Jake Low sentenced over cocaine found behind oven of Dunlop home

Jake Low, 30, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to a jail term of two years and 10 months for drug trafficking.

But Justice Michael Elkaim directed that the man be allowed to serve that term in the community by way of an intensive correction order.

When police raided Low's home in Dunlop in May last year, officers located 1kg of cocaine hidden in a hole behind his oven.

Police estimated these drugs to be worth about $230,000 on the street, but Justice Elkaim said they could have fetched amounts of up to $518,000.

Low quickly pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine on the basis that he had merely allowed the drugs to be "secreted" in his home.

Prosecutors initially accepted this but later changed their position, alleging Low had intended to play a part in distributing the drugs and that he was to receive a financial reward for his role.

Low denied this, creating the need for a disputed facts hearing.

This took place on Monday before Justice Elkaim, who expressed incredulity at the Crown having "changed its mind" in an attempt "to increase the criminality of the offender to include a far greater involvement".

"Bit unfair, isn't it?" the judge asked prosecutor Vienna Conliffe.

Ms Conliffe denied that it was, though she conceded the matter had an "untidy" history.

She told the court various items consistent with drug dealing had been found at Low's home.

These included handwritten notes that suggested a "tick off" of sales, $2200 in cash, a phone with encryption capability, scales, and cutting agents.

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Ms Conliffe also said there was fingerprint and DNA evidence linking Low to some of the items.

She submitted that this was a case of "greed not need", with the evidence as a whole showing Low was involved in distributing and profiting from drugs.

But Justice Elkaim was not satisfied the Crown had proven this allegation beyond reasonable doubt, though he said he had "a good deal of suspicion".

The judge said Low had been visited just before the raid by "a person of great interest" to police, who seemed to have prior knowledge that the cocaine was to be brought to the 30-year-old's place.

He also said the fingerprint and DNA evidence could be explained by Low having simply hidden the drugs as the offender claimed.

There had been no analysis of Low's handwriting to compare it to what was on the notes at his house, the judge said, nor any examination of the contents of the encrypted phone.

Moving on to sentence Low, Justice Elkaim said the 30-year-old had started using cocaine in 2016 before apparently stopping as a result of his arrest.

He said he had read a pre-sentence report that noted Low was a risk of reoffending because of his past drug use and his "friendships with criminals".

"If [Low] can stay away from these people there is a good chance, with his stable employment and supportive family, that he can stay out of trouble," the judge said.

Justice Elkaim indicated Ms Conliffe wanted Low to be sentenced to a term of full-time imprisonment regardless of the disputed facts ruling.

But Low's lawyer, Tim Sharman, argued an intensive correction order would be appropriate irrespective of the finding on the contentious issues.

Justice Elkaim ultimately said he would have had "no hesitation" in locking up Low had he been satisfied the offender was involved in selling and distributing cocaine.

Having been unable to conclude this was true, he thought Low was "a prime candidate" for an intensive correction order.

The judge said he thought such a sentence had "teeth" because any breaches of its conditions might still result in Low being incarcerated.

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