“It’s a pretty ghastly document,” Mr Shepherd told Ashley Gordon Hicks.

Hicks, a 35-year-old from Margaret Street, had only been handed the report on Monday morning and took the magistrate’s advice and took the report away to read.

“Tell me all the positive things,” Mr Shepherd said when Hicks reappeared before him.

“There isn’t a lot,” Hicks conceded.

“That makes sentencing that much more difficult,” Mr Shepherd said.

“You are not willing to engage, it’s very difficult to do anything that’s aimed at helping you because the issue is that you are not willing to cooperate.

“You pleaded guilty, you did that on the first court appearance.”

However, although the report was damning, Hicks said he is on the methadone to address his drug use and has been staying off drugs.

“I’ve been doing a lot better lately,” Hicks said. 

However, Mr Shepherd brought up Hicks personal circumstances to show him what he’s not doing right with his life.

He said Hick’s criminal history was also evidence of the things that had been done to help him.

“The presentence report doesn’t give me many options in terms of how to [get] you to change your life,” Mr Shepherd said.

He said he didn’t think fines and bonds would be a suitable sentence for Hicks and have hime a six-month suspended jail sentence.

Hicks was caught by police at 11.11am on June 8 in possession of 12 grams of cannabis that was weighed at the police station.

Police had been patrolling Matthews Avenue area when they saw a silver Mitsubishi sedan travelling west.

They watched as the car stopped near the intersection of Annis Avenue and Hicks got out.

According to police facts that were tended to the court, police thought it was odd that Hicks continued walking in the same direction that the car had gone so they decided to pull up beside him.

As police approached they saw him pull something from his clothing and throw a clear bag towards a nearby bush.

Although the bag bounced off the bush and landed behind him he kept walking.

When questioned, Hicks said the bag contained 10 grams of cannabis for personal use.