Jail for drug barter bid

Press, 19 December 1986, Page 7

Jail for drug barter bid

Imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for a man convicted on the unusual charage of corruptly bargaining, said Judge Frampton in the District Court yesterday. Brent Rory Coulston, aged 29, a painter (Mr D. C. Fitzgibbon) was sent to prison for 18 months. He had earlier admitted corruptly bargaining for a reward of drugs in exchange for the return of a stolen carved antique whalebone. The antique was among property stolen from the home of a prison doctor. Later the doctor had been approached by an associate of Coulston’s offering to return the whalebone in exchange for a specified list of class B and C controlled drugs. Coulston was arrested at the doctor’s house when he arrived to pick up a bogus packet of drugs. The Judge said the maximum sentence for corrupt bargaining was three years in prison. The particular offence was both serious and planned. Coulston’s only involvement, said Mr Fitzgibbon, was in picking up the drugs. He had nothing to do with the theft of the antique whalebone or in negotiating with the doctor for the drugs. The defendant also admitted, and was convicted on, charges of assaulting a constable (in the struggle

when he was arrested), and driving while disqualified.

On the traffic charge, Coulston was disqualified for 12 months as from 1989. INDECENCY CHARGES Interim suppression of the name of a man facing five charges of doing indecent acts with intent to insult or offend five women, was refused by Judge Frampton. Peter Kenneth Joyce, aged 34, a musician (Mr J. J. Brandts-Giesen) was remanded on bail to February 3, next year. Counsel sought the lengthy remand to enable a psychiatric report to be obtained on his client. Joyce is accused of committing the alleged offences on December 8 and 9. CROSSBOW Bail was set at $2OOO for a man charged with having a crossbow in a Gloucester Street nightclub on December 18. Peter Anthony Waaka, aged 25, a sandblaster was remanded, without plea, to January 12. Although the defendant faces unrelated charges from Wellington, and Masterton, bail was not opposed by the police. KNIVES A man charged with possessing two knives in the Atami Bath House early yesterday was remanded, without plea, to January 15. He is Richard Sven Ornberg, aged 34, a sickness beneficiary.