Jinja Turner in Bathurst Court for AVO breach, drugs, resisting police

Jinja Turner of Barker Circuit, Kelso, faced Bathurst Local Court on June 14, 2023 where she was sentenced for:

Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) workers went to a home on Alfred Street in South Bathurst about 12.50pm on March 27, 2023 where they saw Turner and the man eating KFC on the floor, court papers said.

Knowing Turner was in breach of an AVO by being with the man, one of the workers knocked on the door.

A spooked Turner ran outside of the home to hide before she went back in and was reminded - along with the man - of an in place AVO.

After being alerted by DCJ workers, police went to a home on William Street in Bathurst about 11.15am on April 2 when they saw the man leaving a guest house.

Suspecting Turner had been with the man, police went inside and found her hiding behind a door.

After being arrested, Turner - while being searched - took a tobacco pDepartment of Communities and Justiceouch, containing cannabis leaf, out of her jumper and threw it on top of a wardrobe.

"Not saying anything, so (expletive) off," Turner said to police, who asked about the drugs.

The court heard Turner then refused to give police her phone as part of the search and kicked at one of the officers.

She threw the phone behind a bed and kicked at police again, before she was handcuffed and transported to Bathurst Police Station.

While at the station, police weighed the cannabis leaf and found it came to 1.31 grams.

Before Aboriginal Legal Service solicitor Usman Naveed could begin his submissions, Magistrate D Pearce asked why Turner was with the man given the AVO was in place for her protection.

"These matters carry jail and yet you're [Turner] out with the very person who has been bashing you. The orders are there to protect you," Mr Pearce said.

"This sort of behaviour is unacceptable."

Mr Naveed said Turner's "tumultuous and very violent upbringing" was partly to blame for her behaviour, as was her immaturity.

Suggesting a conditional release order as the most appropriate outcome resulted in a warning for Mr Naveed, who was reminded by Mr Pearce that "you're not the magistrate, I am".

Turner was placed on a community correction order for 12 months.

Her matter will reappear before Orange District Court on July 10 after an appeal was lodged regarding the sentence's severity.

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