A 69-year-old Justice of the Peace and five others have been remanded into custody and are facing the prospect of life in prison for suspected involvement in a methamphetamine supply ring.
Marlene Dorothy Taylor, along with Debralee Ann Holland, Madie Sarah Treru, Kimberley Sarah Meihana, Zion Cody Kingston Pene and Brian Paul Taylor, has been ordered detained by Palmerston North District Court Judge Jill Moss, says a
Stuff report.
The group was arrested, the report says, after authorities found evidence Manawatu Prison inmate Brian Taylor was coordinating the distribution and sale of the drug.
On Wednesday, the group appeared in court where apparently members of Marlee Taylor’s family became angry. A member of the family reportedly yelled: “She can’t go to jail, she’s a JP (Justice of the Peace).”
Along with the charge of supplying methamphetamine, the Taylors and Pene are also charged with conspiring to supply cannabis,
Stuff reports. Pene has also been charged with possession of a .22 rifle and Holland with possession of 14-gauge shotgun rounds.
Judge Moss ordered the remand until January to facilitate the assigning of lawyers by legal aid. Nonetheless, the judge the JP, Holland and Treru have been allowed to come back to court sooner to apply for bail.
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