A long-time drug offender with jail stints under his belt has been given another four-month term for fresh offences committed while on parole.
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Lavington man Benjamin Paul Heather previously pleaded guilty to charges related to possessing methamphetamine and acid or LSD found in a car in North Albury, plus an illegal crossbow at his Lavington home.
But Albury Local Court was told that state legislation meant it could not in effect impose any jail time cumulative on what he was already serving.
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The parole period he breached, on a conviction for supplying a drug on an ongoing basis, does not expire until August 13.
With that sentencing requirement in mind, defence lawyer Mitchell Irwin submitted to magistrate Richard Funston that it might be best for Heather to be placed on a community corrections order.
But Mr Funston said Heather's latest offending clearly had crossed the threshold for jail so he imposed the four-month jail term, backdated to late December.
BENJAMIN PAUL HEATHER IN COURT:
The court was told how police were patrolling Union Road, North Albury, on October 29 about 10.15pm when they saw a Victorian-registered Nissan Maxima pulled over on the side of the road.
They watched as Heather got into the back seat.
Police soon after pulled over the car and then saw Heather "fidgeting with his hands".
They questioned the now 35-year-old, who was shaking and nervous, but he denied anything untoward.
A search then uncovered clear plastic bags with a "crystalline substance" in a black box.
Heather's DNA was on one bag containing 11.03 grams of the suspected drug, out of 12.12 grams found in total.
Forensic analysis later confirmed the drug was methamphetamine and that two cardboard tabs in the car contained lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD.
Heather was arrested at his home on December 23.
That was where the crossbow and a jar of liquid later identified as 100.08 grams of gamma-butyrolactone, which has a mood-altering characteristic similar to barbiturates, were found.
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