FAMILY, JOBS HELP GUILTY DUO SKIP JAIL

TWO men, charged after police raided a sophisticated cannabis hothouse in a
Beeliar house, have narrowly escaped jail because they had families and
jobs to return to.

But District Court Chief Judge Kevin Hammond warned the men to remember the
fortnight they spent in custody since they pleaded guilty and know that if
they re-offend within two years, they will go to jail.

Judge Hammond sentenced James Lyon, 37, of Bindoon, and Darren Stuart
Smith, 33, yesterday even though questions regarding their level of
involvement in the Suntree Mews drug house remained unanswered.

Police seized more than 10kg of harvested cannabis, $18,600 cash and scores
of almost mature plants when they raided the elaborate set-up in July.

But when the pair pleaded guilty earlier this month to possession of
cannabis with intent to sell or supply, lawyers Laurie Levy and Mark
Gunning claimed their clients were only crop-sitters, not drug dealers.

The case reached a stalemate yesterday because Mr Levy and Mr Gunning had
no evidence to prove their claim, but the prosecution was not in a position
to prove Smith and Lyon were involved any higher up the chain.

Mr Levy, for Smith, submitted Judge Hammond could sentence the pair on the
basis that they were caught in possession of a substantial quantity of
cannabis which would have been distributed, whether it was by them or others.

Prosecutor Russell Daily said the crown called for a jail sentence
regardless of their level of involvement.

Judge Hammond said it was only by the merest of margins that he had decided
to impose a 2 1/2,*-year jail term, suspended for two years.

He was swayed by the fact the pair had pleaded guilty at the earliest
opportunity and both were family men with businesses to go back to.

"You cannot afford to put a foot wrong," Judge Hammond warned. "You've been
in custody for two weeks. Just keep remembering that fortnight will you if
you are tempted to get caught up again."

The court had been told six rooms of the Beeliar house had been set up with
hydroponic equipment and the electricity had been bypassed. The estimated
cost of establishing the operation was $100,000.

Police seized almost 8kg of cannabis in 18 snap-lock plastic bags and
another 3.6kg in a garbage bag. They found $18,600 on a table and more than
70 cannabis plants.

Smith, who has an 11-year-old son, had no significant record other than a
16-year-old armed robbery conviction.

Lyon, who is married with three children, had convictions for cannabis and
smoking implement offences in 1991, 1994 and 1997.

Both men claimed they were recruited to crop-sit for about six weeks until
the cannabis was mature, then help to harvest it. They were to have been
paid $5000 each.