NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / New Zealand

Napier drug dealer caught with methamphetamine in pencil case avoids prison

Ric Stevens
By Ric Stevens
Open Justice reporter·Hawkes Bay Today·
14 Jan, 2022 01:00 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

Judge Geoff Rae said Chloe Stokes had shown a "resolute commitment" to rehabilitation. Photo / NZME

Judge Geoff Rae said Chloe Stokes had shown a "resolute commitment" to rehabilitation. Photo / NZME

A Napier woman who dealt in "wholesale" quantities of methamphetamine has avoided a prison sentence after being given credit for her commitment to overcoming her addiction.

Chloe Violet Jayne Stokes, a first-time offender, was sentenced to 12 months' home detention by Judge Geoff Rea in the Napier District Court on Friday. She had received a sentencing indication of nine and a half years in jail when she appeared in court in May 2020.

Stokes was convicted of six counts of possessing methamphetamine for supply, two of conspiring to deal in methamphetamine, seven of supplying methamphetamine and one offence of possessing methamphetamine utensils.

According to the Crown summary, police responding to a family violence call-out in Napier in May 2019 found Stokes in possession of a rainbow-coloured pencil case containing 40 snap-lock bags with methamphetamine in them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The total weight of the bagged meth was 16.33 grams.

A cellphone belonging to Stokes was found to contain communications with someone named "Golly", who was apparently based in Auckland.

Data from the phone showed that Stokes was obtaining large amounts of meth from Golly to supply other people in the Hawke's Bay area.

The total amount of methamphetamine involved was around 537g, with an estimated value of $110,000 to $120,000.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Defence counsel Matthew Phelps said the offending had happened at a time when Stokes was in a psychologically troubled state, battling addiction and engaged in "some very self-destructive conduct".

She had spent 83 days in custody on remand since then and more than 18 months on electronically monitored bail at Auckland's Odyssey House rehabilitation centre.

Phelps said Stokes, who had a background of addiction and trauma, had completed a substantial amount of rehabilitation and now had a part-time job.

He argued for a sentence of home detention.

Discover more

New Zealand

Crooks, lines and sinkers: Grandson's stunning lake bed find, 15 years after theft

14 Jan 12:31 AM

However, Crown Prosecutor Cameron Stuart said the Crown opposed a home detention sentence because of the seriousness of Stokes' offending.

He said Stokes had been moving "wholesale" quantities of meth between Auckland and Hawke's Bay, and reports had assessed her of having a moderate likelihood of reoffending.

Judge Rea said Stokes had had a difficult and unstable upbringing, with exposure to drugs and anti-social behaviour at a young age. She had a child with a "controlling" man who introduced her to methamphetamine.

Her case was overlaid with her addiction and the "worst possible trauma" when she suffered a violent assault in March 2020.

Judge Rea said Stokes had engaged in very serious meth dealing, bringing drugs into the community "well beyond your own addiction".

However, the judge told Stokes that "you have done everything you possibly could to improve things" and had shown a "resolute commitment" to rehabilitation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I've never come across anything quite like this in my experience," Judge Rea said of Stokes' rehabilitation efforts.

Stokes' time on electronically monitored bail was also one of the longest he had seen.

Using the sentencing indication of nine and a half years in prison, Judge Rea said he would deduct 20 per cent for Stokes' guilty pleas, and a further 55 per cent for her rehabilitation efforts.

The time she had spent in custody and on electronically monitored bail could also be taken into account to reduce her possible jail sentence to the threshold where home detention became an option.

He sentenced Stokes to 12 months of home detention on each charge, to be served concurrently, with post-detention conditions to continue with rehabilitative treatment.

Stokes wiped away a tear as the sentence was announced.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The $5210 found with the drugs was forfeited to the Crown.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Night market horror: Two critically injured in serious incident, police hunt offender

21 Jun 08:09 AM
New ZealandUpdated

In the money: Two winners in tonight’s $30 million Powerball draw

21 Jun 08:02 AM
New Zealand

'Un-Kiwi' attitudes: Acting PM Seymour takes aim at Brian Tamaki after protest

21 Jun 05:30 AM

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

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Night market horror: Two critically injured in serious incident, police hunt offender

Night market horror: Two critically injured in serious incident, police hunt offender

21 Jun 08:09 AM

Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.

In the money: Two winners in tonight’s $30 million Powerball draw

In the money: Two winners in tonight’s $30 million Powerball draw

21 Jun 08:02 AM
'Un-Kiwi' attitudes: Acting PM Seymour takes aim at Brian Tamaki after protest

'Un-Kiwi' attitudes: Acting PM Seymour takes aim at Brian Tamaki after protest

21 Jun 05:30 AM
Man arrested over violent Auckland crime spree

Man arrested over violent Auckland crime spree

21 Jun 05:04 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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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