A HUNTLY woman who sold $19,100 worth of ice and other drugs to 36 buyers in nine weeks has appealed her three-month jail sentence.
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Kelly Ann Newton, 31, was sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to trafficking ice and ecstasy, possessing other drugs, and other charges.
Police raided Newton’s Huntly residence on December 12 last year, where they found a safe bolted to a wall in a wardrobe.
It contained 3.45 grams of ice divided up among several bags, a large amount of ziplock bags, items for cutting drugs, and firecrackers. Tick sheets were also found at the premises.
Police seized Newton’s phone which included messages relating to the trafficking of various drugs. The court heard Newton would purchase ice by the ounce for $7000, selling half-gram quantities for between $200 and $300.
Police estimated she would earn between $4200 and $9000 per ounce.
In other text messages, she told buyers she could “get pretty much whatever you want”. A text message from her day of arrest indicated there were drugs available for her to make more sales.
One week before her arrest, Newton attempted to purchase 50 ecstasy pills.
In a police interview, Newton said the ice was for her personal use and she only distributed the drug to about 10 of her friends.
Her defence counsel suggested that a community corrections order would be a sufficient punishment, as Newton had no prior offences, had not committed any further offences since her arrest and the offending was only over a short period.
The court heard she was caught driving while disqualified in Wedderburn earlier this year.
Magistrate Timothy Bourke said Newton’s offending had far-reaching consequences for the community and brought misery to her own family – in particular her father, who is a retired police officer.
Mr Bourke said they were serious crimes.
“She’s had an excessive operation that she has been involved with,” he said.
“It finds itself in the hands of people who may not have used it before, or children and teenagers.”
Newton was sentenced to three months jail, to be followed by a 12-month community corrections order with 200 hours of unpaid community work.
The sentence was appealed and Newton was released on appeal bail to appear in court at a later date.