An Invercargill drug dealer has been given "one last chance" after selling an estimated $150,000 of cannabis.
Jacob Chevy Wane-O’Neill, 20, was sentenced to 10 months’ home detention after he begged Judge Mark Williams in the Invercargill District Court this week to give him a chance on what was described as a "significant, sophisticated commercial operation".
Wane-O’Neill was stopped by police in July because his taillights were not working, the court heard.
The man had $705 cash on him and a cellphone.
A search warrant was later obtained for the cellphone, which showed evidencethe defendant had been supplying the drug since December.
The police summary said buyers contacted Wane-O’Neill 253 times to ask if they could purchase cannabis from him.
"Hey dude could we grab another bag and will pay $100 on tuesday next week," one text read.
Judge Williams estimated $153,000 of cannabis had been sold by Wane-O’Neill.
In a hearing last week, the judge said, "I know societal views of cannabis have changed but that is a lot of cannabis", indicating the young man was looking at a prison sentence.
But after he heard the man’s circumstances at sentencing a few days later, he decided to take a more lenient approach.
Wane-O’Neill told the judge he was grieving at the time and had developed a gambling addiction, meaning he had nothing left of the profits he had made, and had even sold his car to pay off his debts.
The drug dealer said he was selling the illicit substance to "pay for his own funeral", but after art therapy and drug and grief counselling, his mental health had improved.
"I’m only asking one chance and one chance only," he said.
The judge sentenced Wane-O’Neill to 10 months’ home detention for the drug-dealing as well as charges of obstructing police and doing a burnout on Tweed St.
The defendant was disqualified from driving for six months.
"You’ll only get one chance ... if you come back the chances of you getting another are slim to nil," Judge Williams said.
