An elite private college graduate’s huge haul of illicit drugs and guns has been revealed, with a court being told some of the weapons were stashed under the floorboards of his house.
Zacherie William Sharman was supported by his parents in the back of Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday as he learned his fate for a raft of serious drug-related charges.
Part of the offending included a horde of guns being uncovered by police at his home, many of which were missed by officers and sniffer dogs on their first visit.
During a second search, a pump action shotgun was among the weapons found, along with a replica rifle secreted under the floorboards, the court was told.
Sharman, an alumni of the prestigious Nudgee College north of Brisbane, pleaded guilty to 28 charges, including two counts of drug trafficking.
The court was told many of the charges arose when police raided a home in Boondall in June last year.
Sharman, 28, used the drugs for a commercial purpose, with his bank account and income tax records demonstrating “significant, unexplained wealth”.
“Reference is made to the packaging equipment for use in the trafficking, located at your home, including the multiple cyro-vac machines,” Supreme Court Justice Frances Williams said.
“The property and unexplained wealth establishes continuity with your offending conduct.”
Sharman lived in a converted granny flat at the rear of the property but was not home at the time of the search crown prosecutor Jane Shaw said.
The police search unearthed almost 8kg of marijuana, packed into 10 vacuum-sealed bags, a quantity of the drug ice, three boxes of testosterone and other bottles in a bathroom, a sports bag containing $100,000 of cash in another sealed bag, cryo-vac packing machines, a set of digital scales, a flick knife, a car registration plate and a white bottle containing liquid nicotine.
A modified rifle was also discovered while officers found ammunition in another room.
Justice Williams said a blue folder containing a list of names and amounts owed indicated the drugs were for a commercial purpose.
Ms Shaw said the marijuana had an estimated street value of up to $114,000, depending on how it would be sold.
The court was told Sharman was arrested in a car park in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley a day later, carrying about 52g of methylamphetamine, packaged in a green shopping bag, along with a small glass vial containing the drug liquid fantasy.
They also found another $55,610 in cash, three phones and a plastic syringe, and a set of keys to a car stolen a month beforehand.
The estimated street value of the methylamphetamine was as much as $70,171, Justice Williams said.
More drugs, including cocaine, liquid fantasy and methylamphetamine, along with more cash were seized by police at a unit in Fortitude Valley.
During another search of the Boondall home, police found a shortened bolt action rifle, an inoperable revolver, a modified pistol and a pump action shotgun.
Another replica rifle was found underneath floorboards in the house.
Justice Williams noted Sharman had told police the weapons were at the house after sniffer dogs failed to detect them during the first search.
Sharman also pleaded guilty to contravening a police direction after he refused to give up the passcode to his phone.
The court was told Sharman had good prospects for rehabilitation and had been offered work upon his release.
Lawyer Sam Bain said his client had struggled with drugs and alcohol since he was 15, but otherwise grew up in a “good family home”.
Sharman’s mother, who sat in the back of the court, had written a letter in support of her son.
Mr Bain explained his client was not only drug-dependent at the time, but had participated in the trafficking business due to debts he had accumulated.
“He is still relatively young … he considers himself blessed to grow up in a good family,” Mr Bain said.
“He’s attended good schools … he’s done his plumbing apprenticeship.”
Justice Williams imposed a head sentence of eight years, to be served cumulatively on a sentence Sharman is already serving.
He was convicted and not further punished on other offences.
Sharman will be eligible for parole in May 2025.