A George Town man who was given the chance to get off drugs via a court sanctioned order has blown his opportunity and will spend at least 12 months in jail.
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In May and again in June Justice Robert Pearce deferred sentencing of Michael Rodney Smith, 25, for burglary and firearm trafficking to see if he could take advantage of a drug treatment order.
"I regard what you did as serious, but there is a community benefit if you can rehabilitate yourself," Justice Pearce said in May.
"I will adjourn sentencing so that your progress on the CMD [Court Mandated Diversion] program can be monitored."
However, Smith continued to offend and was finally arrested in September.
Justice Pearce said it was inevitable that a drug treatment order, which was an alternative to an actual 18 month jail sentence, would be activated in the Launceston Magistrates Court.
"You will also be sentenced for a number of other charges and your prospects of rehabilitation look bleak," he said.
Smith stole six firearms from his mother's partner on August 26, 2018 when they went to the Evandale Market.
Smith, who was on bail at the time, went through an unlocked garage roller door and used a drill to remove the core of locks on a gun safe.
His partner returned three of the firearms within hours.
On August 30, police were attempting to intercept Smith when he threw a Winchester .22 rifle out the driver's side window of the car onto the road. He told police he had sold two of the firearms for $300-$400.
However, the next month he told police he had hidden the weapons near a mining tunnel in bushland near Lefroy, east of George Town, but an extensive search found nothing.
The court heard that a Remington .22 rifle had been recovered in a residential storage shed, but that a Dumoulin 12-gauge shotgun was unaccounted for.
Justice Pearce said firearm trafficking was a serious crime because stolen firearms inevitably ended up in the hands of criminals where they were linked to crimes of dishonesty and violence.
He said that Smith had a very poor record which included a two year sentence in 2015 for home invasion and 11 months in 2017 for driving and dishonesty offences.
"You have an intellectual impairment and your IQ has been assessed to be in the range of 44-55," he said.
"You are easily led and that has resulted in your involvement with crime."
He said that Smith had a long history of drug addiction and had been using methylamphetamine from the age of 16.
Justice Pearce ordered that he not be eligible for parole for eight months. A review of the drug treatment order is due next week.
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