Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Meth-addicted man busted with drugs, cash, axe in car sent to jail

Belinda Feek
By Belinda Feek
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·
2 May, 2023 02:20 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

After being stopped by police in Mt Maunganui last year, Bradley Davies, 46, was found with an axe, cash and various drugs in his car.

After being stopped by police in Mt Maunganui last year, Bradley Davies, 46, was found with an axe, cash and various drugs in his car.

When Bradley Davies was caught with drugs, an axe, and cash in his car, he was peddling methamphetamine to fuel an addiction so severe he’s been diagnosed with a meth-use disorder.

At the time, in May last year, he was on bail awaiting sentence for his ninth breach of protection order charge which he defended at trial.

Judge Stephen Clark found him guilty and sentenced him on that, along with multiple drug charges, plus his 21st for driving while disqualified, in the Hamilton District Court.

The protection order breach stemmed from a series of “fairly innocuous” text messages to the victim in October 2021.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

At his trial, Davies said he’d previously had contact with the woman and had a “belief” he could do so.

However, Judge Stephen Clark found him guilty and told him that belief was not a reasonable excuse to contact her.

Davies earlier admitted charges of driving while disqualified and driving with excess breath alcohol on May 6 last year in Thames.

He returned a breath alcohol of 600 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, when the limit is 250mcg.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While on bail for that, Davies, listed in court documents as living in Thames-Coromandel, was stopped again six months later in Mt Maunganui.

Officers searched his car and found a tomahawk under the driver’s seat, and a bag containing drugs, cash, and utensils.

This included 5.25 grams of methamphetamine, divided into seven-and-a-half-quarter gram containers, seven tabs of LSD, $1026 in cash, digital scales, butane lighters, and other drug utensils.

Davies’ counsel Bill Nabney said his client had since been diagnosed with a severe methamphetamine use disorder and moderate alcohol disorder.

He was noted as being a meth user of “some significance”; dealing in the drug to drive his own addiction, Nabney said.

In sentencing Davies to jail, Judge Clark said the defendant’s previous convictions complicated the case.

“Although fairly innocuous, on the face of it, you have, on my count, at least eight previous [convictions] for similar [breaching protection order] offending,” adding that it would have a cumulative psychological effect on the victim.

“You have a long and unenviable criminal history that runs into 19 pages.”

It was the meth offending that was most serious, given the amount he had on him, but Judge Clark noted the various reports about his history and his “unsettled upbringing” that involved early exposure to alcohol and abuse.

After handing down discounts for that childhood, and addictions, the judge came to an end term of 33 months in prison.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He also disqualified Davies from driving for 18 months on the driving charges.


Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM

Police arrested 20 Greazy Dogs members over alleged meth crimes in Bay of Plenty.

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

'I hate him': Partner of slain Tribesman lays blame for death at president's feet

'I hate him': Partner of slain Tribesman lays blame for death at president's feet

18 Jun 03:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP