Kurt Toole sentenced to jail after dealing drugs on parole

Kurt Toole, of Sunbright Road, Kelso, was sentenced to four years in jail, with a non-parole period of two years, after he pleaded guilty on October 5, 2022 to two counts of supplying prohibited drugs and affray.

In an hour-and-a-half long sentence hearing at Bathurst District Court on April 5, 2023, Judge Graham Turnbull - who appeared by audio-visual link - found the only sentence appropriate for the 32-year-old Toole was jail.

Dressed in a suit and uncuffed, Toole, the brother of Bathurst MP Paul Toole, was relayed the details of his offending in June of 2020, which took place shortly after his release on parole from a nine-year prison term for drug supply when he was 21 years old.

Judge Turnbull went on to explore Toole's placement on the drug supply hierarchy, before his moral culpability was called into question.

"The fact is he is a convicted drug dealer who was dealing with drugs of a non-insubstantial amount," Judge Turnbull said.

"He is a man who was an ongoing supplier of a variety [of drugs] and [of different] amounts, which reflects a significant involvement in drug supply."

Toole's repeated conduct, as put by Judge Turnbull, had led to his return to court, which was a consequence he was well aware of given he dealt with his "eyes wide open".

Judge Turnbull went on to consider Toole's attempt to rehabilitate soon after he was detected by the Strike Force investigation, which had been listed as one of the special circumstances for his jail term.

Other special circumstances were his risk of institutionalisation, conditions of custody, health issues, family support and job prospects upon his release.

"He may have turned over a new leaf but the reality is his actions and the confidence of them suggest he was not as vulnerable as he asserted," Judge Turnbull said of Toole, who claimed he had begrudgingly supplied drugs to a co-accused.

"My view is rehabilitation has not been as considerable but he had started on the path."

Agreed facts submitted to the court following Toole's guilty plea to the charges last October said an associate of his - whose phone and vehicle were under surveillance by police as part of Strike Force Resche - was driving a vehicle with two passengers at 3.12pm on June 8 in 2020.

The associate said to one of the passengers he needed to "get that coin off you now" because "he [Toole] is coming to meet me in 15 mins".

After the passenger paid the associate, he got the second passenger to count a bundle of cash, which came to an amount of $1520.

The associate told the second passenger there was meant to be $1820 in total, so the second passenger offered to withdraw $300 from her bank account.

"Cause if Kurt [Toole] needs the money I can just put it in your account and get it out for him tomorrow," Toole's associate said.

The pair drove to a bank where they withdrew money and added to the bundle of cash, before they returned to an address in Kelso at 3.26pm ahead of Toole's arrival at 3.30pm.

Toole arrived and spoke with the associate, who had a brief conversation before he left.

"I'll meet you ... I'll only be five bro, I just got to go (expletive) along Eleven Mile Drive," Toole said.

Toole and the associate went on to meet at a Bathurst pub at 3.53pm, where Toole supplied the associate with six grams of cocaine.

Court documents indicate Toole and the associate met in the associate's car at 3.31pm on June 12, 2020.

Toole removed a package - 224 grams of amphetamine - from inside the front of his pants and told the associate it was "old school gas" and "if they don't like that I don't know what they'll like".

Toole opened a second plastic bag and counted six grams of cocaine before he gave it to the associate, who said he would let Toole know how it went by sending a thumbs up or thumbs down in a text, as instructed by Toole.

"It [package] looks alright," Toole said.

"(Expletive) oath it does," the associate replied.

Toole was recorded on police surveillance smelling the bag of amphetamine when he got out of the vehicle.

The associate was recorded by police speaking to a friend the following day at 3.15pm about the drugs he purchased from Toole, and said "the 'shooters' loved it and the 'smokers' said it was like smoking diesel", court papers said.

The associate told the friend the sale price for a "ball" - 3.5 grams - was $350 and an ounce - 28 grams - was $2000.

On June 19 the same year, the associate spoke with a man over the phone while in his vehicle, where it was arranged they would meet at the soccer fields. It was at this location Toole supplied the associate with 10 grams of cocaine.

In respect to the affray charge, the agreed upon documents said Toole was in the beer garden at a Bathurst pub with five individuals in his company at 12.20am on August 30, 2020.

CCTV footage captured Toole and his associates in a confrontation with a man wearing a black t-shirt.

Toole stood in front of another man to stop him from moving closer after he approached the group. The situation escalated when more people came toward the group, and began to push and shove.

Toole was captured on CCTV taking hold of a man by the collar. A different man tried to intervene by pulling Toole away, but Toole pushed the man off with an elbow to the face.

He took hold of the man before Toole, who was captured on video, jabbed the man in his face.

Toole then approached another large group of men who were arguing and pushing one another, and slapped one of them in the mouth.

The fight spilled onto William Street but Toole had no further involvement.

Toole was arrested on July 29, 2021, and taken to Griffith Police Station where he denied the supply of drugs.

Toole's four year prison sentence - which took into account two further greater than indictable supply prohibited drug charges listed as a Form 1 - was backdated to September 15, 2022.

He will be eligible for release on September 14, 2024.

In addition to the prison sentence, he was fined $1000 for the affray charge.