett told the court the second breach of the bond took two weeks later on March 17, 2022 when bail was breached by returning a positive test for methylamphetamine.
The court heard that Mr Barnes cashed three cheques stolen from a business between September 10-15, 2022 for a total of more than $2500.
“The first was for $780, you deposited that money in your bank account on 12 September,” Auxiliary Judge Barrett said.
“The second was on 15 September, 2022, the very day that his Honour sentenced you. That again was a cheque for $780, which you deposited into your bank.
“It is not known exactly when that cheque was cashed, so it is not a breach of the suspended sentence bond that his Honour imposed on that day
“You cashed the third cheque the day after his Honour’s sentence, that is on 16 September, 2022. That was for $1200. That offence does breach his Honour’s bond.
“You told police that you used the proceeds of the cashed cheques to pay drug debts.
“It is therefore plain the breaching offences, while strictly different in nature from the drug offences, are nevertheless related to drug trafficking.”
Auxiliary Judge Barrett told the court the second breach of the suspended sentence bond occurred about a month later on October 12, 2022.
“You engaged in aggravated dangerous driving to escape police pursuit,” he said.
“Police in Mount Gambier noticed you driving and knew that you were disqualified. They pursued you.
“You drove dangerously in several ways to avoid them. At one stage, you were driving at a speed greater than 110kph in an 80kph zone.
“When interviewed by police, you denied being the driver of the vehicle and stated that you were in Kingston at the time. That denial was, of course, false.”
The court heard the next breach of the suspended sentence bond occurred eight days later.
“On 20 October, 2022 you committed offences of serious criminal trespass in a non-residential building and theft,” Auxiliary Judge Barrett said.
“You got into a commercial premises in Mount Gambier intending to steal copper. The value of the copper cabling which you stole was approximately $5000.
“There are two further offences for which I must sentence you.
“The first is a further offence of breaching bail, which occurred on 27 May, 2022. This offence was committed two days after the expiry of the Magistrates Court bond and appears to relate to the breach of the District Court bail.
“On that day you returned a positive sample to methylamphetamine.
“The second is a further offence of driving disqualified, this time on 4 June, 2022.
“Neither of these offences breaches either bond, but I must sentence for them.”
Mr Barnes was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of four years, four months and one day with a non-parole period of two years and four months backdated to October 31, 2024 when his bail was revoked.
He was also issued a licence disqualification of three years for the drug driving offences which will commence following his release from prison.
