WHEELCHAIR-bound drug dealer Jordan Lane-Robb has been sentenced to a three-year Intensive Correctional Order in Tamworth District Court.
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The former rodeo rider became a tetraplegic in a 2014 accident, he is unable to be left overnight without supervision and needs constant medical care.
Care that could not adequately be provided in prison, Judge Jeffery McLennan found on Thursday.
"I am completely satisfied on the basis of that material that he will experience a level of hardship in custody that is well beyond the norm for an inmate at Long Bay or any other correctional facility in NSW," he said.
"I have deep empathy for your situation but your disability is not a get out of jail free card."
Lane-Robb supplied 140g of methylamphetamine on three separate occasions in between June and September 2017.
He was arrested as part of police operation Strike Force Delaney that targeted a drug ring in Woolomin and Tamworth.
Lane-Robb began using illicit drugs after the rodeo accident that left him unable to walk, without fine motor skills in his hands and the need for constant medical care, the court heard.
His addiction became so severe that he was using four points of methylamphetamine and two 'cones' of cannabis every day, the court heard, and his Centrelink payments were not enough to supplement it.
It's understandable that Lane-Robb became depressed as a result of what happened to him, Judge McLennan said.
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"I'm not sure whether confining him to his house will help with this issue, cutting off potential social interaction with others," he said.
"Corrective Services have dealt with persons described as quadriplegic in the past.
"Whether they have the ability to deal with all the complications he has is unknowable, in particular because he is unable to regulate his own body temperature he has to be in an air-conditioned area to deal with that.
"That's just one obvious matter."
The 22-year-old cannot be left overnight without supervision due to a medical condition that, without treatment, can be fatal.
A jail sentence would pose a grave risk to his health condition, documents tendered in court showed.
Lane-Robb was sentenced to a supervised Intensive Corrections Order for three years and ordered to abstain from the use of illicit drugs.
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
