A former Home and Away star was ‘absolutely stoked’ to learn he won’t be going to jail for dealing cocaine in the idyllic Byron Bay area.
Putu Sugiarta Winchester-Stanton appeared in the NSW District Court on Wednesday to learn his fate after pleading guilty to supplying 476g of cocaine in the NSW coastal region.
Court documents reveal the 46-year-old supplied the illicit drug to buyers in the regional area of Mullumbimby between January 21 and April 22, 2021.
He was arrested after a series of police raids were conducted to interrupt the supply of cocaine in the hinterland area.
Police discovered the former Heartbreak High actor was part of a local drug syndicate that he used for his own financial gain.
Officers busted the drug ring with phone taps, surveillance, and controlled drug exchanges with undercover police operatives.
Court documents reveal Winchester-Stanton has a history of drug-related matters and he was considered a ‘significant flight risk’ when he applied for bail.
Judge Timothy Gartelmann was due to sentence the former small screen star on Wednesday, but instead he adjourned the matter in order to obtain a sentencing assessment report.
The report will inform the court whether Winchester-Stanton is eligible to perform community service as part of his non-custodial sentence.
‘I’m able to confidently say that, no matter how the sentencing is structured, he won’t be returning to full-time custody,’ Judge Gartelmann announced.
The former actor, who was wearing a black suit and crisp white shirt, grinned and visibly sagged with relief at the proclamation.
He was supported in court by several friends who crowded around him and hugged him closely.
The judge noted a ‘fair phalanx of people’ had ‘made some effort to travel some distance’ to be in court to support Winchester-Stanton.
‘Some of your anxieties about what might happen to your friend will have dissipated after what I’ve had to say,’ he told the actor’s assembled friends.