A MAN who was found guilty of cultivating close to 100 cannabis plants in Kangaroo Flat has been described as a "decent and hardworking man".
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Craig Hamilton Wells, 50, appeared in the County Court on Wednesday.
In April, a jury found him guilty of one count of theft and another count of cultivating a commercial quantity of a narcotic plant.
Court documents released to the Bendigo Advertiser said police raided Wells' Longmore Street property on July 4, 2019.
Wells was at the address at the time and was cooperative with police.
Officers searched the house and found 88 cannabis plants, a plastic ziplock bag containing cannabis seeds, nine plastic ziplock bags containing green vegetable matter, and $2005 in cash.
There were also various 'grow' lamps, fans, and drainage systems set up in several rooms.
An electrical bypass was also found in the roof of the Kangaroo Flat property.
Police searched another one of Wells' properties later that day and found a briefcase containing $5000 in cash.
Wells was arrested and taken to the Bendigo Police Station for questioning.
He admitted to possessing the cannabis plants, but told police he thought he had under 60 plants at different stages of maturation.
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Wells' defence counsel Shane Gardner told the court Wells had been of "previous good character" with no prior convictions.
Mr Gardner said Wells was a "decent, hardworking man of family values", who had held numerous jobs throughout his adult life.
The defence counsel said Wells developed a drug addiction in recent years, and he turned to the offending as a means to pay off debts related to his drug use and gambling.
Mr Gardner said Wells had already taken "proactive and voluntary steps" to rehabilitate from his drug and alcohol addictions.
The defence counsel said Wells had also been diagnosed with depressive disorder, which would make his first time in prison more burdensome.
Mr Gardner conceded that a jail term was the only appropriate sentence, but submitted there should be a significant gap between the head sentence and the non-parole period.
Wells was remanded in custody. The 50-year-old is due to return to the County Court in July for a mention hearing ahead of his sentence.
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