Wellstead woman Gypsy May Shaw sentenced to one year behind bars for string of methamphetamine offences

A 31-year-old Wellstead woman has been sentenced to a year in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to sell or supply and repeatedly driving with the drug in her system. Gypsy May Shaw appeared in Albany Magistrates Court last Thursday and pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including possession of meth with intent to sell or supply, possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was also sentenced on four charges of drug-driving, three charges of no authority to drive and one charge each of trespassing and breaching bail. Police prosecutor Sgt Alan Dean told the court about 10.30pm on May 6, Shaw was driving a Holden Commodore south on Albany Highway in Kojonup when she was stopped by police. During a search of the car, officers found clip-seal bags in a phone box under the driver’s seat and on the front passenger seat containing a total of 3.34g of meth. Sgt Dean said she was also found with scales and a mobile phone containing messages that indicated she had recently been involved in the sale of meth. A clip seal bag containing 1.01g of cannabis was also found in the car, along with a glass smoking implement with traces of meth. She tested positive to meth at a traffic stop in Katanning on the same day. Shaw was stopped by police while driving a Holden Commodore on Woogenellup Road in Mt Barker on July 1 despite having no authority to drive. The vehicle was impounded and she tested positive for meth. On April 20 last year, she was stopped by police in Mandurah while driving on a suspended licence and tested positive for meth. She was then stopped in Mandurah on June 7 last year, when she was charged with no authority to drive and she again tested positive for meth. Defence lawyer Graham Payne said Shaw had worked casually since leaving school in Year 10 with long gaps in her employment history. Mr Payne said Shaw, a mother of one, started using meth after the death of her partner and barely went “a few days” without it until her arrest. He said on the day she was stopped in Kojonup, she was moving from Mandurah and had “her whole life” packed into the car. Mr Payne said she had had “taken responsibility and pleaded guilty to all charges”. Magistrate Steven Malley said the weight of the drugs was not the chief factor when deciding a sentence for drug offences, however it was a “matter of significance”. “The message to the community is ... those who use meth and involve themselves in the distribution of meth are a blight on the community,” he said. Mr Malley said meth “causes significant damage” to the community, leading to burglaries, assaults and domestic violence offences that end up in court. Shaw was jailed for 12 months and ordered to pay $6350 in fines and court costs.