Jason Edward Olivieri: Six years prison for sale and possession of over $32,000 worth of methamphetamine

An Albany man whose house exploded in January has been sentenced to six years in prison for the possession and sale of over $32,000 worth of methamphetamine. Jason Edward Olivieri, 47, was sentenced in Albany District Court on July 22 on seven charges related to the possession, sale and supply of methamphetamine, and possession of unlawfully obtained property. He pleaded guilty to five of his charges on December 6 and pleaded guilty to possession and supplying of methamphetamine on February 29. Olivieri was found to be in possession of 24.5g of methamphetamine with a purity of 81 per cent and worth $10,000 on May 27, 2022. Before making admissions to police, the 47-year-old initially avoided the charge, having passed the drugs to his co-offender who stuffed them in her underwear after they were stopped by police. Olivieri also pleaded guilty to five further counts of drug possession, selling 38.94g of methamphetamine worth over $22,000. Olivieri was arrested with four others after a drug bust in Bayonet Head on July 17, 2023, and pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession and supply. District Court Judge Michael Bowden said he would not trigger a suspended sentence imposed in January 2021 for a search warrant that found 526g of cannabis packed into one-ounce bags for sale. A pre-sentence report provided to the court said Olivieri began using cannabis at 16, and methamphetamine at 20, and was struggling to keep up with the mortgage repayments on his home. “The home has been devalued because people have damaged it, and the value of the asset has declined, and that’s a matter which, of course, means, in essence, when you get out, you’re going to have to start all over again,” Judge Bowden said. While remanded in prison on January 8, Olivieri’s Orana home went up in flames with local residents reporting shock waves from over one kilometre away. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Bowden noted Olivieri’s early guilty pleas to six of the charges and reduced his sentence by 25 per cent accordingly. The court sentenced Olivieri to six years in prison, backdated to February 29 to account for time in custody, and with eligibility for parole.