Samuel Rice, also known as Samuel Johns, appeared via video link at Armidale Local Court on Monday for sentencing.

Rice pleaded guilty to a string of charges which included two counts of possession of a knife in a public place, drug possession and two counts of shoplifting.

Defence solicitor Robert Bucksath said all his client’s charges were a perfect example of “what can happen to someone when they are struggling with an addiction”.

“All of these offences are directly related to Mr Rice’s addiction to illicit drugs, mainly heroin,” Mr Bucksath said.

Rice had spent his childhood in Armidale before spending his teen years in Newcastle and Grafton.

When he turned 18 he moved to Ipswich in Queensland where he worked as an air conditioner installer.

But Rice’s life took a turn for the worse when his partner died from ovarian cancer while pregnant last year. He moved back to Armidale and started taking drugs, Mr Bucksath said.  “His life spiralled out of control at that time,” he said. 

“He got involved with the wrong group of people here.” Mr Bucksath said his client had taken to carrying a small knife with him for safety reasons.

The accused feared he could be attacked by Armidale residents involved in the drug trade, the court heard.

“Mr Rice was certainly associating with the wrong crowd in Armidale,” Mr Bucksath said.

During his addiction, Rice had also shoplifted “items of small value at Coles” and a “bottle of scotch worth $150” from Dan Murphy’s.

Mr Bucksath said both incidents earlier this year were unplanned and “opportunistic spontaneous offences”.

He asked that Magistrate Michael Holmes take special consideration during sentencing, especially given his client had been off drugs since being in custody for the past five weeks.

Magistrate Holmes said he accepted the facts about Rice’s past.

“Clearly your life has spiralled out of control,” he said.  The accused was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of six months imprisonment. 

“It’s going to give you time to get yourself back on your feet in custody,” Magistrate Holmes said.