An expectant father's failure to buckle up allegedly led police to catch him driving around with more than $30,000 worth of drugs and in excess of $10,000 in suspected proceeds of crime.
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Officers say they pulled concrete driller Stuart Michael Taylor over in Moncrieff on Monday afternoon after spotting the 32-year-old Rivett resident, sans seatbelt, behind the wheel of a Volkswagen sedan.
Documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday say Mr Taylor seemed nervous after being stopped, speaking quickly, stuttering and looking around while repeatedly putting his hands in his pockets.
When police asked what was in his pockets he allegedly ran, before giving up and surrendering to officers who had chased him for roughly 200 metres.
According to court documents, Mr Taylor admitted having drugs in one of his pockets and police found two clip seal bags of methamphetamine on him, along with three mobile phones.
A subsequent search of his car allegedly uncovered $10,250 in cash, another small bag of the drug commonly known as "ice", a set of digital scales and a glass pipe.
In a statement on Tuesday, ACT Policing said officers had found a total of 41 grams of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $31,000.
Court documents show Mr Taylor also allegedly failed a drug screening test, admitting to officers he had recently used methamphetamine.
Furthermore, he was allegedly unlicensed, having failed to renew his driver's licence after a disqualification period ended in December.
A record of his police interview on Monday afternoon shows Mr Taylor claimed "all the meth was for him", while he was "not able to provide a reason for legitimately obtaining the cash".
Mr Taylor did not enter any pleas when he appeared in court on Tuesday, charged with drug trafficking, possessing the suspected proceeds of crime, drug-driving and driving while unlicensed.
A Legal Aid lawyer applied for bail on his behalf, telling the court Mr Taylor was motivated to stay out of trouble by the imminent birth of his son, who was due in two weeks' time.
She also said he had been honest with officers, making "full admissions" to the driving charges and "partial admissions" in relation to the others.
The lawyer proposed strict bail conditions including a ban on taking illicit drugs.
But a prosecutor opposed bail, describing the case against Mr Taylor as strong after he was allegedly busted with nearly seven times the trafficable amount of methamphetamine and paraphernalia consistent with drug-dealing.
She expressed concern that after police had seized drugs and cash, the 32-year-old might immediately seek to "recoup his losses" through crime.
The prosecutor also highlighted Mr Taylor's lengthy criminal record, which spans multiple jurisdictions and lists 22 pages worth of offences in the ACT alone, saying it was proof he could not be deterred from offending.
Magistrate Louise Taylor said the man's criminal history was of particular concern, with it having revealed "numerous actions for breaching court orders".
"In my view, the defendant is not a good candidate for bail," she said as she remanded him in custody.
Ms Taylor noted Mr Taylor would likely face a custodial sentence if convicted in what she agreed was a strong prosecution case.
The 32-year-old is due back in court on April 15.
