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Nelligen man avoids jail after being busted with a baton and mouldy pot plant

August 4, 2025 7:24 am in by
Image: Darren Cutrupi

The lawyer for a Nelligen man charged with growing a single marijuana plant has told Batemans Bay Court it was full of mould and seeds.

Samantha Henry called on Magistrate Doug Dick to sentence Patrick William Fortuna to a non-custodial sense after her client pleaded guilty to growing the plant to help deal with chronic pain.

He also admitted possessing extendable baton police found during a raid on his Nelligan home in May this year despite being subject to a weapons prohibition order.

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Magistrate Dick told Fortuna the weapons charge alone carried a penalty of up to ten years in jail but instead placed him on a two-year community corrections order and ordered him to pay a $3000 fine.

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