A man deported from Australia for criminal offending says he started dealing drugs in Queenstown because he struggled to find work.
Addressing Judge Russell Walker at his sentencing in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, Kana Patrick said he chose to live in the resort town because of its growing economy.
However, the 40-year-old said his status as a "501 deportee", after living in Australia for 14 years, had made finding work difficult, and he had struggled to cope without family support.
"I think I chose one of the hardest places in New Zealand to come back to.
"I’ve gone down the wrong track ... I know I need to put my foot forward and do positive things."
On June 30, police searched Patrick’s vehicle on suspicion he was dealing drugs, and found 41g of cannabis, 1.4g of psilocybin mushrooms, $6985 in cash, a set of scales and numerous point bags.
Claiming he had a cannabis prescription, he refused to tell officers his cellphone’s access code and complained he did not like them "going through my personal s...".
Two cellphones seized for analysis showed him offering cocaine to four people between December 24 last year and June 25.
One of the messages, on June 5, offered an associate an unspecified quantity of the drug for $3400.
At 6.30pm that day, as he sat in his car wearing a black Mongrel Mob T-shirt, he was seen on CCTV cameras selling 3.5g of cocaine to the associate on Camp St.
Cellphone analysis also showed that between December 1 last year and June 26, he offered to sell cannabis on 12 occasions.
One message said "I got veggies here if need my brother, $300".
"I don’t smoke but yeeee [sic] it’s pretty good for $300."
His offending ramped up in June: he was trespassed at the Frankton Arm Tavern on June 19, stole salmon worth $26.98 from the Four Square supermarket in Queenstown on June 29, and on June 30, he threatened the owner of the hostel where he was staying.
Noting Patrick’s extensive criminal history on both sides of the Tasman, Judge Walker said the drug dealing had a "clear commercial motive", and he had flaunted gang connections while offending in a community "seemingly awash" with illegal drugs.
The judge imposed convictions on 10 charges: offering to supply cocaine, ketamine and cannabis, possessing cannabis for supply, possessing psilocybin, displaying gang insignia, breaching the Search and Surveillance Act, trespass, theft and threatening behaviour.
From a starting point of 32 months’ imprisonment, he made reductions for the defendant’s early guilty pleas and personal factors, the latter referred to in a psychological assessment showing Patrick had endured a "traumatic upbringing" that had contributed to his mental health and addiction issues.
He arrived at an end sentence of 22 months’ prison, which will be reduced by the five months the defendant has already spent in custody.
