A serial drug offender will be sentenced tomorrow for four counts of supplying drugs and receiving prescription drugs that were allegedly stolen from the Trangie Pharmacy in January this year.
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Gary Hinchcliffe, 36, faced Acting District Court Judge Sir Robert Woods at Dubbo yesterday with the indictment.
The court heard Hinchcliffe was currently serving a 15-month custodial sentence, with a 12-month non-parole period expiring in January
next year, for an unrelated matter.
He had been on bail for that matter when he committed the offences currently before the court.
The drugs stolen included codeine, amphetamines, morphine, valium and a number of others.
Hinchcliffe’s legal representative, Dan Brown, told the court Hinchcliffe had been “awoken abruptly” about 2am by a friend who said he needed the offender to hang onto the stolen prescription drugs for a while.
Mr Brown said the unknown friend told Hinchcliffe he could have some of the drugs and that his history of drug abuse “clouded his judgement” on that night.
“There’s no argument that this offender must go to prison,” Mr Brown said.
“He is incredibly ashamed of his actions.”
Mr Brown described Hinchcliffe’s acceptance of the drugs and unwillingness to tell police who the friend was as “misguided loyalty”.
When police executed a search warrant, they found a balaclava and gloves in the safe with the drugs.
They also found bolt cutters, believed to be the ones used to cut a padlock open at the pharmacy, and other tools in Hinchcliffe’s house.
Hinchcliffe said the friend had left those things with him when he left the drugs.
Judge Woods noted the seriousness of drug crimes and the need for an appropriate penalty.
“I was prescribed (one of the drugs) a year or so ago and it frightened the hell out of me because I’ve seen the other side of what it can do,” he
said.
