A NUNDLE man awaiting sentence for charges connected to a drug supply-ring that smashed the Rebels bikie gang in Tamworth, remains on bail after his case was delayed.
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Despite “understanding his fate”, Bradley James O’Connor elected to have his sentencing hearing adjourned until May, delaying his inevitable stint behind bars for drug supply.
O’Connor has been on bail since shortly after his arrest in 2015 as part of Strike Force Mewburn – an Oxley detectives-led operation which dismantled the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) clubhouse in Tamworth and saw several members or associates charged.
O’Connor has admitted to supplying methylamphetamine and amphetamine and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
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He fronted Tamworth District Court this week for sentencing, after he was told last year he was facing a stint of more than two years in prison.
When his co-accused had their sentencing hearings adjourned for new reports to be obtained, Judge Jeffery McLennan asked O’Connor if he wanted “to bite the bullet” and “go into custody” or enter a prison cell on the next occasion.
Public defender Stuart Bouveng said O’Connor had employment and could earn money before he is sentenced in May.
“He understands his fate,” he told the court.
O’Connor spent close to two weeks in custody following his arrest in Nundle in 2015, but has been on bail since.
He understands his fate.
- Public defender Stuart Bouveng
Uralla brothers Shane O’Brien and Craig Leigh O’Brien have admitted to each taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug.
The pair were being assessed for an intensive corrections order (ICO), or a jail sentence in the community, but the court was told more time was need to undertake “legitimate inquiries” into the suitability of the pair for such orders.
Judge McLennan put the pair on notice for a second time, warning them it “was in their best interests” to cooperate or face imprisonment.
At the time of their arrests, police claimed the trio were associates of the Rebels’ Tamworth-chapter.