Miss-Delectable
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Deaf, mute drug dealer gets home detention - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
Desmond Brooks may be deaf and mute but sign language and basic writing skills did not stop him on his path of crime.
Brooks, 50, a freshly convicted and sentenced drug dealer, has amassed 58 convictions in 30 years, 19 of them drug-related.
Brooks appeared in Masterton District Court this week for sentencing on five drugs charges, including producing, possessing and supplying Class B drug cannabis oil.
It was a confusing half hour for Brooks as he stood in the dock waiting to know his sentence. At times, he looked anxiously behind him to the public gallery, as a supporter tried to explain. When jail was mentioned, two fists were held together to signal handcuffs. When home detention was raised, his supporter pointed to an ankle, where the electronic monitoring bracelet would go.
On September 26, police found cannabis and cannabis oil during a search of his Masterton home. But while he was on bail on those charges, another search on December 11 revealed more drugs and dealing.
At sentencing, the Crown argued that at least two years' jail was the only option for a man who had little motivation to stop using and dealing drugs.
Defence lawyer Ken Daniels said that though Brooks had found it hard to get out of the drug scene, he had immediately admitted his crimes and cooperated.
Prison would be a difficult environment for someone who was deaf and mute, he said.
Judge Bruce Davidson said a jail term was justified but because Brooks' sister and her husband, who did not tolerate drugs, had offered to have him in their home, home detention was an acceptable option.
Brooks was sentenced to five months' home detention and given special conditions for treatment and counselling for six months after he was released.
Desmond Brooks may be deaf and mute but sign language and basic writing skills did not stop him on his path of crime.
Brooks, 50, a freshly convicted and sentenced drug dealer, has amassed 58 convictions in 30 years, 19 of them drug-related.
Brooks appeared in Masterton District Court this week for sentencing on five drugs charges, including producing, possessing and supplying Class B drug cannabis oil.
It was a confusing half hour for Brooks as he stood in the dock waiting to know his sentence. At times, he looked anxiously behind him to the public gallery, as a supporter tried to explain. When jail was mentioned, two fists were held together to signal handcuffs. When home detention was raised, his supporter pointed to an ankle, where the electronic monitoring bracelet would go.
On September 26, police found cannabis and cannabis oil during a search of his Masterton home. But while he was on bail on those charges, another search on December 11 revealed more drugs and dealing.
At sentencing, the Crown argued that at least two years' jail was the only option for a man who had little motivation to stop using and dealing drugs.
Defence lawyer Ken Daniels said that though Brooks had found it hard to get out of the drug scene, he had immediately admitted his crimes and cooperated.
Prison would be a difficult environment for someone who was deaf and mute, he said.
Judge Bruce Davidson said a jail term was justified but because Brooks' sister and her husband, who did not tolerate drugs, had offered to have him in their home, home detention was an acceptable option.
Brooks was sentenced to five months' home detention and given special conditions for treatment and counselling for six months after he was released.