Northland repeat offender Shane Legg sentenced to home detention over meth for supply

Shane Legg has added to his list of drug convictions with another possession of methamphetamine for supply. Photo / File

Shane Legg has had a destructive love affair with the highly addictive drug methamphetamine.

The 37-year-old has amassed 44 convictions over 15 years which includes six convictions for possession of methamphetamine for supply.

He added another four convictions to the list when he appeared before Judge Keith de Ridder for sentencing in the Whangārei District Court on Tuesday.

The Whangārei man admitted charges of possession of meth for supply on April 27, 2019 and further charges of possession of meth, driving while disqualified and refusing an impairment test on March 27, 2020.

"It's very clear you've been in the grip of an addiction for some significant time and you have been feeding that addiction by getting drugs yourself," Judge de Ridder said.

"You are at a point where you need to do the hard yards to get rid of this addiction."

After considering all the information before him Judge de Ridder said home detention was an appropriate sanction coupled with the necessary rehabilitative steps.

Legg was sentenced to 10 months' home detention at his parents' home where his father was suffering from a severe illness and did not have much longer to live.

For the Crown, Trelise Needham said Legg had a longstanding involvement in meth and reports handed to the court noted that he had been a meth cook for several years.

When police stopped a vehicle that Legg was a passenger in on Otaika Rd and searched him they discovered 12.4g of crystal meth, which had 77 per cent purity, in a tin carried by Legg along with $400 cash in his pocket.

Needham said there should be a lift in jail time given his previous list of convictions involving the drug and the amount involved in the most recent charge showed a commercial element.

She also submitted Legg had tried two residential rehabilitation programmes that did not work out, so the prospect of him rehabilitating was low.

Lawyer Wayne McKean agreed Legg had been found with the drugs and cash but there were no text messages or evidence to suggest it was for anything else but personal use and supplying "what looks like smaller amounts".

He said Legg's mental health issues were important and stemmed from an incident where he was injured while in police custody and surgery was not successful.

In April 2012 Legg was arrested by police after failing to stop and then fleeing on foot into the bush.

He was eventually caught, handcuffed and brought down the hill where he had been found. The area was described as slippery and hazardous and covered in gorse and felled trees.

As Legg climbed over a wire fence he fell, fracturing his neck. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

He was paralysed and numerous surgeries failed and doctors initially said he would never walk again. However, Legg had improved over the years but still suffered extreme pain.

"His life changed from that point from being physically able to becoming a disabled person," McKean said.

"Since then he has been a pain in the system."

He had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was at the serious end of the range.

"He is clearly addicted to methamphetamine and that's the driving factor to his offending."

Along with a letter of remorse, he had also presented to the court a relapse prevention plan where Legg had taken the time and shown insight into the triggers to his offending, the early warning signs and what his coping strategies would be.

McKean said the court had to realise for Legg's rehabilitation, this was a critical point in his life.