Marlon Jon Bird was caught with large quantities of methamphetamine. Photo / NZME
Marlon Jon Bird was caught with large quantities of methamphetamine. Photo / NZME
When a woman who had taken a liquid psychoactive drug slipped into unconsciousness while in a taxi, the trail led police to a meth lab being operated by a dealer who was already on bail for cooking P.
It was in April 2021 when the woman was dropped at the home of Marlon Jon Bird by a taxi driver with the instruction to return in 30 minutes to pick her up.
The cab returned as ordered but shortly after the woman hopped back into the vehicle, she was out cold, the New Plymouth District Court heard on Wednesday.
The unconscious woman was taken to the police station by the taxi driver, leading officers to Bird’s Taranaki home to make inquiries.
When questioned by police, the 35-year-old admitted giving the woman GHB, a depressant commonly known as Fantasy, which he mixed into a bottle of vodka.
A subsequent search of his home turned up chemicals and equipment linked to the manufacture of meth and $40,000 in cash.
A large amount of cannabis was seized, along with 23g of methamphetamine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
Marlon Jon Bird appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday. Photo / Tara Shaskey
In fact, at the time the search took place, he was already on bail for a raft of drug allegations following a search of his home in 2019.
In September of that year, police executed a warrant at Bird’s home where they discovered in his lounge $11,750 in a backpack, $2375 in another bag and a shoebox filled with 82g of cannabis.
A further $685 was sitting on a coffee table, with more cash found in the table’s drawer, along with eight LSD tabs.
In a workshop at Bird’s property, officers found a bag containing 94 grams of methamphetamine, which police said would have yielded him $37,600 if it had been sold at $400 a gram.
Hidden in a bucket in the shed was a further $31,700 in cash and a search of Bird’s vehicle turned up $3797 in his wallet, and about $4000 throughout the car.
A clandestine laboratory team attended Bird’s home following both searches and determined the manufacture of meth had taken place.
Following the 2019 police raid, Bird was arrested, charged and remanded into custody.
As his case moved through court, he was released from custody in November 2019 to attend six months of rehab while on bail.
In May 2020 his electronically monitored (EM) bail was varied so he could live at home and then on April 19, 2021, it was amended again so he could take up work as a builder.
But within a week, Bird was arrested and charged for the new set of drug offending and returned to prison custody.
In court, he appeared for sentence on 10 charges, including manufacturing meth, possession of meth, cannabis and LSD, supplying GHB, and possessing equipment used to manufacture P.
He earlier denied the offending and was heading to trial but following a sentencing indication in June, he pleaded guilty.
Bird was due to be sentenced last week but his lawyer Mark Ryan made a last-minute application for an adjournment in order to seek a cultural report, which Judge Tony Greig declined.
The hearing, however, had to be rescheduled after it was revealed the high-level sentencing was beyond the legal aid qualifications of the junior counsel Ryan had sent in his place.
At today’s hearing, Judge Greig said the cultural report had been provided and that it was “completely unnecessary” as it did not include any information that wasn’t already in the pre-sentence report.
That material included factors from Bird’s background, such as his being introduced to drugs at a young age by a family member and encouraged to use them.
Defence lawyer Julian Hannam, who appeared on instruction from Ryan, said those factors led to Bird’s “deep-seated addiction” and his drug offending, warranting a discount.
Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich acknowledged Bird had an addiction but said the information provided was uncorroborated and so it was difficult to properly assess the link.
Marinovich further submitted Bird should not get a discount for time spent on EM bail as it had been granted for rehabilitation purposes but he was clearly reoffending during that time.
Hannam argued, however, Bird had relapsed after rehab and addiction was driving his behaviour.
Judge Greig accepted Bird was using meth but said he was making “far more” than he needed for his own personal use.
Given the amount of cash he had at his house, the judge said Bird was running a “reasonably significant enterprise”.
“You’re like the owner of a luxury car sales yard who takes a Ferrari home for the weekend from his stock,” he said.
“Quite simply you were a commercial drug dealer; you lapsed back into dealing not lapsed back into addiction.”
Judge Greig said Bird’s attendance at rehab echoed a pattern “that’s becoming familiar with defendants who are charged with commercial methamphetamine dealing”.
That pattern, he explained, was after pleading not guilty and electing a trial by jury - thereby delaying proceedings for at least a year - “you take yourself off to a private and expensive rehab facility”, while on EM bail instead of being remanded in custody.
Judge Greig said a guilty plea is eventually entered and the defendant would then seek discounts for being a victim of addiction-fuelled offending, a guilty plea, time spent on EM bail, and for completing rehab.
“I’m not saying that everyone who follows this pattern is rorting the system, but I believe you are,” he told Bird.
While Bird did seek all of those credits, Judge Greig only gave him a 15 per cent discount for his late guilty pleas and 10 per cent for his “difficult childhood” and meth addiction.
From a start point of seven years’ imprisonment, he was then jailed for five years and three months.
After hearing his sentence, Bird told the judge he’d had “the biggest wake-up call” of his life.
“There’s no way I’m going down this road again, I feel like I’m about to lose everything,” he said.
“The damage I’ve done to the community as well - I don’t want to do that anymore.”
