A judge has told a former elite mountainbike racer caught with cocaine he is lucky to get off with a fine.
When police searched the Frankton home of Joshua Daniel Clark on November 22, they found 1.47g of cocaine in three bags in a chest of drawers in his bedroom, as well as 22 empty "point" bags and a set of digital scales.
Clark, 25, told police he had bought one of the bags for between $350 and $400 for his own use, and another had been "left behind" after a party.
Police initially charged Clark with possessing the class A drug for supply, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
However, the charge was later amended to possession only and Clark pleaded guilty.
At Clark’s sentencing in the Queenstown District Court on Monday, counsel Roger Eagles said the defendant was raised in Australia and had been a national age group representative for that country at two world mountainbike championships.
He had used the drug recreationally and did not have addiction issues, Mr Eagles said.
Judge Russell Walker told Clark he was "very lucky" police had amended the charge, noting he had been issued a formal warning about possessing the drug only a few months before his arrest.
He convicted Clark, fining him $1000 and court costs of $130.
