A drug dealer who deliberately drove erratically to stop police from chasing her boyfriend has been jailed for 16 months.
Imprisonment would be "catastrophic" for 30-year-old Jade Margaret Cassidy, her counsel Campbell Savage told the Dunedin District Court yesterday, but there remained a glimmer of hope.
Judge Michael Turner allowed the defendant leave to apply for home detention should she find a suitable address.
The one she had previously pitched housed a gang associate with an aggravated-robbery conviction and a heavy methamphetamine user planned to move in once he was released from prison.
The judge said allowing Cassidy to live there would be "irresponsible".
"That would be to set you up to fail."
Cassidy was first arrested in March last year when police executed a search warrant at her South Dunedin home and found 2.04g of meth in deal bags, scales and $380 cash.
The defendant admitted selling and using the class-A substance.
On August 10 she was driving a BMW in Dundas St, tailing her partner — a disqualified driver — who was in a Mitsubishi.
Police spotted the man and gave chase but Cassidy stopped in the middle of an intersection to give her boyfriend a head start.
A game of cat and mouse followed.
The defendant would alternately slow down to thwart the officers then speed up as they tried to pass her, almost causing a collision.
The tactics worked — the unlawful driver evaded arrest.
Police returned to Cassidy’s home the next day, where they found glass pipes and empty point bags.
She refused to give officers the code to unlock her phone.
Cassidy’s sentencing was repeatedly adjourned to give her the chance to kick her six-year methamphetamine habit.
Cassidy was admitted to a residential rehabilitation facility in Blenheim in March but the court heard she was kicked out of the programme after three weeks for failing to abide by the rules.
This week she began further treatment at another facility and Mr Savage stressed she was now more than 100 days clean.
But Judge Turner was sceptical of her motivation.
"That smacks of an attempt to present yourself in a favourable light for sentencing," he said.
An unnamed, undated test provided to the court showed a negative result for meth use but detected cannabis in the woman’s system.
"I consider your rehabilitative prospects are poor," the judge said.
Cassidy was convicted of possessing methamphetamine for supply, two counts of perverting the course of justice, dangerous driving and possessing drug utensils.
She was also banned from driving for a year.
