A Wodonga woman who pleaded guilty to drug charges has avoided jail after a magistrate found her life had changed “radically” since her arrest at a Wangaratta hotel in a stolen Maserati. The 31-year-old appeared before Wangaratta Magistrates Court by Webex on Friday, 17 July, where Magistrate Megan Casey found the matters proven and placed her on a community corrections order. The court heard the accused had pleaded guilty on Wednesday, 15 July, to charges arising from her arrest on 18 November, 2024. Police said two vehicles were stolen from a Table Top address on 11 November, 2024, before the accused booked a room at Wangaratta’s Gateway Hotel a week later. The court heard the accused and her co-accused arrived at the hotel in the Maserati, one of the stolen cars, before police arrested them. Police seized an alleged $10,000 worth of methylamphetamine and $12,000 worth of 1,4-butanediol from the hotel room. The court heard the 1,4-butanediol was found in multiple bottles, some labelled as UV resin, with an approximate weight of one kilogram. A zip-lock bag containing methylamphetamine, eight balloons and knuckle dusters were also found, along with $149 cash the accused told police she had won on the pokies. Police also found a checklist on a phone that kept track of amounts of money owed, while messages on her co-accused’s phone allegedly indicated drug trafficking deals. The court was told the woman’s co-accused had since been jailed for more than five years for trafficking drugs. Defence lawyer Matt Cookson said his client had first been exposed to alcohol at 13, tried cannabis at 14 and began using methamphetamine, GHB and ice from about 16. He said she left school in year 9, moved out of the family home at 16 and began couch surfing, with no significant employment history. Mr Cookson said the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing had a long history with the defendant, whose first child had been removed from her care. He said her co-accused had been a drug associate for a number of years and was giving her a lift to Melbourne at the time of her arrest. Mr Cookson said his client had made progress addressing concerns, engaging with support services and programs, and all of her drug screens had been successful. He said she had put her young son at the forefront, and that his serious health issues had been a turning point. “The only person who can care for her son is her,” Mr Cookson told the court. Prosecutor Sverre Gunnerson said while the offending was serious, the accused had pleaded guilty to very different charges to her co-accused. The prosecution accepted rehabilitation had been brought to the forefront and noted the accused was the mother of a young child with health issues. Magistrate Casey said the accused’s charges were serious, describing drugs as “an absolute scourge on our society”. But she said the accused’s involvement in trafficking was not comparable to her co-accused, involving different substances and different amounts. “I am absolutely delighted you have seized the opportunity with open arms,” Magistrate Casey said. “The person you are today is radically different to the person who appeared before me in November.” Magistrate Casey said the woman had met her son’s serious health concerns with diligence and care, and that it was likely he would continue to need her at home. “It is this that makes a corrections order in range for this serious offending,” Magistrate Casey said. The woman was placed on a community corrections order for 18 months, starting Friday, with supervision. Magistrate Casey said the order was made because of the accused’s circumstances and engagement, describing it as an “extraordinary” order. “I genuinely hope that the court won’t see you back here,” she said.
